D'accorD: III

The 2009 self titled debut album from Norwegian traditional Prog five-piece D'accorD made an impressive mark on the SoT team, three of our number (myself included) awarding the album a mighty 4/5 score. The follow up, Helike, released two years later dipped slightly, with two 4's and a 3.5 score earned. The main difference between the two albums being the sheer scope and ambition of the follow up, with two tracks comprising the whole album and challenging the listener on a far more confrontational scale than what had come before. III takes a step back from that expansive approach and again decides to offer up short, more focused outings which prove easier to latch onto, while still, rightly, refusing to fall into the category marked, "accessible".

However don't think III is a rerun of the debut, for while what's on offer here does still sound like D'accorD and is still 100% Prog in its beliefs, there is a more Rock angle, with the likes of early, relaxed, Deep Purple sometimes used as a reference, Uriah Heep also easing into the equation. It isn't however a vast departure, with the strongest touching points remaining Genesis, Yes and through the flute work of Daniel Maage, Jethro Tull. Patience is also key here, D'accorD much more likely to build a theme and let it grow organically than they are to wade in all guns blazing and storm your stereo within seconds of encountering it.

All of III was recorded in analogue surrounds and, impressively on the first take, ensuring a genuinely 70s air permeates through the whole album and feels authentic rather than forced; the glorious pair of "Mon-Sat: Part I" and "…Part II" adding block upon block of Progressive goodness to stunning bursts of organ, flute, guitars, bass and drums. Don't expect nineteen time-changes a second, nor for that matter guitar bursts that sear or singe, or drums which thunder or roar. Instead this a band more interested in seducing and cajoling you into their way of thinking with an ethos from a day before the words Prog and Metal were even considered bedfellows, "These Last Todays" and "Mr.Moonlight" both all the more effective for being so.

Take your time with III and it will reveal itself as an album of intrigue and interest, even if vocalist (and guitarist, mandolin-man and flutist) Daniel Maage's voice may prove a very slightly acquired taste for some (although not me). For anyone who hankers after an authentic Prog album of the type Yes forgot about long ago, or that Genesis evolved out of decades back, then D'accorD have, in III, delivered their best album yet. It's something you'll cherish for a long time to come.

Track Listing
1. These Last Todays
2. Here Lies Greed
3. Lady Fabulous
4. Mr. Moonlight
5. Iblis In Bliss
6. Song For Jethro
7. Mon-Sat: Part 1
8. Mon-Sat: Part 2
Bonus Track
9. The Doom That Came To Sarnath (Analog version)

Added: June 15th 2014
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: D'accorD on facebook
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Language: english

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