Wings of Steel
Homesick

This is a Dutch trio (!) dedicated to a melodic (moderately) progressive rock. In action, we have a drummer who plays "richly" in the progressive manner and sings as well, a guitarist-composer who is intensely melodic and convincing, and finally a bassist who also handles the necessary bits of piano and keyboard sounds. Before leaving the good scene, they managed to release two albums: this is the debut from 1992, while their farewell work (alas, for them) is from 1995 and is titled "Face the Truth."

Why are they so good? Because they have the talent to compose. Varied, balanced tracks, sometimes very engaging with their melodic, harmonic, and arrangement finds. The voice is certainly not exceptional, in fact, it's a little understated, but in the long run, it becomes very distinctive, and at that point, it's nice to know it's there.

Of the opener "Trees of Stone", I love the chorus to death, very poignant and entirely different in tone, melody, and sound from the verses. Moreover, infested with mellotron, in the old style! Its instrumental part, instead, is a tight bass-guitar-drums trio à la Rush, without the power and virtuoso sparkle of the masters, of course.

"Living on a Dream" rolls in its limping drum rhythm, again with a vague Rush flavor due to that bass playing precisely inside the kick drum and those "Canadian" hi-hat passages. "Too Many People", on the other hand, opens with a very IQ-style guitar and rhythm figure; continuous changes of tempo and atmosphere follow one another, making it a true mini-suite (almost seven minutes, in fact), but nothing sensational happens, pleasure reigns without ever touching genius.

"On Your Own" stands out for an arpeggio heard somewhere before, but very well sculpted, which supports the song at a slow and lyrical rhythm, with a couple of excellent harmonic finds. The guitar soaked in chorus does its duty, even in the solo definable as respectfully Frippian, which sends the track tumbling into the next "Crazy World", cheerfully enlivened by odd times here and there; the vocal part, however, is flat and forgettable… too bad the riff à la Steve Hackett was cool.

"The Unborn Child" features an initial fanfare of overdubbed guitars, but then the rhythm starts resolutely again in the IQ style; the initial chords are lovely, then the song gets lost in new-progressive trifles. In contrast, "Narrow Minded" appears beautifully lyrical, enriched by the initial work of classical guitar and flute, preluding a melancholic and folkish singing, quite suggestive: perhaps the best of the bunch; the final solo is unsettlingly Hackettesque, truly beautiful, for those who have Genesis enzymes in their blood.

More acoustic environments for "Make It Alone", maintained throughout. The voice of Van Vattelapesc… well, the drummer, here manages to suggest serenely and warmly. Ready to return more sonorous and decisive on "Running on the Edge": the melodies of Wings of Steel have this suspended, atmospheric, ancestral quality, heartbreakingly satisfying. It's nice how the guitar riff breaks the atmosphere that then recomposes just as the voice regains the center of the musical landscape.

The closing "Surrounded", another mini suite, is also the longest track on the work, though only slightly. It consists of a succession of progressive odd rhythms and more linear vocal parts, somewhat heard before but still very pleasant. Another lovely Hackettian solo: great sound.

A very pleasant trimmed-down progressive album, with almost all tracks around six minutes, neither simple nor sprawling. And the subsequent, final album of this not-too-fortunate formation is even more essential. I like both a lot.