Short Reviews [Bastian Per - 2021 - "Way Back Home"]

This the first time I have come across this Argentinian progressive outfit, but this 2021 album was actually their second album, following on from 2019’s ‘Epic Journey’. The quintet of Mariano Barreiro (vocals), Sebastian Prosperi (guitars & vocals), Gabriel Kohout (keyboards), Martin Sokol (bass) and Maximiliano Cataldi (drums) even managed to get in Derek Sherinian to play on the closing track, somewhat cementing their place in the heavy prog and prog metal community. This is a concept album about today’s current humanitarian issues, and for the most part one would not realise that this release is from South America as the English is very good indeed with little in the way of accent. Musically they are firmly progressive rock throughout, but they do go through significantly different styles as they move through the album, which means that at times it can feel quite disjointed, and at one point I even checked to see if it was still their release as I felt it was so at odds with what had gone before. Taken on an individual level there is no doubt that there is some wonderful playing on here, particularly some amazing bass, and even though the keyboards are often very Eighties or Nineties in style and sound, there is a lot to take from this. However, I do feel that an outside producer may well have constrained some of their experiments and made it a more cohesive release throughout. When they go full out prog metal then this is a band in flight which has a great deal to offer, and the same must be said when they are more out of left field, it is just that all on one album it gets just a little too much. I do look forward to hearing more from them though, and if you want a band which is prepared to push the envelope then this may well be for you.