HARDWARES

Preceded by two demos, Hinterland is the purely prog debut from this Norwegian act, a record of much beauty, five years in the making. Hinterland is of a relentlessly authentic progressive rock style most metalheads can appreciate, if purely for the playing and layering and texturing and emphasis on old school instruments. I mean, keyboardist Lars Fredrik Froislie lists 15 instruments under his domain, and it’s interesting – as an Opeth fan – to pick them out and nod, ‘Yes, yes, Mikael would approve.’ First bands that come to mind would be ELP, PFM, Jane and Greenslade, but Camel is also a touchstone, as is early Genesis – not so much Yes – as well as classic King Crimson, given the band’s swirling structures around strange time signatures and general darkness of nature (even though the band is shot standing in snow).