Glass Hammer's album At The Gate (2022, see review) was one of my favourite albums of 2022, so as mister Steve Babb announced a new Glass Hammer album I was really looking forward to hearing and reviewing it. After a couple of spins, I can honestly say that Rogue (follow up to Arise, 2023) is a much more classic Glass Hammer album in the veins of albums like Cor Cordium (2011, see review) or Valkyrie (2016, see review) as it bursts with melodic bliss galore. Rogue, Glass Hammer's twenty-second studio album is a sort of concept album, dealing with the tale of one man's fateful, final journey, exploring themes of regret, heartache and the mortal salience that comes with age. Glass Hammer's fold on Rogue consist of Steve Babb (bass guitar, keys, lead and backing vocals), Fred Schendel (keyboards, lead and backing vocals, guitar on 2 tracks), Reese Boyd (guitars) and David Wallimann (guitars) and new to the band are Thomas Jakob (vocals), Olivia Tharpe (vocals), Oliver Day (guitar), Ariel Perchuk (keys) and drummer Evgeni Obruchkov. Let us start with the highlights, being Sunshine, The Wonder Of It All and the primarily instrumental Terminal Lucidity. The latter is the longest track of Rogue and clocks in just over ten minutes and it is a classic prog rock song starting with a dreamlike introduction, followed by a wonderful nice guitar riff and later on some soaring, almost furious guitar solos, drawing the listener into an energetic prog rock jam, which I cannot get enough of. Sunshine features the wonderful, melodic vocals of Olivia Tharpe and Fred Schendel delivers an impressive performance on lap steel guitar - hello Derek & the Dominos's Layla - here. The Wonder Of It All opens with a beautiful synth melody and it later evolves into a real prog gem - which sometimes reminds me of Genesis - featuring nice gritty guitar solos and lots of great melodies indeed. Rogue ends with the rather joyful All Good Things which has a very uplifting melody, some beautiful synth solos by Perchuk and soaring guitar work by Oliver Day, ending this fascinating, introspective album in a more than excellent way indeed. Rogue is possibly one of the most ambitious albums Glass Hammer (read: Steve Babb) has released, incorporating musical elements of Mike Oldfield, Kansas, and Genesis into a melodic prog rock gem for sure. So, again, another great album to consider for my top ten list of 2025 and the year has just begun.... **** Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
