Dutch guitarist, Mark Bogert, is well known to us quality music lovers through his work with both Knight Area, and latterly Magoria, and he releases his third solo effort, Antiquity Neon, via our very good friends at Construction Records. He is highly regarded, as witnessed by him filling in for John Mitchell on some Arena live dates, Clive & Mick not known for picking sub-standard artists.

Essentially, the role of the lead vocalist here is taken by Bogert’s guitar, and a word about guests before we discuss this fine work. Of note are collaborators bassist Stuart Hamm, who has played with Joe Satriani & Steve Vai, and a very bittersweet guest now in former Kayak vocalist and Magoria bandmate, Edward Reekers, who sadly passed away recently – we send our love and best wishes to his family, colleagues, and friends.

You can get this CD (and a vinyl version) at https://www.constructionrecords.nl/Mark-Bogert-Antiquity-Neon-(CD) There is a trailer which I have embedded below.

So, ten pieces of music for us to pick our way through. Let’s go.

Thermal Properties kicks us off. Immediately, we are hit with a lush fret spectacular, if you will pardon the pun, hot, but also full of life, melody, warmth, the high notes registering pleasingly on the aural palate, a mix of the metal shredding, the classic sensibility, and the melodic. A very strong start.

Mercury Glow was the first single released from the album, and it is embedded below for you to enjoy. The notes from the off are sumptuous, the collective very swiftly moving into a strong groove, with Ravenna Moscoso creating some nice soundscapes, Stuart Hamm a class bass man, and Harmen Kieboom providing the solid rhythm foundation. The way this track builds up is masterful, full of commercial rock goodness, and a strong contender for my instrumental single of 2025 award, the musicianship on display deeply impressive. Watch them fingers purr as they move but also note the masterful manner in which emotions and pace change at the click of a fret button. Superb, and that smile of Ravenna at the close really does say it all.

Chemically Inactive follows. Personally, I still love a few drops of the amber nectar, but nicotine has not entered the Laz system for nearly four years now, and as for anything illicit, inactive describes me perfectly. There is a richness to the opening notes, and Jan Dekker on the knob twirling duties must take huge credit for creating such a pleasing sound. There is a playfulness and dexterity to Bogert on this which reminds me strongly, and with fond memories, of the work Blackmore was producing mid-period Rainbow, and his ability to make his instrument sing certainly does bear comparison to the master, a mood here of sheer joy of life, happiness, the urge to take each moment as it comes. I defy anyone not to nod heads, tap toes, and smile at this rock delight.

Shine on You opens with prog piano and percussive interplay, before the guitar adds to this sense of an improvisation born out of a love of playing together, the guitar moody, but never dark, hitting an emotional high, singing at you before the band take the music up a couple of gears, the end passage a pastoral surprise and delight.

Specific Wavelengths places Bogert alongside the masters Vai & Satriani, as has been noted by several commentators, the musicianship on this stunning, all driven along by a thundering rhythm section. Short, but full of energy.

Future Invention is thoughtful, laid back, the composer perhaps contemplating what wonders (they are not horrors) await us as humanity progresses on its cosmic journey, some of the notes here making the hair on the back of the neck stand up, with frenetic bursts of energy marking the Eureka! moments, the closing passage a study in harder rock guitar.

Whiskey A Go Go is a title reminiscent of those days of classic bands homages to the malt dream, Skynyrd, The Who, Alice, Thin Lizzy. You know the score. As I write these words, I have a single malt on the table beside me, and this music is a perfect accompaniment, dramatic, smoky, the heady rush of the peat pushing the consciousness, the interplay between key and guitar playful and intricate in the manner of Lord & Blackmore.

Light of Love shows that Bogert is a master of the pastoral acoustic guitar song as well, the opening notes progressive at their core. Combined with the emotional choral voice, this must have been written for someone extremely special. A delight and quite beautiful, so satisfying to note the eclecticism inherent in the album, and a heartstring pulling moment.

Artistic Shapes is the penultimate track, the piano, rhythm section, swirling keys, and Bogert’s lead creating a post art rock pastiche, another track full of the beauty and love of life, perhaps a commentary on how art can indeed shape our core being and contentment, the work by Moscoso again so complimentary of the mood and intent of Bogert.

We close with The Extinguishing of Light, a short closing comment on our mortality, the piano and guitar oozing with blues-induced sadness, the raging against the darkness, but infused with the inevitability of it all. We have lost loved ones recently. This beautiful piece of music stands as a tribute to them and is a very late contender for “track of 2025” on this website’s annual award. Staggering, lonely, beautiful, haunting.

Construction Records have done it again. They have provided us with another essential purchase; Music does not always require words to speak to one. Sometimes, it is sufficient to allow a master musician and his band to clear their throats, insist upon your silence, attention, and simply communicate in the eternal language of human emotion.

Mark Bogert has produced a highlight of 2025. It comes highly recommended to you.