Courting The Widow (2015, see review) and The Bride Said No (2017, see review) were both prog melodic masterpieces and both albums by Nad Sylvan ended high in my year top ten lists. Now, Sylvan releases The Regal Bastard, the last album of that very impressive vampire trilogy. What can I say about this album, which I have not already said in my reviews of the other two Sylvan albums? The Regal Bastard is again a musical delight and a feast for my delicate prog ears, although I must admit that I am a little bit disappointed as I find that this third vampire album is definitely too short, only 47 minutes! The music that Nad comes up with on this album is an almost perfect mix of prog, rock, pop, soul and R & B, featuring a very melodic touch to all the songs. Take for example the beautiful opener I Am The Sea, a true epic prog classic featuring astonishing vocals, great melodies and an extraordinary guitar solo by Guthrie Govan! Follow up Oahu is a song with lots of keyboards and an almost addictive chorus. However, the absolute highlight of the album is the more than 12 minutes long title track. The Regal Bastard is a wonderful orchestral epic with the vocals of Sylvan as the centre point and he even plays a marvellous guitar solo here, Ending track Honey I'm Home is a again very melodic and features a fairy-tale-like guitar solo by no one less than Steve Hackett. The Regal Bastard is great end of this trilogy and maybe one day Sylvan will perform these three albums on stage? That is something to really look forward to, till then we have to listen to these magnificent records over and over again. Great stuff indeed!!! **** Martien Koolen (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
