Glorious Wolf – “Mysterious Traveler” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Glorious Wolf will release their new album, Mysterious Traveler on November 1, of this year. This album is full of angelic female vocals, powerful male vocals, all set in an atmosphere of ambiance and beautiful melodies, which are full of progressive rock sounds. According to the press release, “The story is about our current world, that is in constant motion and transformation, where humanity is moving at a rapid pace and has forgotten what life is really all about. The music takes you into these different moods from rough battlefields to beautiful extraterrestrial landscapes”. This music is full of visual images.

Glorious Wolf is made up of: Ruud Dielen, on electric and acoustic steel and nylon string guitars, electric bass and fretless bass, elbow and slide guitar, Arturia virtual vintage keyboards, Gforce Mellotron, voice and percussion. He is also the recording and sound engineer; Kike Paglia, plays drums; Celia van Onna, wrote the lyrics, and sings lead and harmony vocals on “The True Story”, “Beautifully Broken” and “Slow Down”; and Frank van der Borg, wrote the lyrics, and sings lead and harmony vocals on “Repentance”.

“Repentance”, opens with cool keys and blazing lead guitar; like a great mix of Rush and maybe Styx. Frank van der Borg sings, “Repentance”, and he repeats “Help!”, in an echoing manner, reminiscent of Pink Floyd. “The world is in repentance”, he sings. The glistening guitar work is amazing on this one. The keyboards superb; and the drums are just magnificent. Frank van der Borg’s voice reminds me of Styx, James “J.Y” Young’s, on “Heavy Metal Poisoning”; off that album nobody liked but me, Kilroy Was Here. In fact, the whole song kinda has that same vibe from “HMP”. Off to a great start!

On “Slow Down”, drums welcome a more blues/jazzy feel, along with innovative guitar and keyboards. The Harmond – like keyboards are so warm and mellowing. Then, they kick into a very cool, bluesy, Pink Floyd guitar solo which is simply superb. Ruud Dielen interrupts it with a gong, and the soundscape is full of excellent drum play…and more expert keyboards. Very Pink Floyd, Animals at times. Keith Emerson and David Gilmour would enjoy the keyboard and guitar work on this over 8 minute masterpiece. Kike Paglia’s drum playing is out of this world.

Celia van Onna’s lyrics and vocals, off “The True Story”, are absolutely haunting. The guitar work is massive as well. Kinda of a spaghetti western feel to this one at times. The clean acoustic work lights the room like a well-lit fire in the fireplace, on an early fall evening. Celia sings, “Waiting to hear her song. Everything will last forever”, set to beautiful acoustic guitar. Celia sings, “Waiting for her to blossom again”. Another over 8 minute, perfect mood-setter. All manner of guitar sounds, intricately woven around keyboards and Celia’s voice, so well.

“Howling at the Moon” is not a cover of the Kansas favorite, off the Left Overture, masterpiece, “Magnum Opus”. (But you secretly wish it was). It does open with a howl at the Moon, but that is quickly followed by electric guitar, bass, drums, and some grinding metal guitar playing. A real rocker. The drums here are also so perfect.

“Mysterious Traveler”, is the title and best song on the album. It is no wonder the album was named after this song. Slow, quiet percussion and atmospherics open the song, with expert keyboards drifting all over the soundscape. Like traveling through an off-world jungle. So many sights and sounds. The drums are the best on the album. Maybe the keyboard sounds as well.

“Battlefield”, is a rockier. Excellent drumming, perfect electric guitar soloing and great masterful bass. The keyboards are like icing on the cake. Superb melodies and brilliant guitar work throughout. This one is also jazzier than I expected for a song called “Battlefield”. Ruud Dielen even adds some choirs and cool, spacey keys, to take you outta this world. Yeah, I like it!

“Beautifully Broken (Parts 1 & 2)”, opens like the heartbeat on Pink Floyd’s Dark Side. But then, Celia van Onna sings, “For the sake of Mother Earth. We need to redefine our connection to the ground. We’re running out of time, and losing our touch, to the place that we came from. Hungry for the gold. Eyes are filled with greed. And when it’s all yours, will it be what you need?” She continues, “But we could reconnect and heal it all again”. This is the best lyrical song on the album. The guitar work and keyboards are amazing. Some of the best I’ve heard this year. Those drums…what more can I say? Part II is the instrumental. Like a quiet walk through a Yes’ masterpiece; filled with the cadence of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side, returning as a reminder to us all. I even hear some of the early feeling of stillness, that I remember from the Court of the Crimson King. Absolutely stunning. Light the sky with those masterful guitars near the end! And of course…the heartbeat, takes us out! Over 8 minutes of global warning, in words and music.

Album Track List:

Repentance – 5:48
Slow Down – 8:19
The True Story – 8:38
Howling at the Moon – 4:04
Mysterious Traveler – 5:11
Battlefield – 7:46
Beautifully Broken (Parts 1 & 2) – 8:51

The physical album is packaged in Digipack with a 12-page booklet with beautiful artwork by visual artist Ed Unitsky. Ruud Dielen would like to thank: Sjef Eikemans for his patience and support during the mixing process. Toon de Quant for his craftsmanship in the field of recording techniques and mastering. Ed Unitsky for his wonderful artwork. Bad Dog Promotions, and Ruud’s wife Elly for her endless patience and supporting me all the time.

All music composed, arranged and performed by Ruud Dielen. Album produced and recorded in Lone Wolf Studio by Ruud Dielen. Recording and mixing assistance engineers: Sjef Eikemans and Toon de Quant from Audioworkx. The album was mastered by Toon de Quant at recording studio Audioworkx.

Mysterious Traveler, was an absolutely brilliant surprise. I thought with the band name, it would be harder rock or metal. Yes, there is some of that, but it is much more complex music than I envisioned. I was pleasantly surprised. A very dense and complete album that I highly recommend for anyone to purchase and enjoy. Now, I am intrigued enough to want to dive deeper into the back catalog. Thanks, Ed Unitsky and Bad Dog Productions for leading me to the water on this one!

Band Website and Social Media Links:

https://gloriouswolf.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Dielen.Ruud/