Horisont - Odyssey
Wednesday, November 18, 2015 at 4:30PM ;)
On top of everything else about Horisont's latest album, the cover art is friggin' magnificent, amirite?That Scandanavian retro rock revival sound shows no signs of stopping and I can't say I'm upset about it. Especially where it concerns bands like Horisont and their latest studio album, Odyssey. And there's a lot to appreciate from this quintet, with influences as varied and impressive as Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy, Yes, Judas Priest, and Black Sabbath. The amalgamation and presentation of this rock soup is pretty amazing I must say.
Billed as a concept album space saga by the band, Odyssey kicks off with a nearly 11-minute title track whose beginning sounds like a cross between Rush's Temples of Syrinx and Genesis' Turn It On Again. From then on it's classic riffs and tones from these guys like they stepped out of a Land Of The Lost pylon with their plush moustaches fully intact. I'm constantly amazed at these Northern European bands' ability to utterly capture a sound as wild as early 70's rock without sounding cheesy or cliché. This stuff sounds like it dropped out of a time warp and I love it. There's a very analog feel to everything, and the songs may not make a lot of sense, but it's more about the ambience at play here. Horisont conjures up a mood that's authentic and fresh despite it obvious inspiration.
The Bottom Line: This is some great 70s style jams with a progressive touch that knows where its roots lie but doesn't trade on nostalgia. It treats its audience like fellow time travellers who want to share a journey to a much groovier time in rock n' roll. To the Wayback Machine!
Tracks Greg Brady Would Totally Play For Chicks In His Own Bedroom: Odyssey, Light My Way, Back On The Streets, and Timmarna
- Genghis felt his moustache grow THREE sizes that day...
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