My latest release on progressive rock album releases is about the band of the guitarist of the 'Flower Kings', 'Hasse Fröberg', who with 'Hasse Fröberg Musical Companion' ('HFMC') releases his fourth studio album 'Parallel Life' (he was also involved in the 'Mark Trueack' project, 'Planetary Overload Part 1: Loss' - see here). So we are immersed in a progressive universe and this from the beginning, since they chose to start the album by the master piece divided into 6 parts, 'Parallel Life' : inevitably, the 22 minutes do not integrate themselves immediately and ask you to listen several times but we can emphasize a very nice work on the level of melodic lines that are accessible to the image of the 2nd part 'To Change' or the 3rd 'You and Life'. Overall, we navigate between rock and progressive metal with a beautiful alternation between the sung parts ('Hasse Fröberg' offers us beautiful vocal demonstrations) and between remarkable instrumental parts. The rest of the album continues in this variety of style within the compositions themselves as in 'Sleeping with the Ghost' which starts calmly in a 'Floydian' atmosphere and which accelerates at the first minute and then afterwards alternates quiet and more energetic passages, then 'Time Waits', a little harder to tame for me, continues in this progressive style sought with some technical passages. With 'All Those Faces', we return to a more classic rock similar to 'Alan Parsons Project' for the rhythm part, and 'Rain' is a title that allows a break in the form of a ballad with parts atmospheric. Change of style with 'Friday' that takes us into an energetic track in the style of 70s hard-rock bands and the album ends beautifully with 'Never Alone' with memorable melodic lines and a progressive build that alternates energetic and quieter parts and which has an epic and symphonic masterly ending. In summary, the Swedes of 'HFMC' still release a quality album that draws its influence in forty years of progressive and, even if it requires several listenings to tame it, 'Parallel Life' is still a pleasant surprise in progressive genre for the year 2019 and should undoubtedly be well received by all fans of this style... | |
