Style: Progressive Rock, Trad Prog, Neo-Prog, AOR (clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Dream Theater, Threshold, Porcupine Tree, Arena, Spock’s Beard
Review by: Christopher
Country: Utah, USA
Release date: 6 October, 2023
A Cell to Call Home, a concept album about “love, dependency and loss” told via a character overcoming addiction, is the third album from Utah outfit Advent Horizon, whose sound sits dead between that of Dream Theater and Porcupine Tree; fun riffs, catchy vocal hooks, synth and guitar solos out the wazoo, and yet a more contemplative, melancholic prog rock sensibility underneath it all. To top it all off, they’ve got Jens Bogren producing—if you go through my favourite albums, the number that Bogren has mixed his magic on is staggering. We’re off to a good start.
“Water” opens complex vocal harmonies, prominent bass and judicious piano work, all reminiscent of The Mountain-era Haken, and they even throw a blast beat under a section of this melodic track for good measure. Meanwhile, the lively solo section on “How Did It Get So Good?” sees dueling guitar and synth solos play over a disorienting, cycling riff. Followed up by tracks like “Your Flaws”, which features countryish chords and a lovely guest vocal performance from Kristen McDonald, and “Truth”, which sees McDonald stays on for a more powerful performance over a pretty massive riff, A Cell to Call Home seems a promising and versatile album.
And then things turn a bit… dad prog? With each new track Advent Horizon soften, the harder trad prog edges being worn away by neo-prog sentimentality. Now, that’s no bad thing, I like a good injection of neo-prog, but Advent Horizon’s take on this is particularly saccharine: generic verse and chorus melodies and rather cliched lyrics enlivened here and there by some pretty staggering instrumental passages.
As Advent Horizon mine this vein for more, it yields less. “Rain On Open Water” comes off sounding like a second-rate Journey track, and “Calling It Off” is rather uninspired until Jordan Rudess—who seemingly goes around high on espresso kicking in the doors of recording studios to force keyboard solos on unsuspecting underground prog rock groups—comes along to provide a characteristically insane synth solo over a far more dynamic bridge section. These tracks, and others, like “Maybe”, “Control”, and “Hold Me” suffer from a surfeit of uninspired writing, elevated by a sax spot here, a frenetic instrumental passage there.
While I like Rylee McDonald’s voice which, perhaps unsurprisingly, is like a mix of LaBrie and Wilson, he sticks to pop melodies that are far too safe; by the back half of the record none of the hooks are sticking—as often as a cool riff or solo would pull me in, a cheesy lyric or saccharine melody would push me out again. I found the songs evoking the most terribly trite music videos in my mind’s eye, of people in convertibles coming to terms with things against a backdrop of flags, gas stations and canyons. Perhaps a cynical Brit like myself is just a bad fit for such distinctly Mountain State mawkishness, but I preferred the earlier bite of A Cell Call to Home to its later toothlessness.
With strong performances, crystalline production, and a buttload of sincerity, Advent Horizon have charm and talent to spare but fall into a quagmire of soft rock cliches, ultimately making A Cell to Call Home over reliant on slow, schmaltzy tracks that undermine the strength of the more gripping songs and the proficiency of the musicians. Maybe my tolerance for neo-prog only extends so far, but certainly if you enjoy the softer vibe of the genre you’ll find plenty to love here.
Recommended tracks: How Did It Get So Good?, Truth, Water
You may also like: Mile Marker Zero, Ring of Gyges, Hyco, Southern Empire
Final verdict: 6.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube | Twitter
Label: Independent
Advent Horizon is:
– Rylee McDonald (vocals, guitars, keys)
– Mike Lofgreen (drums, percussion)
– Cason Wood (bass, keys, trombone)
– Grant Matheson (guitar, keys, vocals)
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