Dave Allen & Colin Powell return to delight our senses with the second Riffstone album of 2025. Prolific, or what?
Whereas the debut, Richard III, had an obvious concept story, this sophomore effort moves away from a singular narrative and takes us into a world of ancient myths, sacred landscapes, inner reflection, and cosmic awakening.
It is released now, and available at Bandcamp https://riffstone.bandcamp.com/album/sanctuary-sky
So, nine tracks to pick through.
We begin with Spirit of Danu, who was a goddess in Irish mythology. The opening passage is spacey and dreamy, and the guitar riff which emerges is exquisite, the bass melody beneath accompanying perfectly. I like the quiet key interlude before the urgent vocals commence, introducing a tuneful foreground to some understated riffs in the background, the vocals properly telling their story gently and respectfully, with a gorgeous guitar solo to boot. A solid start to proceedings, which certainly fans of the early Moodies will find a lot to appreciate.
Live Your Dreams Away follows and opens with dreamy synth soundscapes overlaying a thumping bass guitar, and you notice that the way the guitars have been mastered on this album is very impressive. There is emotion in this track, an exhortation, I believe, to realise ambition, repressing the natural urge to simply live for now. Overall, though, this is an uplifting piece full of belief in the ability to move forward and upwards, the music light, playful, and aspirational, some symphonic joy there and dual guitar work impressing.
The Sleeping City has a marvellously descriptive vocal of the quiet descending upon the previously bustling urban space, although the furious bursts remind us that even in the dead of night, they can be an attraction for human interaction, partying, madness, chaos, and the improvisational style of the music, with instruments dancing against each other capturing that perfectly. You might be asleep or quietly contemplating safely in your hotel room, but, elsewhere, there is a lot of life happening, witness the furious drums and swirling synths over the pounding bass. It is embedded below. I adore this track, the reflective vocals touching me as dawn draws near, a genuine contender for “track of the year” on this website.
Tylwyth Teg (pronounced tuloith tAg) is Welsh for Fairies. The drums and percussion, guitar riffs, and bass all combine in a track which has more of a feel of latter Rush, wordless cries creating a sense of mystery before the vocals proper kick in, playful in the manner of mythical creatures which, contrary to popular view, are not merely confined to the Gaelic Isles. Harp and acoustic guitars against this provide for a nice pastoral roots track interspersed with the rock of the dance and a wonderful percussion led passage taking one back to Gabriel’s Rhythm of the Heat, the vocals and music dancing, riffing, and weaving their way through mystical surroundings.
Through the Veil starts with the type of piano-led music accompanied by synthscapes beloved by prog fans, a tale of glades, the curtain of myth falling over the stars, the earth creating fires in the mind, a sort of modern catechism dedicated to ancient tales of mystery and magic, never mournful, always light of touch, the guitar work gently soaring in a universe of symphonic dreams.
The Land Beneath the Waves is an interesting stylistic departure, redolent of classic electronic rock, the programming and effects swirling creating a fascinating scene, and the guitar burst when it comes is powerful, evocative, choral delights, the contrasts here a marker for all quality prog rock fans to appreciate. `
Ten Whispers amongst the quiet voices to start has a wonderful fusion bass guitar riff, and references Pendle Hill, a favourite subject matter for musicians, troubadours, and poets from Lancashire down the ages, always looming large in and on the lives of the folk living in its shadow, as did, of course, those ghastly days when whispers meant death for women accused of witchcraft, this is one of those folk prog rock songs which delight, a throwback, I suppose, to the type of storytelling and emotional roots music we adored from Anderson especially back in the day. It is embedded below.
Wizard of the Hills is the penultimate track, and showcases the progressive intelligence of this duo perfectly, the acoustic guitar followed by the electric guitar standing decent comparison with maestros in the league of Howe and Oldfield, and listening to this beautiful creation, I close my eyes and simply imagine Merlin (Myrddin in Welsh) standing atop the peak, dancing, arms outstretched, blessing the simple folk with his wisdom, dispelling the daily hardship, bringing light, joy, and magic into this beautiful land. There will be a new category in this year’s Lazland Awards (themselves now legendary and magical), and that will be “Tales of Magic” in 2025. Simply wonderful, having at its core that so important trick of bringing a smile to the listener’s face.
We close with the title track, which my good friend, The Prog Rogue brought to the table as his “new music of the week” track on the radio show of 1st November (available as a podcast at https://progzilla.com/lazland-on-progzilla-radio-episode-55 ). It is a fitting conclusion to the album, a tale of the light following darkness, a metaphor, one assumes, for modern gloomy times, remembering that lives have been harder before, and we always pull through, the vocals on this having a touching emotional peak to them, the guitar solos, piano and keys touching the awakening soul.
Sanctuary Sky does, I feel, represent a definite progression to the impressive Richard III, the duo pulling in a nice variety of prog influences, but melding them into something very much of their selves. It is highly recommended, and I am looking forward to the next instalment of a project which is delightful to acquaint oneself with.