Enthyon, the creation of Arya Bobaie and Kev Curtis, are a band who hail from the Northwest of England, and they contacted me recently to review their forthcoming (on 1st May 2024) self-titled release. They describe themselves as “progressive indie rock world electronica” which certainly strikes one as a heady combination, and, indeed, upon listening to the links sent to me, an exciting eclectic mix of styles and compositions hit me immediately.

There are two releases available on Bandcamp, and both are included with this review. The Bandcamp page is at https://enthyon.bandcamp.com/music and for the forthcoming release, we have seven tracks to discuss, and I might add that the artwork which accompanies this music is simply stunning, always a good sign for us old progheads.

So, we begin with Deep Black, and this is a single issued in March which is embedded below. Over seven minutes of music to confront us with, the bass groove hits your senses straight away before the keys and programming provide for some interesting noises. As for the vocals provided by Arya Bobaie (vocalist with Manchester prog metal outfit, Konom, who attracted some decent interest from a couple of reviewers I admire), I have absolutely no reference point for you whatsoever, a thoroughly unique voice which ticks every emotive box for this reviewer. The art which accompanies this single is interesting, that of a space traveller peering into the abyss of space, and the lyrics which accompany this evoke Mithra, the ancient Persian god of the sun and justice and subject of a strong cult in the peaceful Roman Empire period of the second century. This track rather defies description, certainly some deep psychedelia, but funk, post rock, the stunning eastern promise of that cello by Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Leprous), dark jazz undertones all compete in a smorgasbord of sound which I find fascinating, so enjoy what you hear below.

Before I discuss the remainder of this album, I will make the point that Deep Black speaks more clearly than any words I can put down. I have heard nothing like this band before. Yes, of course there are reference points, and they are not the first band to put together interesting noises from a wide spectrum to hit your senses, but their sound is to these ears unique. For those of you who wish to catch a glimpse of how psych rock might be evolving, this is your starter, of that, I have no doubt.

Out of Nothingness follows this, a track only just short of epic length. It has a deeply orchestral vibe to open, with the cello, programming, and percussion filling the senses with more eastern mystery. When the vocals hit us, there is more of that deep and heavy trance vibe, the bass thundering alongside some superb guitar work, the percussion never far from the front of the song. Bobaie is nothing short of incredible, the voice hitting us with a post punk sensibility, urgent, piercing, telling a painful story of eternal struggle against ignorance through rebirth after rebirth sacrifice. At once intense, at once sorrowful, at once mournful, never anything less than fascinating dragging you into a universe quite unlike anything you will have experienced before. Steve Jones produces on this a killer guitar solo.

Voice of Tomorrow is the second release from the album ahead of the full launch and hit our sound decks early April. More stunning artwork can be seen with the embedded track below. Again, the basslines hit you between the eyes, and Curtis has truly announced himself as a talent to take note of. Listeners will note the Floydian references in parts, but tempered with distinctly modern programming, nice funky guitar work in a track which calls to me a cry for maturity of the race, with flames consuming us if we fail to do so.

Dar-e Mehr references Zoroastrian religious buildings. The song brings us dance, death, justice, and I believe resurrection of a movement and religion overcoming tyranny. Paul Sadler provides some very impressive acoustic and lead guitar work, Curtis simply stuns with the bass work, and Bobaie evokes the Persian heritage with his voice and use of the santour, a sound probably unlike most that listeners will have heard before, so we have here a very interesting mix of the traditional and modern, the latter asserting itself so strongly in the closing passage with its doom laden riffs and swirling grinding metal. Spectacular.

I have been unable to listen to Dissolution, the track which follows, I am afraid. Change is a short instrumental track, but so intense as to feel like an epic which leaves you exhausted at the end. Raphael Weinroth-Browne provides more incredible cello and Bobaie again on santour, this is a storm put to music with rumbling clouds clashing, rain pouring, and a piece of music which is achingly sad.

The album closes with On the Inside, probably the least experimental track here. Stuart Browne and Curtis combine nicely for a satisfying rhythm section, Danny White impresses on lead guitar, and Bobaie is at the centre of everything in a track I take to be of personal epiphany, and which mixes a commercial vibe to some spacey programming, a Gilmouresque closing solo, alongside some of the finest bass guitar work you will have heard in recent times.

This outfit deserve all the plaudits that I hope will be thrown their way. The album emotionally takes me back to those heady days of the 1980’s when Gabriel founded Real World Music (and almost bankrupted himself doing so), deliberately set up to bring to western audiences’ traditional music fused with rock that you would never have heard on traditional media outlets (and still don’t really). Now by this, I don’t mean that Enthyon take me back. They don’t because they are far too modern an outfit for that. I mean in spirit. We have here Persian sounds and mysticism clashed against rock music with a bewildering source of sounds, funk, Floyd, space, metal, you name it.

Intelligent music which I cannot recommend highly enough.