SURRENDER OF SILENCE

Steve Hackett is one of the busiest artists in the prog world. Since 1975 and also after his departure from Genesis he released an album nearly every year. And with these albums he never ceased to surprise me. In his latest release 'Surrender of Silence' he combines more than ever before classical inspiration (especially from the neoclassicism period and Prokofiev) with rock and world music to a surprising melange of varied styles. The variety is also expressed in the instrumentation which ranges from classical orchestra over rock band to more exotic instruments like tar and dutar. The result is an album which is probably the most varied of his works so far. Two years ago I called 'At the Edge of Light' his best album since 'Spectral Mornings', but I stand corrected. This one is his best since 'Spectral Mornings'.