HELIKE

D'Accord returns with the difficult second album.

The band signed on Karisma Records and now has full label support with promo CDs and distribution in all territories through Plastic Head. I got one of these promo CDs from Karisma Records.

D'Accord has also expanded their music and gone much more ambitious. Or to be more precise, they have made a concept album with two twenty minutes long suites about the lost world of Atlantis. The ingredients which made the first album such a great album is mostly still there. Daniel Maage's vocals are excellent and he is the mainman in this band, to my knowledge. His flutes, which added a lot of flavour their debut album, is mostly gone though. The guitars and the keyboards has come more to the fore in the mix. The 1970s heavy prog sound is still intact and those who love this sound (myself included) will love the sound on this album.

There is a problem though. D'Accord is overly brave and ambitious on this album. They are in fact walking on a tightrope over a waterfall, without any aides. They almost pulls it off. Many would argue; they have pulled it off at Helike. But I would argue here that although the sound is excellent and sends shivers down my spine (as a fan of 1970s prog), this album is sadly lacking in the form of enough great melody lines. Bravery and ambitions can also means being fools. Which I am not accusing the band of being. But they tried to pull of a masterpiece and failed.

On the other hand, this is not a bad album either. It is overly ambitious. But it also have some great melody lines which surely will cement this band's position as one of the best Norwegian/Scandinavian upcoming acts at the moment. Helike is a very good album which will please their fans and probably also get them new fans. I would encourage this band to stick to their guns, despite of this album not quite reaching the target.

3.5 stars

I got this album for a birthday gift and it will be given to someone less critical as a gift or thrown away. There is very little I like about this album. First of all: Trying to copy the great bands from the seventies is NOT enough, you need to have musical ideas!! I find very few here, just pale shadows of the creative compositions that marked bands like Genesis and Yes. The melodies are unoriginal and trivial, there are no hooks to remember, the musicianship is ok, but nothing special. Second; the singer! Oh my God, the singer. Again, trying to sound to sound like someone else (Gabriel) when you have so little of his timbre and grit is bound to fail. This singer has a shrill, shrieking voice that ruins the already poor songs. I get annoyed really quickly when listening to him, and just ache to turn the whole thing off.

To me prog is trying to create something that is special, finding your own style and voice. D'Accord does nothing of the sort and has no qualities that I find appealing. There are no mittigating circumstances that justifies being boring when it comes to prog. In my humble opinion...

'Helike' - D'Accord (6/10)

Norway's D'Accord is a fairly new band to the wide world of prog rock. Like many other Scandinavian prog acts, this band takes the vintage sound to heart, and attempts to revitalize it with their own charm. 'Helike' is the first many will be hearing of this band, and it portrays them in the light in which they intend; a group of musicians wrapped in the magic of the '70s. Unlike so many however, D'Accord manages to nail the sound and atmosphere that classic prog gives off, although it is not spared a share of weaknesses.

Listeners will notice that this is a two track album, with the two halves being labelled 'Part 1' and 'Part 2'. This gives the album the sense that it is a single epic, much like Jethro Tull's essential 'Thick As A Brick'. I would bet that D'Accord took more than a few notes worth of inspiration from that album, in fact. From the sometimes dainty mood to the liberal use of flute solos, D'Accord are quick to demonstrate where their influences lie. This is not such a bad thing, as the way they evoke this vintage sound is very authentic. The production sounds raw and organic, and the band's songwriting does evoke the bombastic epics of old prog.

The composition of this 'Helike' epic is a little scattered, but full of promising, powerful moments. Especially towards the second half of this album, D'Accord deliver some surprises, and don't let their tribute tip over the scale into mockery.'Helike' is a conceptual piece surrounding the myth of Atlantis, although most of the lyrics sung by frontman Daniel Maage are abstract enough to take one way or another. Maage's vocals are the most distinctive aspect of D'Accord's sound, and at once are both the strongest, and most jarring aspect of the band's sound. Although it is clear that Maage has a strong voice, he often pushes it past the comfort zone, and- paired with a somewhat amateurish mix that favours the vocals too highly- makes me wonder sometimes if his performance is either powerful, ear-cringing, or both. Instrumentally, Maage's vocals are often the only thing that draws a listeners attention. There are moments where different interesting instruments such as the trumpet and flute come in to pay their respects, but overall, 'Helike' is a conceptually ambitious work that could have done with some more depth, musically speaking. D'Accord manage to accomplish the authentic vibe that I so often find lacking in modern prog, but the rest of their act comes off as somewhat problematic.

Norwegian act D'ACCORD was formed in early 2008 and self-released their debut album the following year to positive critical acclaim. Since then they have signed to the Norwegian label Karisma Records, and in the fall of 2011 they issued their sophomore production "Helike".

Vintage symphonic art rock of the symphonic variety is what D'Accord has to offer on "Helike", a massive 44 minute epic divided into two parts and a perfect setup for a future vinyl production at that. There is nothing new or highly innovative overall, but it's a solid excursion into the well trodden parts of concept albums that should find favor among those who have a hunger for such creations, in particular if the Peter Gabriel-era Genesis is music to your liking.

Issued on the Scandanavian Karisma imprint, the second release from Norwegian outfit D'Accord finds itself appearing at very much the wrong time, buried as it is under a plethora of high-profile progressive rock releases from the likes of Squackett, The Flower Kings, Rush, Asia and Van Der Graaf Generator. Although this glut of new material from some of the genre's big boys has made 2012 one of the best and busiest prog- rock years for some time, it has also seen inventive newbies such as D'Accord struggling to make themselves heard; any other year and 'Helike', an album bursting with retro prog flavours, might just found the attention it deserves. Led by multi-instrumentalist Daniel Maage D'Accord have two feet unashamedly buried deep in the early 1970s, reeling off an intense sound that blends King Crimson's discordant art-prog flourishes with Jethro Tull flutes, powerful proto-Sabbath guitars and Maage's wailing vocals. Basically one enormous composition spread out over two sections(helpfully titled 'Helike Part I' and 'Helike Part II'), this is an album that pays no concessions to modern prog, instead focusing their considerable energies on replicating progressive rock's glory days in a way rarely seen(or heard) these days. Some critics and fans have accused D'Accord of simply providing a derivative facsimile of the music they love - 'Helike' has garnered a surprisingly sub-lukewarm response - yet this is very much one of those difficult albums that takes more than a few listens to truly grasp. Daniel Maage has obviously used 'Thick As A Brick' and 'A Passion Play' as a kind of sonic blueprint, and the album is layered with elements of jazz fusion and symphonic rock, making for a continuously fascinating listen that never mulls on one section for too long and rarely repeats itself. In creating an album like 'Helike', Maage and 'D'Accord have obviously set themselves up for a big fall, yet one must congratulate a group with such a sonic vision. Whilst 'retro' styles groups like The Flower Kings are praised for creating a mixture between the old and new, D'Accord are chastised for creating a wonderful homage to their heroes. This album isn't perfect - far from it - but it's a daring, inventive and highly enjoyable adventure into the early 1970s that few would dare to attempt. Full of ideas and instrumentally impressive, this mixture may not be the most original album of 2012 yet it is nevertheless still a great slice of atmospheric progressive rock filled with a heady selection of moods, textures and styles. Well done D'Accord. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012