Special Providence - Will - 2017
“... top notch technical skills ...”
intro
When you listen to the music of Special Providence you often ask yourself; am I listening to progressive rock, jazz fusion or metal music. Well this question is also the answer, it is a fine melting pot of all these things. The question of labeling this band is in fact also a complement. The band has an unique style that is still under development. So it is not a surprise that the band found a home on the Electric Giant Pea label of the IQ boys. “Will” is their fifth album and the second one on the mentioned label. Are you ready for some virtuous played instrumental music?
line-up
Zsolt Kaltenecker - keyboards, electronics; Marton Kertesz - guitar; Attila Fehervari - bass; Adam Marko - drums
review
“Will” starts with electronic percussion with an African atmosphere in the opener “Akshaya Tritiya”. This piece could be categorized as jazz fusion with some mind blowing keyboard and guitar solo’s. The band mixed that virtuosity with some melodic moments. It is a fine opener. The next song “Irrelevant Connotations” has more influences from progressive metal. To play such high speed and complex compositions you have to be technically skilled. The challenge is of course to provide some diversity in the music to keep the listener’s attention. In “A Magnetic Moment” the band does this by putting some jazz fusion elements in the music. This works very well, I love those moments when the tempo of the music slows down a little bit. But often the band goes full throttle and as listener you have to keep your full attention. Because otherwise you will be overwhelmed by all this power and the technical skills of the boys.
The band themselves stated that the material on “Will” is the most progressive and heavy stuff they have ever done. Luckily the band provides in the title track “Will” some fine keyboard melodies. “Neptunian Pyramid Chill” is also a very fine song. The heavy metal guitar parts are not my thing but there is so much going on in their music. The rhythmic complexity and the amazing solo’s of this Hungarian Jazz Fusion Metal unit are often mind blowing. “Slow Spin” is one of my favorites with jazz fusion elements and amazing drum parts. You can also find some nice keyboard melodies in this song. In the opening of “The Rainmaker”, another personal favorite, the band slows down a little bit. For me a welcome rest point on this album. A song with the so needed diversity and some beautiful melodic atmospheres. With leaving the drum recordings until the end the band used a quite an unusual recording process. This way the music can be served better and it gives the drummer more perspective and freedom to find the best flow for the song.
“Mos Eisley” is also full of jazz fusion elements, great song with some amazing keyboard parts. This is followed by the longest (7:25) track of the album. The song is called “The Ancient Cosmic Bubble”. With it’s spacious synths, breathtaking guitar solo’s and melodic moments this is for me the highlight of the album. The album closes with a song called “Distant Knowledge”. A worthy ending of this album in which you can find again amazing drumwork and mind blowing guitar and synth parts. The last part of this composition is wonderful.
conclusion
Well what can I say, this is an overwhelming listening experience. The technical skills of the musicians are top notch. It is heavy and jazzy at the same time. When I saw the band performing in The Netherlands a few years ago on a festival it was almost to much for me. Luckily keyboard player Zsolt Kaltenecker is providing some melodic counterweight so that the heavy and complex music is more in balance and has enough diversity. As listener you are sometimes gasping for air. But if you take you time to listen carefully to this album a few times, it reveals it’s beauty. Like me, you will be impressed by “Will” of the Hungarian band Special Providence.