Horisont: Odyssey

A mutation in the Swedish retro gene pool

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No matter if you dig 70s rock or not, Horisont are always going to be cool as fuck, which means they can kind of get away with anything.

While 2013’s Time Warriors showed hints of progressive rock, Odyssey goes one step further with a whopping 10-minute-long intro that sounds like Jeff Wayne meets Yes. It’s not Horisont as you know them; the pace is fast and the tone is zippy. This is the 70s in another shape and form. They call it a ‘space saga’, hard to imagine when you have five lanky Swedes decked up like sepia poodles throwing back to Cactus, but most of the tracks on here hark back, if only subtly, to the heyday of Cream and Hawkwind without the usual psychedelic swooshes you would normally expect from this niche.

Beyond The Sun is a summery pastoral opus and Timmarna is a protracted, smouldering experiment in progressive persuasions neatly incorporating those duelling guitars with a new vibe. But rather than going full pelt with this new direction, they’re tentatively dipping their toes in and, gladly, the guitar solo still reigns supreme.

Holly Wright

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.