Flame Dream – Silent Transition (2024)

After a very, very long hiatus, no less than 38 years, the Swiss band Flame Dream is back with a new album and I have to be honest, I've heard the previous albums but they haven't stayed with me. Still, I read rave reviews everywhere, so maybe I must change my mind after hearing Silent Transition. It's always nice to discover something new. It is immediately noticeable that there are many long tracks on this album and that is usually a good sign. This time I have chosen to do a track by track review.

No Comfort Zone is the first song and two things immediately strike me, a lot of keyboards and the shaky voice of Peter Wolf that doesn't impress immediately but it's a long song so this may all change. I said may, but that doesn't really happen. A fairly simple rhythm is supported by a staccato guitar riff and towards the end of the song I hear a piece of Saga with a more active guitar, but unfortunately it doesn't come to a real solo. Definitely a nice song but no more than that.

The title track follows and that too starts with a staccato riff on guitar and soon the keys are added. As soon as the vocals start I get a feeling that I know from a number of Dutch bands and I'm not impressed by it, it sounds uncertain and thin. Again, the rhythm section doesn't exert themselves too much, but here too, the song is long so we have to wait for a twist and turn, which comes with a kind of latin-like rhythm and yes, a guitar solo. Now we're talking. The percussion underpins the latin feeling and that slowly shifts to a more jazzy rhythm with a solo on piano that alternates with that on guitar and that sounds nice. Towards the end the guitar riff comes back and the song ends with moody keyboards and piano.

Velvet Clouds is another song of more than ten minutes and it starts beautifully with soaring keys and a reverberating guitar. The drums come in and it seems like the vocals fit a bit better here, or I'm starting to get used to it. Again the smooth piano playing of Ronald Ruckstuhl stands out, which also forms a small interlude with the acoustic guitar of Alex Hutchings who plays a smooth solo that turns into an electric one, beautiful. It will come as no surprise that the keys take over and we get to hear a wonderful solo. In the end, they both duel wonderfully on yet another latin-like rhythm to end with a quiet piano passage.

Out from the sky is the shortest song on the album with more than six minutes and is actually an elongated ballad in which the tempo remains low and the vocals are a bit shaky again especially in the weak chorus. Despite the playing time, I long for the end of the song, I miss excitement and the melody is quite cheesy. I love ballads, but in this case it's way too sweet for me.

With Signal on the Shores we have the most beautiful intro of the album, a choir from the trickery box is startled by a fine guitar solo after more than three minutes and a completely instrumental song develops. Normally not always my cup of tea, but in this case it's a nice prelude to the epic closing track of the album. The almost fifteen minutes long Winding Paths is a more than worthy closing track of Silent Transition. A driving rhythm forms the basis for several instrumental excursions in between but again mediocre vocals. Guitar and keyboards are both given room to solo and do so with verve because technically it is all very good. After twelve minutes it turns into a quiet keyboard passage and so the song, and the album, glides to its end.

I get a familiar feeling, I also have that with Big Big Train, for example, namely the feeling that there will be a lot of fans that will embrace this album but it doesn't really grab me. All the conditions for a top album have been met, good musicians, long songs with a lot of solos, great production and yet........ I honestly think that's a shame because I would have liked to add the album to my collection on CD but I decided not to. Don't let that stop you from listening to this album because as you know, tastes....

As for the cover and artwork, it all looks fine without being too special. Hey, that's actually my conclusion about the album as a whole.

Music 67

Cover 70