{"id":9163,"date":"2023-08-25T11:11:55","date_gmt":"2023-08-25T09:11:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/?p=9163"},"modified":"2025-11-30T11:49:30","modified_gmt":"2025-11-30T10:49:30","slug":"the-mighty-bard-beyond-the-gate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kessel-tamerus.nl\/Esthers_Blog\/cd-recensie\/the-mighty-bard-beyond-the-gate\/","title":{"rendered":"The Mighty Bard \u2013 Beyond The Gate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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English prog band ‘The Mighty Bard’ has been around for about 19 years. Their debut album ‘Blue God and Other Stories’ (2014) received rave reviews. ‘Beyond the Gate’ is their second album. On it, the mystery and wonder of the mystical world are brought to life. Because the band signed with the label Epictronic, you can pre-order not only the CD but also the vinyl. If you don’t want to wait that long, you can already buy the digital version now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The title track starts softly, with the ringing of a church bell and bird sounds, this slowly gets a little louder. You might have to get used to new singer Benj’s own sound of voice. The intro of ‘Magician’ is catchy. There is a fairly gradual transition to a quieter part. There are nice changes and details in the music, such as stacked vocals. The somewhat heavier and\/or up-tempo pieces are mostly instrumental. This keeps vocals and music in balance. In a quieter part, there are acoustic guitar sounds. The layers of the music are nicely spread over the headphones. The frivolous details of the violin come into their own just fine. In certain parts, the drumming is tight, but always in service of it all. The sudden ending is well chosen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the beginning of’ Guarded Secret’, some of the music lacks some warmth. In the high notes, the vocals become a bit sharp. In the lower notes, Benj’s voice is warmer. At times, there are quite a lot of layers in the music. This proggy epic has many twists and turns and various styles. There are beautiful, extended instrumental parts. It does take some time before you get to know this well-constructed track a bit. The solo vocals are surprising. The build-up to the end is nicely extended.
‘Illusion’ starts with sampling of seabirds and water, among other things. The music and vocals that join it later are suitably calm. Woven into this calm are “secretly” quite a lot of details. ‘Compound The Problem’ starts with a short piece of sampling, followed by a pleasantly extended instrumental section. The balance between the highs and lows is good. Vocals and music remain in balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of singing birds, suits the intro of ‘Secret Garden’. The music is quiet at first, then the tempo speeds up a little. Once again, the drumming stands out positively. The electronic aspect of the keys comes to the fore. The violin playing merges nicely with the rest of the music. This epic also has many twists and turns, but the flow remains pleasant throughout. The build-up to the end, helped by the sparkling piano sounds, is beautiful. Though the dying away last note could have been just a little longer.
‘Last Orders’ begins with the sound of people murmuring, followed by melancholic piano playing, among other things. The “strings” meld nicely with vocals and piano. These quieter pieces alternate with rousing sections. The transition to a minimalist piece is beautiful. It remains minimalist until the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Usually the sampling is only at the beginning of the tracks. Not everywhere the added value is immediately felt. The background vocals are sometimes a bit sweet. Certain piano sounds lack some warmth. At other times, the piano playing has a nice timbre. There are few pieces where certain instruments come to the fore, mostly everything melts together nicely. But you do hear them, as does (bass) guitar. Newcomer Tom Mear’s drumming is very good. Despite having many layers, details and twists at times, everything listens surprisingly easily. At times, it is almost unnoticeable that it is quite complex.

(82\/100) (Epictronic<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Social media<\/strong>:
Website: The Mighty Bard <\/a>
Facebook: The Mighty Bard<\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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