Black Widow Records has always been the place to go if you like 70's inspired dark prog or heavy rock. The latest from veteran band Goad, a longtime underground prog act who have been around for many years, is called In the House of the Dark Shining Dreams. Hints of early King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator, and Genesis seep through each and every note on this CD (there's even a cover of Crimson's "21st Century Schizoid Man" and VDGG's "Killer"), led by the unique vocal style of Maurilio Rossi, who also plays a little bass, guitar, and keyboards (Moog, Mellotron, organ). The band throws in some violin, flute, sax, recorder, acoustic & electric guitar, and drums into the mix, giving the music a somewhat symphonic & jazzy prog sound, always dark and ominous however.
Overall, there's a lot of music to take in here, as most of the songs are lengthy, and the addition of the two cover songs pushes the CD to the 80 minute max. Highlights include the dramatic "Yet Another Battlefield", the creepy and doomy "Dark Virgin", and the dark, metallic "It's Always The Same Thing", which features some intense guitar work that almost approaches metal at times, as well as Rossi's bizarre vocal delivery. The dreamy "Springy" is one of the more lush and pastoral tracks on the CD, with calming vocals, swirling keyboards, and yearning guitar chords that remind of Steve Hackett.
The music of Italy's Goad is not going to be for everyone, but if you like very dark prog, and are willing to invest close to 80 minutes of your time, this release could be for you. Next time out, they might want to work on the production a bit, as it's really muddy in spots, but the band obviously has a lot of talent and sound pretty different from the norm, so this should be something to seek out if you like obscure underground prog.
Track Listing
- Intro
- Yet Another Battlefield
- Clapper's Beatin' Fast
- Dark Virgin
- Olympia
- Killer
- As Nothing Had Changed
- Dark Virgin 2
- Steep Path
- It's Always The Same Thing
- Springy
- 21st Century Schizoid Man
- Genius Of Europe
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