Galahad - Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria



GALAHAD
Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria
(AVALON RECORDS GHCD11)

Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria's is the second new album of Galahad this year. With this album the group impressively continues the musical path of Battle Scars. Through piano interludes that are not inferior to Beethoven, Mozart or Schubert the group uses the entire musical spectrum, also adding the trance and dance influences from Armin van Buuren, DJ Tiësto and David Guetta. 

Perhaps these last ones for the traditional listener of progressive music feels like a shock. But progressive in my view means that the progress of a band has to do with the musical development of a band. Stagnation means decline, and keep copying yourself may lead to happy fans, but I think as a musician it’s drudgery. So I welcome the progression of Galahad. The group puts down a proper mix, where everything falls into place. 

Keyboardist Dean Baker occassionally let the listener believe, that we are at a dance party, but the rest of the band clearly counteract progressive, forcing Baker to react with beautiful sound scapes, inspired by the heyday of Genesis. While Stuart Nicholson vocally accentuates: "All In The Name Of Progress". Musically the group returns, besides Genesis (period A Trick Of The Tail and Winds And Wuthering), to the atmosphere of their earlier work, and offers Baker the space to demonstrate his ability on the piano. 

It makes Beyond The Realms Of Euphoria an album with a more dominated keyboard sound, although Roy Keyworth beautifully scatters with great riffs and solos here and there to keep up the balance. 

To lift the CD version of the album over fifty minutes the group has added a 2012 version of Richelieu's Prayer. Mark Andrews, the keyboardist at that time, plays a guest role on the more than twenty years old number from Nothing Is Written, Galahad's debut album in 1991. The new version takes some time to get used to, but fits perfectly in the style and atmosphere of the other songs on the album. 

Galahad shows with this second album within a year that keeping your eyes and ears open for other style effects, can lead to an enjoyable progressive mix, which yields in wonderful music and puts Galahad as an innovator on the map.

Tracklist:

Salvation 1 - Overture
Salvation 2 - Judgement Day?
Guardian Angel 
Secret Kingdoms
...And Secret Worlds
All In The Name Of Progress
Guardian Angel - Reprise
Richelieu's Prayer 2012

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