The supergroup 'Six By Six' gave us a very good eponymous first album in 2022 and the trio does it again with this new opus 'Beyond Shadowland' released a few weeks ago. We find there a clever catch-all of different styles ranging from rock to hard rock with a good dose of progressive and the whole, even if it highlights melodic lines that are quite easy to tame, still requires a few listens because the Style changes from one title to another are numerous which, on the other hand, brings remarkable diversity.
We are welcomed by 'Wren' which is very good progressive rock and which takes us into a very catchy track in which each artist brings their contribution to the building: the singing of 'Robert Berry' is very expressive, the guitar of 'Ian Chrichton' is luminous and 'Nigel Glockler' accompanies the whole in a beautiful way with many rhythmic changes. More muscular, 'The Arms of a Word' shows a hard rock side that fits well but it would be simplistic to keep only this side because this title also benefits from beautiful alternations of intensity and tempo, then, 'Can't Live Like This' returns to rock that takes us back a few decades, reminding me in some places of the style of 'Saga'. Follows the mid-tempo 'Obiliex' which is very catchy and which unfolds a very beautiful melody with a chorus that we want to repeat with 'Robert Berry' and 'Ian Crichton' offers us in this title a magnificent guitar solo , then, the short 'Only You Can Decide' is a delicious guitar/vocal duet which allows for a delicious acoustic break. Here we go again with 'Titans' which restarts the headbanging machine on a marked rhythm and in a joyful atmosphere, then, without transition, 'Outside Looking' In' is a cool title at the start which unfolds a slow tempo on which 'Ian Crichton' offers us electric guitar accompaniment playing cat and mouse with 'Robert Perry' and which gradually gains momentum by accelerating the rhythm to fall back into the finale as it began. The introduction of 'Spectre' suggests that we are going to go into muscular hard rock filled with saturated guitar riffs but takes a completely different turn after about 30 seconds in a more rock climate in which 'Ian Crichton' still does. wonders with his guitar, then, 'Sympathise', a bit in the same genre, continues on a catchy up-tempo with this time 'Ian Crichton' who gives us some riffs in the style of 'Eddie Van Halen', 'Robert Perry' providing two masterful vocal performances on these two titles and 'Nigel Glockler' doing the job by bringing a surgical strike to the first title and ensuring a fast rhythm on the second. More progressive, 'One Step' is the longest composition of the album and takes us for 8 dense and rich minutes with a break on the acoustic guitar in the middle of more energetic electric sections always with this groove which gives an irresistible desire to move to the rhythm of the music, the second part making me return to the first era of 'Genesis', then, 'The Mission' closes this very beautiful album with another melodic jewel which flirts again with the period of the beginning from the seventies and it's still 'Genesis' that comes to mind.
In summary, the trio 'SiX_By_SiX' offers us yet another very diverse progressive album which mixes different styles and different eras and which gets better listen after listen, each artist bringing their stone to the building, 'Robert Berry' with his remarkable vocal performances, 'Ian Crichton' with his multiple interventions on the guitar which illuminate each title and 'Nigel Glockler' with his always very precise typing which highlights this ability to adapt to the progressive style requiring numerous rhythmic changes... | |
