Kepler Ten
Delta-v
White Star Records
2017
Kepler Ten is a new band from the UK, which was formed in 2014 and likes to blend various music styles together. “Delta-v” is their debut release and the fact that the album is very mature, well-crafted and complete is amazing. I’d bet that this band has been around for a decade or so, but ya never know huh?!
The driving forces behind Kepler Ten are three multi-instrumentalists, James Durand on vocals, bass & keyboards, Richie Cahill on guitars, synths & bass pedals and Steve Hales on drums, percussion & keyboards. These three guys work together like a well-oiled machine. Moreover, the music variety on the album is another strong point the band has. The way they deliver the wonderful soundscapes and the melodies is really remarkable. Every track has something different to offer. Rock, pop/rock, prog rock, atmospheric, acoustic & melodic music along with a few electronic passages is one way to describe the music amalgam of this album. The other and better way is to sit back and enjoy every track of the album. The production is clear and lush. The album was mixed and mastered by John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot).
Kepler Ten is a gifted trio that knows exactly how to deliver qualitative, yet melodic and progressive music without repeating themselves and becoming tiresome at any point. James voice brought the mighty Biff Byford in mind at times and that’s a good thing on the whole. “Time and Tide” is the catchiest track here… the hit of the album, one might say. Then again, tracks like “The Stone”, “In the Sere and Yellow” and “The Shallows” are also catchy & refined. “Swallowtail” is another winner on the album. A very emotional & atmospheric (kinda) acoustic song on the whole. The opener “Ultraviolet” and the closer “Red Skies Rise” are the longest tracks on the album, with the latter being the longest of all. “Ultraviolet” is a melodic prog rock track that flirts with prog metal at times and it’s very tasteful at large. “Red Skies Rise” is a bit more “complex”, progy & atmospheric with several changes on the pace. Concluding, I must say that “Delta-v” is an enthralling debut album by a budding British band that has so much more to offer to melodic prog rock music over the next years…
The driving forces behind Kepler Ten are three multi-instrumentalists, James Durand on vocals, bass & keyboards, Richie Cahill on guitars, synths & bass pedals and Steve Hales on drums, percussion & keyboards. These three guys work together like a well-oiled machine. Moreover, the music variety on the album is another strong point the band has. The way they deliver the wonderful soundscapes and the melodies is really remarkable. Every track has something different to offer. Rock, pop/rock, prog rock, atmospheric, acoustic & melodic music along with a few electronic passages is one way to describe the music amalgam of this album. The other and better way is to sit back and enjoy every track of the album. The production is clear and lush. The album was mixed and mastered by John Mitchell (It Bites, Frost*, Lonely Robot).
Kepler Ten is a gifted trio that knows exactly how to deliver qualitative, yet melodic and progressive music without repeating themselves and becoming tiresome at any point. James voice brought the mighty Biff Byford in mind at times and that’s a good thing on the whole. “Time and Tide” is the catchiest track here… the hit of the album, one might say. Then again, tracks like “The Stone”, “In the Sere and Yellow” and “The Shallows” are also catchy & refined. “Swallowtail” is another winner on the album. A very emotional & atmospheric (kinda) acoustic song on the whole. The opener “Ultraviolet” and the closer “Red Skies Rise” are the longest tracks on the album, with the latter being the longest of all. “Ultraviolet” is a melodic prog rock track that flirts with prog metal at times and it’s very tasteful at large. “Red Skies Rise” is a bit more “complex”, progy & atmospheric with several changes on the pace. Concluding, I must say that “Delta-v” is an enthralling debut album by a budding British band that has so much more to offer to melodic prog rock music over the next years…