A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A UNIVERSAL WANDERER

Their name might be more reminiscent of an S&M club in Middle Earth than a neo-prog outfit, but Gandalf's Fist don't let that slow them down. On this album they present a mashup of Pink Floyd-inspired spacey atmospheres with an epic, almost operatic approach which reminds me a bit of Iron Maiden at their most progressive-leaning. Unapologetically cheesy and heavy- handed, it's a sound I suspect will be rather polarising; for every listener who finds Marsh and Severn's chaotic sound to be exciting and invigorating I suspect you can find another who'll just find it deeply silly. Interesting stuff, but I find it wears a little thin on repeated listens, as though it's somehow less than the sum of its parts.