EXCAVATIONS OF THE MIND

"Excavations of the mind" is the excellent debut album of Sky Architect - a collection of 8 fresh, quirky, fairly original prog rock pieces that will capture and hold your interest for the whole 51 minutes of the album. The young Dutch quintet is very talented (guitarist Wabe Wieringa and keyboardist/pianist Rik Van Honk deserve a special mention), and ? which matters most - very capable of putting their talent at the service of creating beautiful melodies and supporting them with complex but tasteful arrangements.

The highlights are on the opening four-part epic "Deep Chasm" ? where Sky Architect are at their best both in terms of technical skills and ideas. Charter and Changeling (Part I and Part III respectively) work well as intros to the lengthier Chime (Part II) and Chasm (Part IV). I find Part II - Chime particularly beautiful and rich of intriguing melodies and well-orchestrated dynamics. The remaining four songs are, in my opinion, a step below. The title track is built around an interesting contrast between acoustic parts and electric blasts. "Russian Wisdom" has a quirky, folkish charm. "Gyrocopter" is a semi-instrumental outro ? a sort of final display of the skills of the band. The only let-down is maybe the long "The Grey Legend": slightly repetitive and chaotic, it drags for 12+ minutes of crunchy guitars, lengthy solos and not very inspired melodies.

If I have to point out one negative aspect of this nevertheless outstanding debut, it is the lyrics: the concept behind the album is fascinating (a man on the verge of losing his sanity of mind ? and gradually losing the grip), and I would have expected more than a bunch of confused, obscure lines of text in support to the story. Another slightly negative point of the album is the production: I suspect that the rough mixes are in part intentional to give the album its vintage edge. Still, sometimes this goes a bit too far ? like when complex keyboard textures (sometimes even solos) end up completely buried in a loud mix of drums and bass.

Overall, this is a brilliant debut album, highly recommended to prog lovers ? this is a must-have if you enjoy classic prog rock or modern European neo-prog (groups such as Beardfish, Pain of Salvation, and, to a lesser extent, Flower Kings and even Porcupine Tree often come to mind while listening to "Excavations of the mind") .