Sanhedrin started out as far back as 1987 when bothers Sagi Barness (bass) and Aviv Barness (keyboards and saxophone) got exposed to the great progressive scene of the 70's. At first they were well known as a Camel cover band, but now the Israeli act is presenting their first album of original material.
Not knowing these guys are from Israel, I would have guessed they were from Europe or the States. They show no influences from their country and no traditional instruments were used either. On the other hand, the references to greats like Genesis, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd, Jethro Tull and Egg are scattered throughout this release. The good news is that Sanhedrin does not try to simply imitate those bands, but they can actually bring their own touch to the genre. I don't mean to say this is really original and never heard before type of progressive music, just that they are no copycat. One thing that sets them apart is the fact they are an instrumental act. I often found that prog bands had very talented musicians but bad singers; well here you have only talents across the board! Their take is actually more melodic than technical, so a great dose of harmonies has been injected into the songwriting and playing, of course. You can hear some references to jazz music in a couple spots like on: "Overture" and "Time Piece". In many circumstances, the Hammond organ is the leading instrument, along with the flute and guitar. The latter is not predominant perhaps and few distorted parts are included. Some Pink Floyd playing is present here and there such as in: "Il Tredici" and "Timepiece", as well as on the closing track, "Steam". The acoustic/classical guitars are making a few appearances, notably on "Tema" and on my overall favorite composition: "Dark Age". What I like about this one is the mixture of Medieval / Tull intro, with acoustic guitar and flute, versus the Egg meet ELP that follows.
Ever After is an album every progressive music fan should listen to and own, because they'll most likely enjoy its cool reminiscence to vintage prog rock.
Track listing:
1- Overture
2- Il Tredici
3- Dark Age
4- The Guillotine
5- Timepiece
6- Sobriety
7- Tema
8- Steam
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