CRYSTAL PALACE – Still There (2022)
German act CRYSTAL PALACE are one of the many bands that have been around long enough to merit a description as veterans. This 4-piece has been an ongoing venture for 30 years at this point, and in the last few years it would appear that they have started to gain more recognition as well. “Still There” is their ninth studio production which, by and large, is excellent Neo Prog of the Germanic variety.
The new album sees them with a more melodic/streamlined sound than on previous offerings. The usual ingredients are all there, refined instrumental passages and time changes, but what I find very palatable about this album is the emphasis on melody. This is something that a lot of Prog bands seem to forget about these days whilst noodling along endlessly.
With their influences liberally sprinkled throughout the album, think early Dream Theater in places as well as Steven Wilson, with a smidgen of 1990’s QueensrÓ±che thrown in for good measure. This is anything but an album that sounds derivative of these bands though…
