ELEMENTS

Introitus prove that their debut album wasn't a one-off bit of family fun with Elements. Once again, the husband and wife team of Mats and Anna Jobs Bender are rounded out with their children Mattias on drums and Johanna in an expanded role on percussion, choir and supplementary keyboards, along with a brace of guest musicians. This time around the concept draws on old-timey philosophy, with each of the compositions being linked by atmospheric instrumentals based on each of the four classical elements identified by the ancient Greeks. Musically speaking, neo-prog is the name of the game - but exceptionally delivered neo-prog, with Mats' compositions and Anna's operatic delivery really making the album work. Don't let the twee efforts of other family bands put you off - as ably demonstrated here, the Benders can (prog) rock with the best of them.