The Edinburgh Suite
Apollon, 2022
8/10
The Norwegian Anders Buaas has an impressive resume that includes having been a touring guitarist for Paul DiAnno (Iron Maiden) and Tim Ripper Owens (Judas Priest) for many years before starting his own project, the instrumental entity The Witches of Finnmark.
On this very exploratory two track album, Buaas brings much skilled guitar playing to the unpredictable and flowing climate.
“The Edinburgh Suite Pt. 1 Old Town” leads the listen with warm guitar, playful banjo and crisp drumming across the 20 minutes of upbeat and progressive melodies that touches on jazz sensibilities, too.
“The Edinburgh Suite Pt. 2 New Town” exits the affair, and is a bit more spacey in nature, before bursting into thicker territory that weaves in and out of radiant, timeless prog-rock moments that can be a bit tense at times, too.
Buaas is joined by Marco Minnemann, Tony Franklin, Christian M. Berg and Richard Garcia, and together they continue an exceptional body of work that will appeal to all fans of prog-sounds, past and present.
Travels well with: Sleepyard- Head Values; Strange Horizon- Beyond The Strange Horizon