Elements Of Hope is the fourth album by the studio project Glorious Wolf led by composer/guitarist Ruud Dielen. It is a concept album, which tells the story of a child growing into an adult in a chaotic world. Multi-instrumentalist Dielen is assisted by Kike Paglia (drums), Tim Ros (bass guitar), Harrie Knapen (Hammond organ), Reg Parham (saxophone), and vocalists Frank van der Berg, Jyoti Verhoeff, and Ties van Diesen. The music of Glorious Wolf is mainly old school prog with influences from well-known prog giants, so in fact the music sounds rather familiar indeed. The album starts with the title track, an epic song divided into five parts, kicking off with an instrumental part and to me this epic song sounds rather dull, as musically speaking nothing "spectacular" happens. The title track is a classic rock meets prog rock song with even some fusion elements, especially in the last part, which features saxophone. Follow up If You Please is a far better track, as this instrumental one is a classic art noveau piece indeed, while Whirlwinds & Maelstroms is a 100% pure prog song, reminiscent of Led Zeppelin's Kashmir and that one even features a Hammond organ solo. Glorious Wolf ends this album with the dreamy, psychedelic Everything Must Break To Grow and here the slide guitar plays an important part indeed. Conclusion, after a rather mellow start Elements Of Hope evolves into a wonderful prog rock album, which is very enjoyable to listen to for sure. Listening tip: Whirlwinds & Maelstroms ***+ Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
