Five years in the making, Legacy finds London-based progressive rockers IHLO deftly massaging their own mythology with a deeply impressive ten-track album that brings together elements of progressive rock, pop, metal, and even electronica. With the band working tirelessly through the lockdowns of COVID and beyond to create a follow up to 2019’s well-received Union, Legacy is a labour of love that draws upon both remote writing and carefully plotted studio sessions to create a new path forward for the band.
The album opens with the airy electronica of Wraith and immediately the advantages of self-production can be felt, with Phil Monro (guitars, bass, synths, orchestration) and Andy Robison overseeing production, and Phil proving a deft hand behind the mixing desk. The track itself is one of those deceptively complex pieces that shifts through the gears, from ambient opening to sweeping metallic passages that nod to Devin Townsend’s joyful take on the genre, yet with a fluid grace that makes you hardly notice the changes. A suitably dense work, while it hooks you in with the melody, it is the little details that will keep you coming back, and it makes for an engaging, enigmatic introduction to the album.
Having quickly brought the listener on side, Ihlo unexpectedly calm the pace, with Replica allowing their emotionally charged song-writing space to breathe and shine. Based around a gorgeous, shimmering melody, it builds towards a stunning, technically demanding climax that finds dense riffs lancing out of the haze and, while the melodies are never too far from view, it gives the band an unpredictable edge that keeps the listener from ever getting too comfortable in their presence. It’s followed by the effervescent Source, a heavier track that combines powerful riffs with rippling synth, the more direct approach providing a bridge between the closely plotted opening numbers and the increasingly diverse material that follows.
With cleaner lines, the lengthy Empire finds Ihlo operating within a more classical prog structure, the end result falling somewhere between Porcupine Tree, Pineapple Thief, the late, lamented Sound of Contact, and even Genesis. It builds nicely, with heavier riffs emerging, before it dissipates in the face of a short segue track, somewhat misleadingly titled Storm. This, in turn, gives way to the lovely Mute, a lengthy rumination on life that juxtaposes fleeting moments of joy with the deeper emptiness of loss. A remarkable piece of music, it provides the album with its emotional heart and, the dense conclusion employing a different kind of heaviness in order to underscore the weight of the subject matter.
A sense of loss remains on Cenotaph, but the music waxes defiant, the bristling riff that opens the piece as punishing as anything found across the course of the album. It gives way to a more atmospheric approach, but always there’s a lingering sense of tension, and you progress through the piece fully aware that it could explode into life at any moment. With elements of Tool embedded in its DNA, as well as an album-defining vocal performance from Andy, the pairing of Mute and Cenotaph is nothing short of a masterstroke, highlighting both the ambition behind the album and the quality of the execution.
A shorter, brighter piece, Haar finds the band returning briefly to the more direct approach found on both Replica and Source, providing something of a reset after the monumental outpouring of the preceding numbers and clearing the way for a monumental finale. The first of a pair of epic-length closing tracks, Legacy emerges, driven by a syncopated beat, to explore the more atmospheric side of the band’s oeuvre, the track all the more engaging for the restraint the band employ for the bulk of its run time.
The album wraps up with the mammoth Signals. A ten-minute piece that ebbs and flows beautifully, it is subtle and beautifully formed. Happily, it finds the band resisting the temptation for a metallic blow out, opting instead for a more nuanced piece that provides the sense of closure the album so richly deserves.
Beautifully produced, performed, and recorded, Legacy sees IHLO securing exactly that. The music is dense, powerful, and rarely obvious, with each song carving out its own unique sonic path, while sitting comfortably within the body of the album as a whole. The band’s attention to detail is meticulous throughout, their musicianship faultless, and the results place them alongside the likes of Vola, Porcupine Tree, Between The Buried and Me, and Riverside as masters of modern progressive rock. 9/10
