The most die-hard progressive rock fans may know that Masters Of Illusion (2020, see review) is an album by Magenta, but also that it's a track from the 1996 album Masquerade Overture by Pendragon. A song that was played as an encore for years. But now there's the album Master Of Illusion, the debut album from the Dutch act Molstone. A band with a musician in its ranks who may be familiar to some. Namely Sieberein Schaaf. He played on Flamborough Head 's first two albums Unspoken Whisper (1998) and Defining The Legacy (2000). Next to Sieberein Schaaf on lead vocals and keyboards, the band consists of founder Mol Mulder on bass, Bobby Veenstra on guitars, Klaas Hingst on drums and Jan Bulthuis on keyboards. Special credits go to Sander Grupstra for playing 12 string guitars. Together they released Master Of Illusion, an album that the gentlemen can certainly be proud of. I can honestly say that I thoroughly enjoyed this album, which lasts over an hour, from start to finish. There are no fillers or superfluous tracks. The musicians have used their time very professionally and created a surprisingly strong album for the listener. I'll introduce you to the album's tracks one by one and tell you what to expect musically and what the songs are about lyric wise. The Attic start with a beautiful intro performed on the synthesizers. But moves into a strong up-tempo piece with sometimes heavy guitar parts mixed with excellent subtle musical parts. A great synthesizer solo is also included. A great way to kick off the album if you should ask me! During the song you can ask yourself if everyone has a dark side when the situation calls for it? Who are you really? Eye Of The Storm opens with excellent heavy guitar parts before the song gets into calm water. An excellent organ solo is included as well. Sometimes the song reminds me of Kayak (melody) but also certain hard rock bands come to mind thanks to the way the vocals and heavy guitar parts are done. The song tells you that you don't judge someone by their appearance. Bloodtrail starts beautifully on the piano and moves into a kind of rock ballad with an excellent guitar solo. The song fits well on the album and provides a moment of calm between the many faster songs. It's about a parental divorce. What does that do to a child? The world changes around you. Slave To Technology is again more up tempo and moves more in hard rock territories thanks to the guitar and organ parts. The synthesizer parts are here excellent again next to great guitar solo. The song tells you that the digital age turned us into addicts. Technology makes us dependent. Edens Curse sounds like a rearranged version of the well known Flamborough Head classic tune Garden Of Dreams. But according to Sieberein it is actually a mix of several songs. Hence the different title. Schaaf drew from the pool of his own compositions. As for the music, the song starts with a majestic opening played on the synthesizer before the song turns into musical parts which I am familiar with. Bombastic Gothic kind of choir parts makes the song sound different to the original version. Also, the more orchestral classical sounding parts played on the keyboards are to blame! This is all very well done. The excellent guitar solo and Mark Kelly kind of synthesizer parts finishes off the song. It's about an escape from the harsh world of society. An escape to a fictional world, but reality pierces the bubble. Gate Of Salvation starts again with beautiful parts played on the keyboards before fantastic guitar parts are followed. This continues throughout the whole song next to some amazing synthesizer part. Here also the vocals of a choir are used. The song is again mellower with some up-tempo parts. The song tells us that everything revolves around money and power. Heavy Weight is a great instrumental piece of music in a way like Leap Day does on some of their albums. Most of all performed on the synthesizers. Which sometimes sound like you can hear on Dream Theater's Images And Words (1992). It has up tempo and mellow parts. Lyric wise this is a very special song. A cover with a story. Bassist Mol's stepson died in an accident during a vacation in the jungle. After many searches, his body was (partially) found. The funeral took place in a nature reserve, and this song was played during the service. It made such an impression on the band that, after consultation, it was included in the repertoire as a tribute. Taking Me Down opens with a church bell before it moves music wise into the direction of Kayak but also the Scorpions, thanks to the Klaus Meine kind of vocals and lyrics parts. A mix of hard rock and progressive rock is the best way to describe to this composition. It tells us that sometimes, finding true love is a setback. It then causes a struggle. Is love overrated? Not Alone is another piece of music which starts on the piano and can be described as a beautiful prog ballad. It's about domestic violence. Speak up because you're not alone. Mind Sculpture is the excellent closing piece on the album. A fantastic keyboard intro you can enjoy before early Marillion synthesizer parts can be enjoyed throughout the entire track. This is the song closest to the old Flamborough Head material and a typical neo progressive rock tune. I simply love it like all the other songs! It's about manipulation. Master Of Illusion is an excellent album made by some excellent musicians. All of them can be very proud of their official debut album. So Molstone, welcome to the Dutch progressive rock scene with a sound of an international level. Highly recommended if you like a mix of neo progressive rock, prog metal and hard rock. **** Henri Strik (edited by Dave Smith) Where to buy? |
