Enchant
A Blueprint of the World

The Enchant are a Californian prog band, formed towards the end of the '80s, with seven albums and a live disc already under their belt. “A Blueprint of the World”, released in 1993, is their debut album and probably their best work. The album is produced under the guidance of the maestro Steve Rothery, who also plays as a guest on a couple of tracks. However, the influence of Marillion is not very noticeable and, if you really want to point out some derivation, their sound is more akin to a cross between Rush (of Moving Pictures, to be clear) and a more technical AOR in the style of Asia. The result is nonetheless a progressive rock focused on melody, with long and elaborate tracks.

The instrumental passages are remarkable, but no instrument overshadows the others, which makes the sound blend decidedly pleasant. However, there are two slight flaws that, in my opinion, detract from this work: the volume of the drum parts is too high and the guitar distortions are too "clean" and not very incisive. It must be said, however, that these flaws do not overshadow the skill and inspiration of the two musicians in question. In fact, Doug Ott is an excellent guitarist who compensates in all other aspects. And the drummer Paul Craddick deserves particular praise for being very varied and creative, managing to keep even the most complex rhythms flowing. The singer Ted Leonard is another strong point of the group, with his romantic and almost never aggressive approach, his nasal voice and a warm timbre that plays on high pitches without overdoing the high notes. The keyboards lastly, always measured and never banal, favor crystalline sounds in pure 80s new prog style (Marillion, IQ).

The album consists of nine compositions. Perhaps the weakest is the opener “The Thirst”, which nonetheless highlights Leonard’s inspired singing. But Enchant also deliver tracks of great quality, such as the sweet and melancholic “Catharsis”, a mirror of the soul, alternating between soft and lyrical moments and a more rhythmic and catchy chorus, yet absolutely not trivial. “Oasis” is instead more aggressive and fast, driven by harder guitar riffs and interesting keyboard escapes. The fourth track “Acquaintance” is a romantic ballad, starting with a delicate guitar arpeggio that gains more dynamism in the brilliant refrain. The album proceeds with the instrumental “Mae Dae”, a nod to the aforementioned Rush, and the subsequent “At Death’s Door” and “East of Eden”, good pieces with interesting rhythmic ideas.

The two songs closing the album, “Nighttime Sky” and “Enchanted”, are the most elaborate and progressive of the lot, mixing refined instrumental escapes with characteristic melodic passages, in an impressive variety of sounds and moods. But the peculiarity of Enchant is precisely that of managing to make even technically complex and varied songs sound fresh and almost radio-friendly. Over the years, the group has always proposed more or less the same formula, improving their sound, but without major stylistic differences. The subsequent works are all appreciable, although probably the overall quality of this album has never been reached again.