THE GARDEN OF DELIGHTS

RIKK ECCENT is a Finnish one-man project: Kimmo Salmela sings & plays everything, and he has written and produced this album himself. But you couldn't guess from the meaty, dynamic music that there's no whole band behind it. Therefore a certain respect is earned right away, even if the music is not exactly up to my own taste.

Prog Shine has written a very good first review here, and I would have it very hard to bring anything new. I won't go into track-by-track details. (Anyway, my reception is less enthusiastic. Or will it get warmer little by little as his did? Well, I have a big trust on first impressions so I doubt it.) First off, I'm not fond of Salmela's voice. it's a bit blurred and stuffy, a worse version of Elvis Costello. And in the music the central electric guitar often has Metallic edginess. These are the things I do't like. Otherwise I can admit this is very effective and strong rock that has a credible balance between commercial pop/ hard rock approach and more demanding prog elements. A bit of Prog Metal and and a bit of Neo Prog. With a better singer, less emphasis on guitars and a bit brighter overall atmosphere this would be great for me too. The long closing track 'Nexus' is the calmest - and clearly the best.

Fine fold-out digipak design; inside there's a praying mantis and a hybrid of planet Earth and a fly's eye, on the back cover fireworks against black sky.