A well-crafted, sublime piece of music, embedded in Classic Hard Rock aesthetics with noticeable influences of Progressive Rock, Folk Rock and Blues.
With the second album in their discography, there has been some changes in the formula pursued by the British/Croatian duo of the guitarist Will Wallner and the singer Vivien Vain. Instead of a star-studded recording line-up, they chose to limit the guest participations to only a few but kept the standards pretty high with the likes of Carmine Appice, his brother Vinny, Tony Franklin and Don Airey coming on board. The majority of the music was performed by them alongside the regular rhythm section comprised of drummer Giovanni Durst and bassist Bjorn Englen (DIO Disciples, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen). In spite of all those modulations, their influences reminded more or less the same music-wise and that's why their sophomore effort 'The Battle Of Clyst Heath' is neither different, nor worse than their debut album.
The synth-laden intro to the opening track takes you right back to the 1980s era – as soon as you recognize it to be a guitar rendition of the theme song to 1982 classic 'Blade Runner'. It's a mighty instrumental piece with a distinctively Neo Classical vibe to it; a very good start. 'The Wars Of The Roses', with its historical background and monumental, marching sound embroidered with the slightly Folk-ish flavours, gravitates towards the style eagerly utilized by Gary Moore in his mid-eighties "Rock" phase. Pulsating rhythm section work drives a feisty slice of Progressive-infused Rock entitled 'Visions Of Home'.
Its follow-ups 'Eye Of The Storm' and 'Black Moon' continue in the same manner, the former embroidered with particularly rich lead guitar work and the latter featuring a splendid guest participation of Blue Murder (now Rated X)'s rhythm section Carmine Appice and Tony Franklin. 'You Won't Take Me Alive' electrifies with its raw groove and expressive vocals, somewhat contrasted with the monumental, epic vibe of the title track. This one's next-to-last on the album, preceding the final song – Wallner's interpretation of Gary Moore's classic 'The Loner' (featuring Moore's former band mates Don Airey, Neil Murray and Vinny Appice as guests).
'The Battle Of Clyst Heath' is a well-crafted, sublime piece of music, embedded in Classic Hard Rock aesthetics with noticeable influences of Progressive Rock, Folk Rock and Blues. It portrays the duo of Wallner and Vain bravely continuing the legacy their great predecessors left them with, drawing inspirations from the likes of Rainbow, Thin Lizzy, Deep Purple and Gary Moore. Still, it's more of an appropriate vehicle for expression for them than a rip-off of the old patterns, and there's also this feisty, expressive element in the music that nevertheless keeps it fresh and unique. A very good album and the one worth being checked out.
Alexandra Mrozowska
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