Music Banter - View Single Post - Bitesize: Trollheart's Daily Album Mini-Reviews

Trollheart · 08-14-2012, 12:56 PM

Another prog revelation

Artiste:Knight Area
Nationality: Dutch
Album: Realm of shadows
Year: 2009
Label: The Lasers Edge
Genre: Progressive rock
Tracks:
Ethereal
Antagony
Two of a kind
Momentum
Awakening
Dark souls
Realm of shadows
A million lives
Occlusion
Chronological position: Third album
Familiarity: Zero
Initial impression: Er, Genesis?
Best track(s):A million lives
Worst track(s): None
Comments: There's no avoiding the obvious influence of one of the biggest prog-rock bands of the seventies and eighties on Dutch proggers Knight Area, as the opening keyboard chords from Ethereal, the first track on this, their third album, show without question. Even the piano, when the keys fade down a little, is pure classic Tony Banks circa “Wind and wuthering” or even “Duke”. But let it not be thought that Knight Area are just a clone or rip-off of Genesis, far from it. They have their own sound, but it is highly coloured by Genesis's impact on the early progressive rock scene. Let's be honest though: it's not only the music that's influenced, as part of the lyric to Ethereal goes ”Nobody knows my name/ For nobody would understand/That you kill what you fear”... sound familiar?

They really up the ante though, changing it all around for the second track, which powers along almost in a progressive metal vein, though again I do find something familiar about it, and this does seem to dog these Netherlands rockers a little; they come across as a bit derivative. Still, if so they do it well and don't come across as deliberately copying anyone; I think it's just their reverence for certain prog rock giants bleeds into their music and leeches off a little of the originality that I would prefer be there. Again, Awakening is a great little instrumental, but borrows its piano melody almost completely from the opening to Marillion's Fugazi...

For all that though, Knight Area can be original when they try, or want to, as tracks like Dark souls and A million lives show, the former delivering a big, heavy, dramatic opus with some fine strong vocals while the latter is a poppier, more upbeat, almost AOR song somewhat in the style of Asia, but not so much that you'd notice. Unfortunately (well, not unfortunately, as I love Genesis) the influence of the masters creeps back in and spreads all over the title track, which is not to say it's bad, as it most certainly is not, but those Banksesque keyboards, particularly the electric piano, can sound like no-one else, and bring the two “W” words up once again.

The album finishes well on a real power progressive rock epic, over eleven minutes of it, in which Knight Area lay down their own claim to originality and manage to stand a little apart from the plethora of prog rock bands out there at the moment. Now, if only they could ditch the cloying Genesis slant on their music, stamp their own individuality on their songs, they could really be a force to be reckoned with.
Overall impression: A little less Genesis clonification (not fair, I know) and this band could be really great. As it is, they need to really establish their own identity as yet.
Intention: Keep an eye on them, to see if this happens over the course of their next few albums

08-14-2012, 12:56 PM	#49 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,996	Another prog revelation Artiste:Knight Area Nationality: Dutch Album: Realm of shadows Year: 2009 Label: The Lasers Edge Genre: Progressive rock Tracks: Ethereal Antagony Two of a kind Momentum Awakening Dark souls Realm of shadows A million lives Occlusion Chronological position: Third album Familiarity: Zero Initial impression: Er, Genesis? Best track(s):A million lives Worst track(s): None Comments: There's no avoiding the obvious influence of one of the biggest prog-rock bands of the seventies and eighties on Dutch proggers Knight Area, as the opening keyboard chords from Ethereal, the first track on this, their third album, show without question. Even the piano, when the keys fade down a little, is pure classic Tony Banks circa “Wind and wuthering” or even “Duke”. But let it not be thought that Knight Area are just a clone or rip-off of Genesis, far from it. They have their own sound, but it is highly coloured by Genesis's impact on the early progressive rock scene. Let's be honest though: it's not only the music that's influenced, as part of the lyric to Ethereal goes ”Nobody knows my name/ For nobody would understand/That you kill what you fear”... sound familiar? They really up the ante though, changing it all around for the second track, which powers along almost in a progressive metal vein, though again I do find something familiar about it, and this does seem to dog these Netherlands rockers a little; they come across as a bit derivative. Still, if so they do it well and don't come across as deliberately copying anyone; I think it's just their reverence for certain prog rock giants bleeds into their music and leeches off a little of the originality that I would prefer be there. Again, Awakening is a great little instrumental, but borrows its piano melody almost completely from the opening to Marillion's Fugazi... For all that though, Knight Area can be original when they try, or want to, as tracks like Dark souls and A million lives show, the former delivering a big, heavy, dramatic opus with some fine strong vocals while the latter is a poppier, more upbeat, almost AOR song somewhat in the style of Asia, but not so much that you'd notice. Unfortunately (well, not unfortunately, as I love Genesis) the influence of the masters creeps back in and spreads all over the title track, which is not to say it's bad, as it most certainly is not, but those Banksesque keyboards, particularly the electric piano, can sound like no-one else, and bring the two “W” words up once again. The album finishes well on a real power progressive rock epic, over eleven minutes of it, in which Knight Area lay down their own claim to originality and manage to stand a little apart from the plethora of prog rock bands out there at the moment. Now, if only they could ditch the cloying Genesis slant on their music, stamp their own individuality on their songs, they could really be a force to be reckoned with. Overall impression: A little less Genesis clonification (not fair, I know) and this band could be really great. As it is, they need to really establish their own identity as yet. Intention: Keep an eye on them, to see if this happens over the course of their next few albums __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018 Last edited by Trollheart; 01-13-2015 at 05:38 AM.