THE KEY, PART I - THE PROPHECY

I like Clive Nolan. And what about you? I remember I bought SHADOWLAND;s debut, dislike it on the first listenings, but lately it has immensely grown on me. I began to search everything related to Nolan’s activity; surely SOAT where Nolan wrote all songs and sang some parts would be more than a welcomed addition to my collection. And good Lord, Karl Groom on guitar, another SHADOWLANDer! When I finally finished my listening, I was kinda disappointed. First of all, Nolan sings backs, while fronts are sung by Tracy Hitchings (nothing terribly wrong here, but I’d prefer Clive to sing…she even tried to copy his obertones!). Second, there are NO drums at all, but they are surely meant to be on the record! Hence it all sounds the same and pretty dull. After all, if you manage to get used to this music, it sounds very enjoyable. Minimalism is not only Avant prerogative; Neo can be both minimalistic and enjoyable too. Recommended for Nolan devotees and those who are not afraid of certain amount of “New Age feeling” in Prog.