CLOVER SUITE

Majestic is the brainchild of US musician Jeff Hamel, who is actually a multi-instrmentalist and the one who composes and performs all the instruments in his albums. In 2009 he released an interesting 4-track EP entitled "Clover Suite" in which Jessica Rasche helps with her great vocals. This EP is shows a great mixture of symphonic and heavy prog.

The four tracks are entitled Clover, the only thing that changes is the number that follows the word, and it is simple, I, II, III and IV. The first one starts slowly, with vocals since the first moments, but little by little it is adding new atmospheres, different inner passages that take the listener to a fantastic place, where one can imagine things and stories. I like a lot the keyboard sound in the whole track, its excellent nuances and how it perfectly complements the voice, and the heavier guitars, when they are needed. The last two minutes are very mellow, excellent I would say.

The second part is the longest one reaching almost ten minutes. Keyboards working as fore and background at the same time, with a pretty cool acoustic guitar addition. The sound does remind me to some Neo Prog acts, that is why this project is labeled (at least here) as such. Hamel really knows how to structure a song, how to intercalate the instrumental moments with the ones with vocals, and how and when to make sudden changes in time and tempo, and mood. I have actually been surprised by this new discover. And what better way to listen to this, than going to their website and download it for free. In this sole track, we can really appreciate the musician's wonderful skills in guitars, keyboards and even drums.

In the third part we have some spacey keyboards that remind me of some Ayreon moments. I like here how drums join, and how the keyboard sound is getting more and more intense, creating a kind of nervousness or tension. But this all disappears after a couple of minutes, and suddenly morphs into a neo-prog track, especially when female vocals appear. Well, but as you can imagine this is only a passage, because the song will offer one or two changes more, the most evident after five minutes with a metal-like guitar. Great!

And the final part is the shorter one, with only five minutes length. This is the softest of them all, this time with male voice, which I assume is the same Jeff. The sound is charming, even relaxing and suitable for an end. With this, the Clover Suite EP finishes. I am really happy with this discovery, and I highly recommend going and downloading it, and get more Majestic stuff. My final grade will be four stars.

Enjoy it!