Bart: The subject keeps on coming back, and here it is again: sometimes it is very difficult to pigeonhole a band. Baliset is one of those bands that are hard to categorize. While the compositions are very influenced by the likes of seventies progressive rock bands in way of forming songs that flow into another and have a very narrative structure, the style ranges from heavy metal in the vein of Iron Maiden to whispered acoustic passages with hints of old music.
A baliset is a fictional instrument from the Dune series of author Frank Herbert, which you can supposedly hear being played on the intro of this record. After this intro we get thrown into the pit of heavy metal, spiced up with amongst others beautiful female guest vocals. Afterwards, the record proceeds in all kinds of directions, but mainly being a somewhat different affair of progressive rock. The songs are mostly very comfortable to listen to (except for that first very weird heavy metal song which becomes somewhat chaotic), and stand out in climaxing guitar solos. Founder of the band, Greg Massi, is one hell of a guitarist and it's a delight to hear him play his heart out. Unfortunately, he isn't a hell of a vocalist but does happen to be handling the vocals. His singing feels quite uncomfortable, not because his voice isn't nice, but because he doesn't happen to quite be the natural singer. Maybe it would be wise to find a professional vocalist in order to help the band on its way to stardom. The whole record can be listened to on their website, and you're very advised to do so! This is a band to keep an eye on.
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