HALO BLIND – Occupying Forces (2014)

*

At long last, a British progressive rock band has put out an album to rival the fabulous stuff coming out of Eastern Europe and Scandinavia right now; HALO BLIND, and their record “Occupying Forces”.
And furthermore, it sets the bar at a new level for aspiring home grown Prog wannabes.

But Halo Blind is not your typical progressive band. Not at all.
Halo Blind born as Parade with which main man Chris Johnson started as a solo project after leaving Mostly Autumn, garnering the talents of Anne-Marie Helder (Panic Room) and Gavin Griffiths (Fish) to produce their debut album.
Following a change of name and the departure of Helder, Johnson has recruited ex-Seahorse Stuart Fletcher, Chris Farrell (The Yards) and Andy Knights (Chris Helme Band) to realise his new project, this fascinating “Occupying Forces”.
And it’s some project.

Combining all the elements that made British progressive rock the envy of the world – an understandable, relevant concept, uber-musicianship, exquisite songwriting and a thoroughly believable libretto – Halo Blind have delivered a work that is both staggeringly intense yet positively uplifting in equal measure.
Exploring the concept of the inner journey initiated by the death of a loved one and the need to make sense of the forces at work, both spiritual and pragmatic, that shape our responses to events over which we have no control – the album is both powerful and complex, yet completely accessible.

Kicking off the 14-track CD (mostly around the 4-minute mark) is the magnificent opener “Better?” with its nagging arpeggio guitar riff and unusual breakdown, it beggars the question ‘how is this going to get any better’?
The answer is – it doesn’t. What it does do is maintain that impossibly high standard right through to the beautiful piano fade-out of closer “Control”.
The musicianship and songwriting are exceptional – check out the melancholic and melodically expanded “Mirage”, the beautiful piano-led “The Puppet”, the captivating “Downpour” or the sheer class of “Coma” – anywhere you look there is an atmospheric, haunting beauty pervading the length and breadth of the work.

But, as I said before, Halo Blind is not your typical progressive band. And this is regarding their sonical approach.
The use of layering throughout “Occupying Forces” creates a dynamic soundscape, and that with a gradual build up of the sound coupled with distortion conveys the creeping sense of urgency and raw emotion on all songs.
Weaving a harmonic web throughout the album are the vocals of Chris Johnson and Andy Knights. Most notably on the tracks “Mirage” and “False Alarm” the carefully constructed harmonies both clash and compliment, in a way that can leave you feeling unsettled and secure all at once.
Musically, it’s diverse and expansive, combining several influences yet in a very personal way.
Despite being unable to summarise with one genre, Halo Blind’s new release is a fantastic example of creative, captivating songwriting. The emotional depth within the overall product is nothing short of beautiful.

I should conclude saying that “Occupying Forces” is not for everyone, but it is for everyone, for every music fan to discover something different, original, elegant, that escapes from the traditional patterns.
Halo Blind produces music of the new millennium, new, fresh and comparable to nothing heard before.
“Occupying Forces” is a significant album, not just as a throwback to the halcyon days of British progressive rock, but as a guiding template for how this sort of thing should be done.
If you do one thing today, open your ears to Halo Blind.
Astonishingly Good.

01 – Better?
02 – Revolutionary Soul
03 – Mirage
04 – Saturate
05 – Torrential
06 – Downpour
07 – End Of The First Side
08 – Brain Dog
09 – False Alarm
10 – The Puppet
11 – Smithereens
12 – Analogue
13 – Coma
14 – Control

Chris Johnson (Mostly Autumn, Fish): Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Andy Knights: Vocals, Guitars, Keys
Chris Farrell: Guitars, Mandolin
Stu Fletcher: Bass
Gavin Griffiths (Panic Room): Drums

BUY IT !
haloblind.com/shop
.