Halcyon Arrhythmia is Seattle-based multi-instrumentalist Lee Nelson‘s solo project with Progressive Rock sounds. After releasing a single in 2020, on December 10, 2021 the self-titled debut album was released containing 5 tracks ranging from 3 to 11 minutes. Lee Nelson plays all the instruments and sings, while the first track features Bradley Stafford at Harsh Vocals. “Fundamentals” opens the album with biting riffs and with the entry of the other instruments the track develops with intertwining piano and guitar and programming. The plots are elaborate, enriched by the tempo changes, but in my humble opinion the programming does not enhance the sound, resulting cold and not very insicisive. The vocal is dynamic and interprets the song well, with a guest harsh insert in the central part, powerful and aggressive. A good track with the right amount of vocal and instrumental parts that enhance the artist’s technique, programming takes away something in terms of quality. “Light & Sound” is a blend of softer Prog, which showcases an expressive vocal, while the music is softer than the previous one. There is no shortage of guitar and piano inserts, while the repeated bass line is hypnotic, the programming here is better suited and the track suffers less from the lack of an acoustic drum. The piano is the protagonist of the intro of “Aquamarine” a track that increases in intensity with the passing of mintues, offering a very intense and engaging choral singing at times. The atmospheres are darker and the guitar offers good inserts, while the rhythm session is constantly evolving and full of quality tempo changes. I wouldn’t want to be repetitive nor boring, but the sound here would be enhanced by a warmer sound than the drum. “Paths Divide” is characterized by a piano intro with the song that in the first part is softer with a passionate singing. As the minutes go by, the track becomes more elaborate, with a long instrumental section in the central part full of technical ideas and tempo changes. The ending flows into harsher, refined sounds that enhance the artist’s technique, skilled in playing both keyboards and guitar, offering excellent plots. The album ends with the shorter track “Halcyon Arrhythmia” a concentrate of power and technique, of prog metal matrix showing the heavier side of the artist. After a first part pulled with massive riffs and keyboard orchestrations, in the second it ends with a long section of atmospheric effects and piano in the background. An album that shows how the artist has a good technique on several instruments and in singing, proposing long elaborate tracks enriched by tempo changes. As I said several times before, the sounds of the programming take away something in terms of quality as the sounds are a bit cold, with an acoustic drum the yield would have been higher in my opinion. Despite this, the album is enjoyable and the drumming aspect is something that can be improved in the future. An album that contains intense passages, a good compositional and executive technique both on the guitar and on the keyboards which are the main instruments of this work.
Tracklist
1. Fundamentals (11:10)
2. Light & Sound (05:07)
3. Aquamarine (07:40)
4. Paths Divide (10:19)
5. Halcyon Arrhythmia (03:01)
Lineup
Lee Nelson / Guitar, Vocals, Bass, Piano, Programming
With:
Bradley Stafford / Harsh Vocals (1)
