THE WISTMAN TALES

An interesting project from the British Islands, apparently led by Mr. Gordon Midgley, who happens to be a multi-instrumentalist, composer and lyricist, he is backed up by singer Nathan Jon Tillett.They are influenced by the classic bands of the country, such as King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, Pink Floyd and Genesis and in July 2014 they launched their debut ''The Wistman tales'', a free download via the bandcamp sevice.

Sound of Napier's Bones is trully mysterious, innovative and often majestic.Their production on guitars and the use of a drum machine show some emphasis on the contemporary Prog/Art Rock scene, they sound a lot like the most recent PINK FLOYD-ian wannabees, RIVERSEA, EDISON'S CHILDREN and NINE STONES CLOSE to name a few.But they distinguish themselves quite easily from this group of bands, because Midgley has chosen to use constantly the Mellotron in all of the tracks, producing a genuine mix of nostalgic and modern Prog, the actual result is somewhere between KING CRIMSON's early orchestral offerings and PINK FLOYD's atmospheric acoustics.Pretty symphonic sound, which swirls around softer and more powerful moments, featuring a singer with a raspy voice and delivered mostly in mid-tempo textures with interesting solos and measured rhythms.Plenty of acoustic guitar as well to go along with big time grandiose, Mellotron-drenched orchestrations.Piano and other keyboards are used only sporadically, this one is mostly a combination of heavy electric guitars and Mellotron with some smooth plays in the process.The arrangements are pretty cool, albeit not extremely rich due to the limited instrumentation, Tilett's crunchy vocals work nicely next to the sinister instrumental parts and the result is pretty satisfying.

Atmospheric and often quite dark Prog Rock with orchestral overtones and huge references to very early King Crimson and Genesis as well as mid-70's Pink Floyd.Pretty hard to come up with accurate descriptions though, you need to hear this and conclude yourselves what this work is all about.Recommended.