BEYOND THE REALMS OF EUPHORIA

Galahad is a case of a very late bloomer, even in comparison with other prog bands that usually take an album or two to find their groove. With Beyond the Realms of Euphoria - second album in a year, no less - Galahad continue to delve into metal and electronics sounds they began adding to their neo-prog foundation recently. Galahad retain the ability to write supremely melodic neo-proggish lines that get stuck in your head for days, be them slow or fast, but there are also parts here that are fully electronic or are full-on metallic assault. And it doesn't always work, as is the case with the techno-ish second part to Guardian Angel that doesn't know when and how to end, or the surprise growling at the very end of All in the name of progress, after an interesting broken rhythm pattern. As in their previous album, they choose to modernize an epic classic of theirs. This time, Richelieu's Prayer, which originally was a whimsical piano ballad with a powerful Pink Floydian solo at end, and basically they made it more metallic and forceful-sounding.