This is the second album from progressive power trio Six By Six, featuring Ian Crichton, Nigel Glockler, and Robert Berry. Primarily a studio affair, due to the individuals primary musical roles elsewhere, while we may argue whether the resulting album is to our liking, it’s apparent it’s not just being signed in. Glockler’s the most well-known of the three among British listeners, having served a good part of his career with heavy metal act Saxon, and before that Toyah Wilcox’s band, with extra-curricular activity including work with Asia and their guitarist, Steve Howe, so a man of both drumming dexterity and diversity, despite any preconceptions due to his day job.

Robert Berry’s the least well-known among them. Involved in a failed venture to revive GTR with Howe and Glockler, he subsequently successfully recorded with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer as 3, and his reactivated solo career has been getting some attention of late. He brings vocals, bass, keyboards, songwriting skills and presumably production values to the table, since the band reconvened at his own Soundtek Studios in the San Francisco Bay Area to record this album last year. Less well-known to me is guitarist Ian Crichton, but as a member of Canadian rock band Saga, who’ve sold around 10 million albums worldwide, it would appear I’m among the few.

There’s not much one can fault with the sound quality of Beyond Shadowland; it’s clear and precise, informed by those qualities that rejuvenated progressive rock bands like Yes on 90125, but held captive by the now-dated production values of those times. It also adds a far more rock-powered guitar as creative artillery, as evidenced by opening track ‘Wren’ whereupon with each bar you imagine Crichton’s left-hand getting further tied-up in a right rat’s nest of a mess so complex do his phrases sound, yet at the same time never getting overly elaborate or too fast to appreciate the melody. What the song’s about, I couldn’t confirm, because each time I begin to listen I keep getting pulled into the guitar phraseology. However, if you listen close, the music might well have begun as some old school prog fairytale wander through an enchanted wood, only to come out the other side as some military charge against demons most foul.

Regarding how the album was put together, Crichton commented. “I gave Robert a lot of parts, sections, licks, middle-eights etc. He added verses, bridges, etc… and vocals!  He’s a brilliant arranger. Of course, Nigel is a powerhouse. As always, he played great on this record.” As the album ensues, you can better appreciate what each brings to the table, but for ‘Wren’, not least because he’s an unknown quality to me, it’s him that shines on this one.

Driven hard by Glockler, ‘The Arms Of A Word’ rocks out with some prog trick convolutions and weirdo sound effects on what was the first single out the bag from the album, in a song that reflects on the divisions driven by our modern click-bait driven media outlets. Percussion, real and electronically treated, deliver a jungle rhythm that gives way to a friendly trickle-fed keyboard and broken chord melody over which Berry aims melodic but loaded-lyric vocals on ‘Can’t Live Like This’ before the percussive element’s brought back alongside the main theme becoming power-driven, with other aural asides injected here and there. That percussive-meets-electronica element beefs up further on ‘Titans’ with a big dance beat added alongside swinging progressive metal lines. In part it’s like a potential theme tune for one of these constant King Kong remakes while, most likely unintended, adding aspects from a camp rendition of ‘The Lion Sleep Tonight’.

Things settle down more during ‘Obiliex’, where a slower acoustic guitar approach is initially taken, bass supplying more of the melody here, and Berry’s vocals sounding remarkably like a deep-throated Genn Campbell or Jim Stafford in places. The chord changes and guitar solo that ensue as the song develops moving further into progressive waters. The following number, ‘Only You Can Decide’, continues this drifting into less chartered territory, gorgeous acoustic guitars throughout, whether Berry’s lyrics concern some great philosophical choice or the easier to appreciate choices in love we must make I leave to others to debate.

‘Outside Looking In’ merges everything that’s good about this band. Its acoustic and sharp guitar driven melodies present it first and foremost as a taught rock number, compellingly well delivered vocally by Berry. Percussive elements, studio techniques, scintillating lead guitar work and a short prog rock detour and vocal harmonies all are touched on in under five minutes while never losing sit of the main song and the emotional context it’s conveying. One for guitar aficionados is ‘Spectre’, it’s a big meaty number with some fine six string embellishments, and ‘Sympathise’ – part fun-time rocker musically – follows well as bed partner, especially if you’re an old Gillan fan.

Featuring a slow keyboard intro, ‘One Step’ your ear will prick to attention as the prog metal excursions interface between classical guitar sections, a bass solo, alongside other cohesive sections whereupon you realise you’re only halfway in this more epic number as the tempo changes and the musical excursion goes elsewhere, eventually returning before fading away. Six by Six sign off with ‘The Mission’ that begins with a heavy distorted barrage of sound that could be well jazzy if played by a horn section but sure-as-hell ain’t here. It then gently glides into this acoustic chorded and synthesiser melody that evokes Styx, but as Crichton latches onto his electric and let’s rip there are couple of sections where you can imagine how Yes’ 90125 might’ve developed if Howe and Wakeman had been involved, but, overall, it’s heavy, and impressive, while only clocking in around four and a half minutes longer, when you’d have thought more and wouldn’t have been unhappy for it to have been so.

There’s also a vinyl edition of Beyond Shadowland that offers additional tracks, albeit what appear to be variations or semi-mashups. This was a very pleasant surprise. Presumably written and recorded in a relatively short time, there’s still care gone into this. It’s not perfect by a long shot, but genuinely has some impressive, entertaining and unsuspecting things going on, that deserve proper long-term listening.

• Reviewed by Paul H Birch.
• Beyond Shadowland is released via InsideOut Music and is available now (from here).
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Track List:

1. Wren
2. The Arms Of A Word
3. Can’t Live Like This
4. Obiliex
5. Only You Can Decide
6. Titans
7. Outside Looking In
8. Spectre
9. Sympathise
10. One Step
11. The Mission