Heaven of Echoes
The Indifferent Stars

Heaven of Echoes is a creation of Paul Sadler of the band Spires and Andreas Hack known as the guitarist of the band Frequency Drift. They have set out to make a layered progressive rock album that is a unique cinematic, gothic, and truly progressive album that is accessible despite the many complexities – at least that is what I read in the press sheet. But is that really what we get to hear from the six tracks, considering that I read similar things about almost any progressive album I write about.

It is an atmospheric album this The Indifferent Stars, and the cover illustrates well what we get to hear. It is pretty dark atmospheres but with seeds of hope trying to escape a burning world, it is progressive rock told in a theatrical manner. Fresh and strong soundscapes, a good production and generally quite sensible in terms of variation and playing time. It is an album with good depth, and a relatively dynamic sound giving it a sense of longevity – it stands up well for extended listening. They do however, fall into the trap that so many progressive bands fall into – that with endless tracks, it ends with a twelve minute “epic” that is more of an epic boredom than an epic adventure.

So, the ending is a misstep that could have been rectified by cutting away half of that song. Other than that, there is nothing negative, and the track that I find to be saddeningly long isn’t really that shabby either, but the album would be better without it – something that you easily can accomplish nowadays if you get it in the digital format. The five opening tracks on this album are both atmospheric and good, quite accessible yet with a good sense of depth and complexity – not something easily achieved for a music creator. Original? Perhaps a little, I would say that they can be considered quite fresh despite not really reinventing anything.

This album should be interesting for most, it presses most of the right buttons and it is quite enjoyable to listen to. It is both accessible and complex, it is an album I recommend you to have a closer look and I doubt you will regret it.

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