Knight Area: Hyperdrive

Knight Area are nothing if not consistent. 2011's Nine Paths rated four stars here at SoT, as did 2008's Realm of Shadows as indeed did 2007's Under A New Sign . The Sun Also Rises also gained a big four star rating from our esteemed publisher in 2004 so no pressure there then on the shoulders of Hyperdrive. With Arjen Lucassen (Ayreon, Star One) onboard to participate as a special guest alongside Joost van den Broek, best known for his production work with Epica, Mayan, and After Forever, who mixed the album the portents were always going to be good.

Mark Smit / vocals, Gerben Klazinga / keyboards, Pieter van Hoorn / drums, Peter Vink / bass and taurus pedals in cahoots with Mark Bogert / guitars have produced what I would suggest is a slightly more immediate album than usual. "Afraid of the Dark" is one of the more straightforward hard (ish) rocking melodic tracks this set of Dutchmen has produced. I fact, in terms of song length the band seem to be more focused and concise than ever. It's very easy to fall into the, "if you like Marillion, you'll like this," cliché but I'm going to dive head first into that trap. MVP is keyboard player Gerben Klazinga whose work throughout is astounding especially on "Bubble". "Avenue of Broken Dreams" and "Running Away" hint at an effort to edge slightly more towards the mainstream but without sacrificing the prog tendencies which the band have become (within reason)famous for. Four more stars methinks!

Track Listing:
1. Afraid of the Dark
2. The Lost World
3. Bubble
4. This Day
5. Crimson Skies
6. Avenue of Broken Dreams
7. Living in Confusion
8. Stepping Out
9. Running Away
10. Songs From the Past
11. Hypnotized

Added: November 29th 2014
Reviewer: Simon Bray
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 2345
Language: english

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