Riffstone- Mythical Creatures- Progressive Voyages Review
RIFFSTONE – Mythical Creatures
Progressive Voyages album review
Mythical Creatures is the third album release by Riffstone, the UK, studio-based, progressive rock collaboration between those prolific North-West musicians, Dave Allen (of Spirergy) and Colin Powell (of A Multitude of One and Nova Cascade), in under a year. They debuted with a bold, narrative-driven, historical concept album, Richard III and then followed it up at the end of last year with the impressive Sanctuary Sky. That was a refreshingly diverse collection of songs, full of instrumental and lyrical interplay and musicianship of the highest quality – and was one of the highlights of the year for me. If that wasn’t enough, Colin managed to produce two lovely concept albums last year under his solo project name, A Multitude of One: A Templar’s Tale and The Book of Enoch – whilst Dave released the excellent Wherever Forever album at the start of this year under the Spirergy project name. Just how brimming full of musical ideas this duo have is quite astonishing!
Mythical Creatures sees a return to the concept album approach, with each of the ten songs linked to a creature from mythology. Each of these legendary creatures are featured, to symbolise and represent psychological forces that act as mirrors for the human psyche. The lyrics convey this deeper meaning, whilst the music creates rich, cinematic, symphonic progressive rock soundscapes, with layered musicianship and wonderfully vibrant guitar and keyboard interplay. As before, they share guitar, keyboard and vocals between them, creating their now signature sound – embracing the classic sound of Yes, Genesis, Camel, Rick Wakeman, ELP, Steve Hackett and Alan Parsons, but with nods to more contemporary groups, such as Big Big train as well. All the tracks have expansive instrumental passages, with shifting time signatures and dynamic contrasts, along with atmospheric mid-sections balanced with powerful choruses. The result blends power and restraint, with soaring hooks and dramatic climaxes aplenty.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GAgeV3tchA
The Griffin begins the album energetically, with keyboards and undulating bass and drums accompanying Dave’s descriptive vocals about this half eagle, half lion creature, depicting balance and integrated strength. Well-integrated electric guitar joins the shifting instrumentation later, with some powerful soloing towards the end. The Dragon represents ambition and fire and has a stately Rick Wakeman-like keyboard/synthesiser character throughout, over the driving bass and busy drum programming, with lots of Moog-like passages to delight classic-era prog listeners.
Soaring, ethereal vocal harmonies begin The Phoenix, with atmospheric acoustic guitar lines over a lush keyboard background and then a gorgeous electric guitar solo that heralds a rise in intensity and dynamics, with twisting bass notes. Dave’s higher vocals have an accessible AOR feel to them, whilst a mid-way interlude of more Spanish guitar serves as a prelude to a powerful finale and more invigorating guitar soloing. By contrast, Colin’s dark, sinister and distorted vocals provide a stylistic variation on The Hydra. The subject of internal conflict is well represented, with intricate and varied instrumental interplaying of keyboards, guitar and bass between the pair creating a foreboding ambience, but not without the odd uplifting light shining amongst the dark elements. As a result, it wouldn’t be out of place on an IQ album at times, in my opinion.
The crowned serpent is the subject of The Basilisk - represents paralysing awareness. The music conjures up a feeling of dread, accentuated by the pair’s yearning vocals, with repeating guitar patterns, expansive organ passages and a slower rhythm adding to the mix. An eerie dancing tempo appears, followed by a spoken word passage and then some rising synths before you join a Cabaret-like march towards your fate. The Manticore follows and is an undoubted album highlight. Starting urgently, and at times having a dark, almost metal-like, intensity – it gradually shifts into Floydian keyboard soundscapes and mellotron-like dreaminess. I enjoyed the more modern, electronic elements too, earlier on. This track looks at distorted power – charisma fused with cruelty and confidence sharpened into domination - something which certainly resonates with me at present, in the current geo-political climate. Colin delivers more dark vocals to great effect as well as adding an innocent delicacy to the main lyrics, through to the contemplative “I am YOU!”
There is an initial Celtic folk edge to The Selkies, with its sprightly piano opening, but it first switches into a more rock-orientated sound, and then a more lyrical and melodic, dreamy ambience supplied by the electric guitar. The dynamics build up again later, with vibrant bass guitar, expressive keyboards and intricate guitar lines – which along with Dave’s ethereal vocals, produce an enjoyable Yes-like vibe. These seal-folk of the northern seas, represent dual identity and longing – changing from seals to humans by shedding their skins. The track musically shows this dual nature of them living on the land but also longing to return to the sea. The track explores this dichotomy within them, and considers the wider question of what happens when belonging to two worlds means never fully resting in either? Meanwhile, The Chimera reflects on fragmentation and inner conflict, with its separate identities of lion, goat, and serpent fused into an uneasy entity. The track has a flowing grandeur and majesty, with lush keyboards in the background, over which Dave and Colin weave a tapestry of melodic guitar, bass and synths. Dave’s vocals seem to soar high beyond the stratosphere at times, but they seem to add to the overall splendour.
Electric guitar takes centre stage at the start of The Leviathan, the vast sea serpent of chaos, symbolising the subconscious vastness - ancient memory, collective shadow and emotional magnitude beyond language. However, it is the wonderfully melodic bass playing that drives this smooth piece of symphonic progressive rock. Its another song that has a gravitas and weight shaped by the duo in their flowing instrumentation, complemented by Colin’s soft vocals. The final track, The Unicorn, is lighter and more uplifting, with Yes-like vocal harmonies from Colin and Dave and sumptuous musicality. The synthesised flights of fancy are perfect for this song representing restored wholeness – innocence and purity. Acoustic guitar lines and a welcoming lightness of touch with the drums and bass create something unashamedly retro in its shining brightness – and a lovely, positive, life-affirming way to end the album.
With Riffstone, Dave Allen and Colin Powell may not be creating anything radically new. However, they are producing wonderfully melodic, warm and engaging traditional symphonic prog rock, showcasing their compositional and instrumental skills along with engaging lyrics and a pleasing innocence in their floating vocal arrangements. It is music they clearly love and I’ve no doubt that many out there will love it too. With the excellent CD artwork and care to detail throughout, and just under 80 minutes of music, this grass-roots contribution to the world of prog certainly deserves your patronage via Bandcamp.
Release Date – May 1st, 2026 (CD, Download)
Bandcamp: https://riffstone.bandcamp.com/album/mythical-creatures
Author - David Edwards
