It is necessary to alert readers of the latest album from Helsinki group OVERHEAD. It is creating quite a stir in prog circles with influences cited by reviewers including a lot of different prog and classic pop/ rock artists; a good diversification from a band whose 1999 debut was compared to GENESIS, KING CRIMSON, PINK FLOYD and DREAM THEATER.
It is perhaps not the cheeriest way to start an album with a track called ‘The War to End All Wars’, but this is serious prog in the classic tradition addressing big issues like the pandemic, Ukraine and less specific ones like ideology, pollution and destruction. “It doesn’t seem appropriate to write happy songs when we live in times like these,” is the band view.
The band’s lyricist is Alex Keskitalo, who also plays flute which is most important to the band’s sound. The insightful words, “We make ruptures in the fabric of time and space, but we’ll never change the human race” really grabbed me. The almost 13 minute long ‘Ghosts from the Future’ has some strident flute and exotic eastern keyboard playing.
This review gives you just a little flavour of what to expect and the whole album can be listened to on BANDCAMP. Suffice to say it has the ideal combination of complexity and hooks/ melodies that all great prog albums should have. There are a variety of options for buying the physical album and a wide selection of T-shirts for fans.
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