An excitingly modern sounding take on the Prog genre.

The name of the record label releasing this album gives it away, yes it’s Prog, but an excitingly modern sounding take on the Prog genre. And with that in mind, you would expect it to be a band from one of the more renowned Countries for producing decent Rock music, but actually these guys are from Hungary, somewhat of a backwater when it comes to recognized bands. How many Hungarian bands can you name?

‘Without Saving’ is the third album from Everwood, but the first with the Progrock label, and the first with new singer Matyas Haraszti, and new bassist Sandor Kallai. The band were formed by keyboard player Attila Tanczer, and it’s his swirling keyboard textures that form the basis of the Everwood sound, integrated with the complex riffs and melodies of guitarist Ferenc Farkas, occasionally crushingly heavy, at other times subtly interwoven into the lush soundscapes. Although the song structures are intermittently complicated and intense, they are abundant with melody, making them infinitely more approachable.

One of the most surprising things is that a Hungarian singer can sing inventively thought-provoking lyrics in English without the merest trace of an accent, which greatly benefits the approachability of the overall style. ‘Rain’, ‘Never Trust A Snake’, ‘Experience This’ and ‘My Own Vision’ are perfect examples of the elaborately structured material on offer, but always acceptably concise, seldom lingering over the 5-minute mark, while the stirring ‘Free’ and serene string-laden ‘Quit Without Saving’ show a more subtle side to the Everwood framework.

The majority of Prog releases will inevitably draw comparisons to the likes of Dream Theater, Spock’s Beard and Symphony X, but the more contemporary progressive style also hints at Muse and the more recent Rush output. As to be expected with this genre of music it is definitely not an instant hit, it certainly requires some degree of time and effort, but it is unquestionably worth it to unearth something with the originality that this style of album yields.

Ant Heeks