RETURN TO SKY

On first impression Return to Sky is one of those albums that I found myself really enjoying, but had a hard time with considering this as a "progressive album of the year" candidate. Primarily because the feeling I got from the album was that of a desert / Stoner Rock album. Particularly with the parallels I found between this album and Kyuss' Welcome to Sky Valley, a name that is strikingly samiliar. And it's not just the name itself that conjures this feeling. The very moment the sludgy, occasionally phasered, Proto-metal guitars start in the image of that early-nineties-retrograde approach sets in. But several listens drove home the expanses of undistorted psychedelic ambiance (quite a bit more reverb use),  use of keys, more non-power chord guitar work and the fact that it's an instrumental album. These originally seemed like minor differences to my ear but ultimately gave the album a more individual texture without disarming that raw intensity that caused me to draw those original comparisons. In fact, Return to Sky comes close at times, but does not fall into the structurally ambiguous "jam band" trap I find detracts me from enjoying many artists in the psychedelic/space rock sub-genre. And whether the aforementioned similarities I hear to Kyuss are homage or just coincidence does not make the album less enjoyable. Much like the similarities to Black Sabbath make Kyuss less enjoyable.

I very much enjoy listening to Return to Sky . Though I would stop short of calling it an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. I very rarely (almost never) say this, but I believe this is the type of album that would definitely benefit from vocals. Good album, 3 stars.