It was back in 2020 when I first came across the music of the Italian progressive rock band The Ikan Method. I was flabbergasted by the high musicianship on their debut album Blue Sun (see review). The album let us hear a progressive rock band which sounds like a blend between 80s/90s style IQ and Marillion. But instead of copying the two bands they create their own modern interpretation. The Ikan Method is founded by Luca Grosso, known from Narrow Pass and The Rome Pro(g)ject, on which he played drums. The idea behind The Ikan Method was that it would be a project. When you take a look at the line-up of their second album Perfect Tyranny there aren't that many changes. The biggest swap took place within the guitar position. Further on it is business as usual.The result is that the new album follows the line of the debut album. Personally, I don't find that a punishment. In fact, I'm happy with the fact that the band has simply continued their idiosyncratic playing style. Having said all that, it's time to dive into the album. The Ikan Method has the following line-up on the Perfect Tyranny album: Luca Grosso (drums), Giolio Smeragliuolo (guitars), Davide Garbarino (vocals), Fabio Zunino (bass), Andrea Protopapa (keyboards). There are also two guest musicians playing on this album: Piergiorgio Abba (keyboards on Just A Matter Of Time) and Giacomo Grosso (flute on Perfect Tyranny). The album opens with the track Enemy Within, where a classical piano intro changes into a dragging low-tempo track. Sometimes the tempo increases a bit, sometimes the band falls back on a more classical theme, in short, this song is immediately a rollercoaster of all kinds of atmospheres. The tone is set. By the way, Davide Garbarino is already in top form in the first song. His voice is quite unique in my opinion. He reminds me a lot of the voice of Peter Nicholls, the singer of IQ. In fact, I think that The Ikan Method can be seen as the Italian IQ. I already drew this conclusion in the review of their debut album. More about this later in this review. Different Worlds is the second track of this album. The song goes into a slightly higher gear and is more accessible than its predecessor. For the chorus there is a nice "sing-along". The sting is in the tail of the song, closing guitar solo is close to shredding and sounds like the proverbial bell. In the third song 1984 the guitar work that ended the previous track continues. This high-flown guitar work continues for seven and a half minutes, which is the end of the song. Giolio Smeragliuolo proves that he is a first class guitarist. The keyboards are also prominently present in this song. Several layers of 80s keyboard sounds cut like a knife through the song. Almost all parts are solo-like parts and I must confess that, as someone who grew up in the 80s, the nostalgic feeling is really touched by these type of sound. In short, 1984 is an instrumental track and it shows that The Ikan Method has very talented musicians. It is a great song to listen to and it's a song that every once in a while is played in the repeat mode. The album continues with the track Nothing. The mid-tempo track to me sounds IQ-like. The vocals are in the foreground in this song. In the background you hear a wall of guitars and keyboards. Every now and then a step is taken to the side and a keyboard solo follows, which is then alternated with a fat guitar solo. These are song structures that you also encounter with IQ. Nevertheless, The Ikan Method has developed its own sound and therefore does not sound like a copy. With 11 minutes the title track Perfect Tyranny is the longest song of the album. We're halfway through the album now, and so far I'm in a kind of jubilation. The tracks starts low-tempo. Interesting are the chord progressions, they create a more or less dark- and psychedelic atmosphere. It reminds me of IQ in their early days. The end section of the title track goes into up-tempo. The fast double bass drum lifts the track up to next level. But the main rule is and remains: melody above all. Hero For A Day opens with Yes-like keyboards and -choirs. Actually, you could say that the whole track has Yes-traits. The song is a bit more mainstream than the rest. The chorus is catchy and Davide Garbarino's voice comes close to Jon Anderson in terms of pitch. At the end of this track there is another fantastic guitar solo, which is partly played in shred mode. The album continues with Tell Me The Truth. The song opens with a short classical string intermezzo and then goes into a rollercoaster of atmospheres that are partly created by tempo changes. The Ikan Method proves time and again that musicianship is in their DNA. Personally, I think this song is one of the best on the album. With The Flood we slowly move towards the end of this album. The song continues in a constant flow. Yet the flow is not as constant as I want everyone to believe. Here and there it is interrupted by wonderfully beautiful vocal harmonies. The Ikan Method knows like no other how to write tracks that, besides musical perfection, have tension, depth and lyrics that matter. Just A Matter Of Time is the penultimate track on the album. The track is mid-tempo and has further on no real surprises, until Giolio Smeragliuolo's guitar is cranking up for the solos. The solos in this track are really killer. I think that the progressive rock scene has acquired a new brilliant guitar player. The album ends with the 3 minute instrumental track Soul Damage. The track breathes rather heavy and solid progressive rock. It reminds me of Arena. The atmosphere has some positive tension and the guitar solo is very melodic. It's a worthy ending to this fantastic album. After you've delivered an outstanding debut album it is quite a challenge to record a successor that is at least as good or even better. The Ikan Method faced this challenge and delivered an album with a distinguish, recognizable sound. For people who need some reference frame, I think you can say that The Ikan Method has especially some influences from bands as Yes and IQ. The band blends these influences into something rather unique, The Ikan Method sound. Personal I think this band has managed to add something new to the progressive rock scene. With new I don't mean a complete new subgenre or something like that. With new I mean a new flavor, a flavor that isn't a copy of something existing. Personally I really like this band. I have to admit that I have a weak spot for Italian progressive rock bands. Some of them, as we all know, have singers with a terrible accent. Davide Garbarino, The Ikan Method vocalist, doesn't have an accent and if you like his vocal style it's a really great singer. The Ikan Method had a line-up change between their two albums. Especially their new guitarist, Giolio Smeragliuolo, seems a revelation to me. He gives the band extra energy, especially when he starts shredding in a very melodic way. This gives most of the tracks so much extra momentum. After all this said, for me there is only one rating possible: 5 out of 5! Perfect Tyranny is a brilliant album. ***** Aad Bannink (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
