Nine Stones Close – Adventures In Anhedonia
Nine Stones Close – Adventures In Anhedonia
FREIA Music
Release Date: 07/11/2024
Running Time: 45:07
Review by Beth Morait
8/10
The meandering melodies and philosophical interpretation of life found in certain avenues of Progressive Rock are things that I find incredibly pleasing, and relatable. So, every time we get an album submission that’s billed as ‘Prog’ I like to give it a few minutes of my attention, to see if it’s ‘my sort of Prog.’ And it’s in this way that I happened upon the new album from multi-national Prog Rock band, Nine Stones Close.
They’re a completely new name to me, however, reading their biography I’ve discovered they’ve been around for a while. And following an evolution which included a few line-up changes (with members going, then returning mostly) and a period of hiatus, this year has seen the band release two albums. Their latest release,“Adventures In Anhedonia”, explores, as so many albums do currently, mental health, and in particular how modern life impacts it.
The band’s sound is very atmospheric and cinematic. Frontman Adrian Jones’ vocals remind me a lot of Evergrey’s Tom Englund, but sat above instrumentation that has the feel of a more modern Pink Floyd, with added film-score ambience.
The album has a very melancholy feel to it, being mostly written in a minor key, which is fitting for the subject matter. The exception to this is a short track called ‘The Moment I Stopped Caring’. I wonder if there’s some deep meaning in that. If this track is symbolic of that brief period of clarity one can experience, where you’re not necessarily happy, you’re just seeing things correctly, and even in the absence of happiness, you feel calm…
The clever use of synth and ambience also create an underlying sense of impending doom, and foreboding throughout the album, by building layers of instruments in songs such as ‘Landwaster’. And it’s through this that you can appreciate the talent and maturity of both the writing, and musicians in this band.
This is proper Prog. If you’re wanting any up-tempo crowd pleasers, then move along as you won’t find them here. But if you want to listen to an album that is as peaceful as it is painful, which soothes you musically, while exploring harsh reality vocally, then this is worth your attention.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Beach Walker
02. Anhedonia
03. Binary
04. The Mind
05. Walk Towards The Sun
06. Landwaster
07. The Moment I Stopped Caring
08. Hole
09. Plastic Animals
LINE-UP:
Adrian Jones – Guitars, Bass, Keyboards, Vocals
Pieter Van Hoorn – Drums and Percussion
Christiaan Bruin – Keyboards
Adrian “Aio” O’Shaughnessy – Vocals
Lars Spijkervet – Drums
Joachim van Praag – Bass
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Beth Morait and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.
