BEYOND REALITY

Mangrove

Symphonic Prog

3.61 | 58 ratings

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ZowieZiggy
Prog Reviewer

The third album of this Dutch band is by far their best released so far.

From a dull and weak debut which was totally "Genesis" derivative and of little interest, the band was able to display a better offering for this "Beyond Reality". This is best confirmed during the excellent opener "Daydreamer's Nightmare". Almost fifteen minutes of very good instrumental passages: by far their best song ever.

The neo feel strikes back with the epic "Time Will Tell" which starts as a gentle and standard song. Average (but invading) vocals and too little space for musical development. Fine guitar as usual but average keyboards are the conventional spices of their music.

To be complete, it is true that the second half is very much Floyd oriented and, again, a very Gilmour-esque guitar passage is raising the level quite substantially. The closing section is an ocean of Banks oriented keys: very pleasant indeed, but I have heard these lines maybe a hundred times already?

The excellent instrumental "Reality Fades" holds some fabulous guitar passages: melodic to death, crafted a shell: in one word gorgeous. Splendid. Exceptional. At times, this Dutch band really sounds great during this album.

This work is a major improvement in comparison to their weak debut and average sophomore album. The title track is again very symptomatic of the whole feeling: superb guitar but average (mellow) vocals. Just too bad?

Still: it is a good compromise between neo and symph (this is the first of their efforts that can be partially referenced as symphonic IMHHO). The final section holds very much of the great "Afterglow" from who you should know.

"Pendragon" lovers should be delighted with these superb and so moving guitar solo. A fine album; three stars.

ZowieZiggy | 3/5 | 2009-12-15

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