Nathan Mahl, one of Canada's best kept secrets, proudly moves back to fusion territory with the stylish Shadows Unbound. After the Heretik trilogy, a successful progressive rock concept extravaganza, Guy LeBlanc and company change gears a bit and move back toward the more jazzy yet complex sounds of their early years. Not surprisingly, the band now consists of most of the original line-up as well.
This release features a few tunes off of 1998's Clever Use of Shadows, a terrific album which apparently LeBlanc felt could have been better, hence the re-recording here of three songs, plus five new ones. "Without Words", "Beyond the Rims of Despair" and "A Call to Arms" are all, surprisingly to this reviewer, injected with new life on this CD. Who would have thought these songs could be presented in a finer fashion? LeBlanc's bubbling synths and Spenard's raging guitar work on "Beyond the Rims of Despair" are especially mind-blowing. I for one think that LeBlanc really fits well with guitarist Mark Spenard, the bands original guitarist who rejoined for the Heretik albums, more so than Jose Bergeron, although he is a fine guitarist as well. The title track is a wonderful Gentle Giant inspired romp, with symphonic keys, wistful recorders (all courtesy of LeBlanc), searing guitars, and the majestic vocals of Jean-Pierre Ranger. The jazz/funk of "Scumsucking Parasites" instantly brings to mind the glory days of Return to Forever, with LeBlanc playing the Chick Corea role to perfection. What this guy does with his arsenal of Moogs, Hammond, Korg synths, Clavinet, and Fender Rhodes is truly astounding. A proggy, yet gentle vibe can be heard on "Misleading Agenda", one of the CD's other vocal pieces, again featuring some incredible melodic keyboard solos from LeBlanc, plus nimble bass and V-drum fills from Don Prince and Dan Lacasse.
Nathan Mahl continues to be one of prog's busiest and most impressive bands. Even though LeBlanc has been putting time in with European legends Camel, he still manages to take this band to new heights. Recommended!
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