Progressive rock maestro and master keyboardist Erik Norlander releases his second solo album which is a heavy symphonic effort that skirts the edges of prog metal. The album features musicians Tony Franklin (bass), Greg Ellis (drums), Arjen Lucassen (guitar) and Cameron Stone (cello) along with guest vocalists Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Edward Reekers (Kayak), Robert Soeterboek (Ayreon) and Lana Lane. Imagine a cross between ELP and Deep Purple with a modern audiophile production and you have the right idea.
INTO THE SUNSET clearly reflects Norlander's recent influences of the new wave of Northern European - style symphonic rock artists such as Symphony X and Luca Turilli. These new influences mix well with Norlander's love of classic prog artists such as ELP, Rush, Yes, Jethro Tull, Pink Floyd and Procol Harum. And certainly Norlander's work with symphonic rock diva Lana Lane over the last few years has contributed in no small part to his current stylistic evolution as well. "There is a strong musical movement going on right now and a lot of really fanastic albums are being created by new artists" says Norlander. "I don't know if you call it 'Progressive Metal' or 'Symphonic Rock' or something else, but it is a fantastic sound and it is definitely the new stage in progressive rock evolution. While 70's prog rock merged early electronic music with folk music and straight rock n' roll, it seems that this new progressive movement combines all of these classic 70's influences with 80's heavy metal to create something entirely new again. It's a fabulous time, and I'm proud to be a part of this movement."
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