Hällas is a Swedish band that offers a blend of retro-inspired Progressive Rock and Hard Rock, recalling the historical bands of the early 70s. The new album “Isle Of Wisdom” was released on April 09, 2022 via Napalm Records and contains 8 tracks ranging from 4 to over 8 minutes in length. The opener “Birth/Into Darkness” begins with a winning interweaving of organ, guitar and synth on a solid rhythm session enriched by tempo changes. The retro mold of the sound immediately plunges us into the pleasant atmosphere of the album, between massive riffs and valuable keyboards with a dynamic and expressive vocal. In the central part a good guitar solo insert, and then in the second part accelerate and offer an intense instrumental section with excellent organ textures. The following “Advent of Dawn” opens with a solid and tight rhythm session and an excellent mix of keyboards and guitar recalling the sounds of bands like Uriah Heep. The melodic vocal counterbalances the heavier sounds of the song, developed with continuous changes of tempo and passages where the prog attitude of the band is enhanced. More Hard Rock “Earl’s Theme” is characterized by engaging textures of guitar and synth with a choral vocal and an epic atmosphere permeates the sound. A track whose melodies and choral parts remain etched in the mind, showing a more melodic side of their sound, always refined and well composed and performed. “The Inner Chamber” begins with an arpeggio and a warm and expressive vocal, while the rhythmic session is softer. The intensity increases with the passage of the piece, which takes place with more Progressive plots and the keyboards protagonists with an orchestral background. A very intense track both in the vocal part and in the guitar solo inserts first and then keyboards, perfectly mixing the Prog traits with the Hard Rock ones always with their personal and retro touch. A real ride between the sounds of the ’70s “Elusion’s Gate” moves through Proto-Metal and Space sounds with an incessant drumming enriched by tempo changes. The malgamation between the guitar riffs and the synth gives that spatial touch to the melodies, while the vocal as always interprets the track intensely. “Gallivants (Of Space)” returns to a more Heavy Prog territory with organ and guitar duet perfectly, while the vocals alternate more melodic passages with more aggressive ones. In the central part, a solo keyboard insert takes the stage, developing a section of the piece halfway between the prog Symphonic and the Heavy sounds. In the finale the track closes with a musical crescendo and a guitar solo with the rhythm that accelerates, returning to the initial theme. The guitar offers great texture in “Stygian Depths,” another engaging track halfway between Hard Rock and 70’s Prog. The keyboard inserts and the guitar solo parts in the second part are valuable and refined. The rhythm session is solid and perfectly supports the structure of the piece, with another good vocal test alternating solo and choral parts. The album closes with the longest track “The Wind Carries the Word,” which is over 7 minutes long. From the galloping rhythm session and the guitar that duets with the organ creating an energetic track, which is enriched with elaborate passages and tempo changes. The vocal is very intense, and the long duration of the song is exploited to evolve the theme with instrumental parts that enhance the technique and ideas of the band. In my opinion this album is an absolute masterpiece that manages to bring back the atmosphere of the 70s to the present day with the addition of a personal touch of the band. The ideas are good and well developed, with the right amount of vocal and instrumental parts where the technique is exalted both on the guitar and on the keyboards. The rhythmic session is solid and is enriched with precise and refined tempo changes, with leading bass lines and a dynamic and expressive vocal that interprets the tracks with character. A listen recommended for lovers of retro-style Heavy Prog sounds, this band has technique and excellent ideas that it manages to develop creating valuable and very intense tracks.
Tracklist
01. Birth/Into Darkness (06:09)
02. Advent of Dawn (04:26)
03. Earl’s Theme (04:41)
04. The Inner Chamber (06:41)
05. Elusion’s Gate (04:05)
06. Gallivants (Of Space) (05:51)
07. Stygian Depths (05:10)
08. The Wind Carries the Word (07:18)
Lineup
Tommy Alexandersson / Vocals, Bass
Marcus Petersson / Guitar
Kasper Eriksson / Drums, Percussion
Nicklas Malmquist / Organ, Synthesizer
Alexander Moraitis / Guitar
[…] [REVIEW] […]
[…] esta reseña de ProgRockJournal, se describe a Isle of Wisdom como “una sinfonía heroica envuelta en luces de neón”. Yo no […]