Magellan
Test of Wills

Here is another name in modern prog that doesn't receive the recognition it deserves: the Magellan, a U.S. duo composed of the Gardner brothers. And you may ask... why do they deserve a fair amount of attention? And I will answer that they deserve it because their musical offer is not the usual classic and stereotypical prog. Instead, they have a musical proposal that is quite varied and often delivers strokes of genius! Traditional prog elements are more or less present to a certain extent, but there's often a use of alternative solutions that can surprise the listener.

The album I'm about to review, "Test Of Wills" from 1997, is probably the album with the greatest stylistic variety and solutions. Each song has a different flavor and each one seems practically played by a different band. Magellan had already showcased all their creativity in the previous two albums, "Hour Of Restoration" and the immense "Impending Ascension," which offered an original neo-prog with '80s influences and strange pop-dance sounds marked by heavy use of electronic drums with a few small metal touches.

Now the sound is different but equally creative and original. More space is given to the guitar, often with a hard-rock/metal flair, whereas in the previous two albums, keyboards predominated significantly, and the drums are now real drums and not a drum machine, which I loved to hear on the previous two albums as it helped give a really distinct groove. The shift is towards a decisively mature hard-prog, yet it often gives rise to rather original and bewildering tracks.

The first two tracks, "Gamface" and "A Social Marginal", already show the change we just talked about (noteworthy is the drum intro of the second), offering two good examples of hard-prog, while the third, "Walk Fast, Look Worried", is an excellent acoustic and melodic track well accompanied by keyboards. From track number 4 onwards, there's a continuous succession of truly impeccable genius strokes, as already seen, for example, in "Test Of Wills", the title track, which is a very particular metal piece characterized by powerful guitars, '80s keyboards close to those of the previous two albums, a pacing almost always overwhelming to the point of making the listener feel inside a tornado, and above all, splendid trombone solos that might seem almost out of place yet make the song a true masterpiece (distorted guitars and trombone might seem like two irreconcilable elements, and yet...)!

After "Bully Pulpit (Part I)", characterized by great electronic experimentation, comes an intelligent "Jacko" with slightly classical and vaguely jazzy sounds, with that distinctive keyboard sound almost interpreting a synthesized piano and that expressive vocal tone that fits perfectly with everything, not to forget the flute interlude. The next two tracks, on the other hand, are about groove! "Crucible" and "Preaching The Converted" take up keyboards and synthesized sounds typically in '80s pop-dance style (in the first one, even some metal riffs) bringing them back to the solutions that repeatedly characterized the previous album. The closing, however, is entrusted to "Critical's Carnival", well introduced by a splendid flute that will appear again several times in the track, characterized by a more prog-metal approach well led by guitar and keyboards without the duo losing their imagination and creativity!

I don't know whether to call it better or worse than the previous two, which are also masterpieces, but I still reaffirm my opinion: underrated band that sees its best period in these '90s in terms of ideas and inspiration, although in subsequent albums, surprising moments continued to appear. Recommended for anyone looking for a varied and creative album that doesn't bore!