Nad Sylvan
The Regal Bastard

The vampire of the progressive rock genre returns with the concluding part of his vampire trilogy, the climactic conclusion to his story. The Regal Bastard is the name and like on the previous album Nad has enlisted the help of some very strong names like Hackett, Beggs, Govan, Reingold, D’Virgilio and many more. Once again the artwork is boring but this time the number of tracks is different, seven and two bonus tracks so one more or one less track than the previous album depending on how you look at it. I would rather listen than look though as it doesn’t look that fantastic, the previous album looked better and that wasn’t good, so what about this one?

Progressive rock similar to how it usually sounds, nothing too elaborate or fancy, some tracks are long some are short and the variation is okay. Good production, Nad sings okay but I think the use of guest musicians lifts the album more than Nad’s singing does. Not overly complex, think in style of bands like Genesis and that sort of bracket if you want to compare Nad’s music with something. It is relatively varied but also a tad on the long side with a little bit over 55 minutes of playing time, I think he could have cut away a few minutes from each of the longer songs.

Overall it is a good album, good songs and strong melodies. But it is also a bit stereotypical, like many progressive albums it isn’t really progressive in the regard that it is something that progress the style of music in a forward direction so I would describe this album as a little bit predictable. It is kind of like the predecessor in terms of just about anything so if you like that predecessor you will most likely enjoy this one as well – but chances are that if you enjoy the progressive rock genre with bands like Genesis, Hackett and that sort of thing, you will find this album most agreeable. I know I do but it doesn’t quite stand out, perhaps due to the lack of standout tracks.

The Regal Bastard is a very solid album with good tracks and no weaknesses other than perhaps the lack of fresh ideas. He ends his trilogy in the same way as he told it before so if you liked the previous parts of the trilogy you will like this one as well. The bastard Sylvan will not disappoint his fans, he delivers the same kind of stuff he has delivered before – this is a good alum but I am not sure it will make any major dent in the scrolls of progressive rock music.

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