Ihlo – Legacy

First things first: we at The Progspace are a bit biased towards Ihlo. We’re immensely proud of having the opportunity to help them out in the world when we exclusively premiered their first single ‘Parhelion’ from their debut and highly praised album “Union”. Many years later, several festivals (including our own The Progspace Online Festival), and having seen them live a couple of times more, I, Van, am surely a longstanding fan of their music.

But those who know me well, know that I can be quite neutral when it comes to music, either “I love it!”, it’s a “meeh oookaayy” or a simple: “nope, this is not for me” and I have no problems saying so. And as such, I’ll go song by song in an in depth overview of this album, on which I’ve dived into almost every day since we received it in our emails, and yes I have deep thoughts about it.

The whole album swims deep in dark waters, immediately jumping into its bleak atmosphere helped with the perfect bonding of catchy melodies, a blend of soft and chunky heavy guitars, delicate synths, clockwork drums and soaring vocal lines. You will quickly find echoes of the sound of well known bands like Leprous, Riverside or Porcupine Tree throughout, but Ihlo is Ihlo, and their music quickly moves into something uniquely theirs.

It feels dramatic, foreboding, not depressive but thespian. Pure storytelling: with the music, words and the marvellous musicianship, all at the maximum level of their unique expression.

As soon as the album starts with ‘Wraith’, they establish everything they are capable of: strong songwriting, complex arrangements, and the precise but fully emotive interactions between Andy Robison, Phil Monro, and Clark McMenemy, the core of the band. ‘Wraith’ is dark and gloomy, a warning of what’s to come in the following hour. It also serves as a signpost of what this album is made of, giving us more than hints of the storm that is unfolding on your music player.

The album continues with ‘Replica’, the second single, which has been played for a while at their live shows and as well appears on their EP “In Stasis” (recorded and filmed originally for the first edition of The Progspace Online Festival). The song has stuck with me since then, 4 years before its official release in its final shape, and it is a marvellous one! An incredibly catchy tune, with melodies that linger in the head with a dark yet inviting atmosphere. Andy is singing better than ever, and in the first minutes of this song it is clear to me that he’s become one of my top-most favorite vocalists in the genre. The musical variety on this song is astounding, a complete journey on its own.

The lyrics add another layer in its depth and the overarching storyline, which tells us about this character, a regular person caught up in a dystopian world of control and consumerism. People have brain implants to enhance them, like super-thinkers and thus receive signals, represented with the tower on the album cover (another art masterpiece by Mattias Norén).

The main character feels something is off, like he’s been hacked, and starts feeling this interference that pushes him to escape. Lines like “shadow in the mirror”, that sense of being controlled from the inside and about to lose control. The song is so well written musically as well, that it does feel like spiralling out of control, yet it always lands with bang as a solid structure.

This structured chaos continues with the third track ‘Source’ with synths, electronic and tech textures, sequencers, and a very clear and transparent touch of Steven Wilson’s influence. Not in imitation, but as a source indeed. The contrast of soft vocals, dreamy melodies and the carefully woven atmospheres pour into chunky guitars expressing the desperation. Ihlo makes this combination their own, converting it into their trademark sound.

‘Empire’ was the first single published, and what a banger it is! It has absolutely every little piece of what makes Ihlo, Ihlo. They evidently threw in everything they are capable of doing, but in such a masterful way! How well every element is intertwined. I particularly love how the mood of the song changes, but still keeps the heavy mood. Lyrically the song is about consumerism without end, and how, in this future dystopia, it has destroyed everything we hold dear, and because of our own failings.

The 5th track ‘Storm’ is the shortest at 2:25, but with the strongest message of all:
“Is there a way we can save this, It’s never seemed so hard ‘til today. In the end, I don’t know what we could change. It’s a lie”. Flanked by synths and sequences, clean guitars and precise drums. Short and sad, working more than a bridge, as a statement.

‘Mute’ is the 3rd single published to great acclaim. A beautiful song, dubbed as “the obligatory” ballad, but is way more than a ballad. It is a lament for what the character is losing as he feels losing his own self as the “shadow” rises (that chip mentioned before). Musically it is a journey as well, starting with ambient electronic sounds and evolving to a full range of emotions enhanced by layers of synths and guitars. I must highlight the layering of the last parts of the song, so well it reflects the duality the character is feeling, the spiralling chaos and despair.

Then comes ‘Cenotaph’, which for me is one of the deepest and most moving songs of the album. The song is about the state of this blue and green ball we call home. The Earth is dying, and the song is like a scream from mother earth in desperation: HELP ME! – The song doesn’t really show as preachy, and it is a subject we all should care about. To me personally, as a lover of nature, the  lyrics hit me hard, these lines: “And I will remember you, In all your glow, For all you gave to us, As we stripped it down, To the core” – the whole song is really gutting and brings me every single time to the verge of tears. It is an elegy to our planet.  As Andy puts it:

 “I thought it was pretty great to consider that at some point the entire world will basically just be an empty monument to humanity. Planet Earth is just one giant cenotaph.” / Andy

The album could have ended here, and I’d be in a heap of unstoppable tears, but oh there is more…

And I will remember you
In all your glow, for all that you gave
To the flame. Now you rest

‘Haar’ unfolds like the perfect continuation to the previous song. It shows what our character is going through within his thoughts of escaping this dystopian madness. Musically, it is more of what Ihlo does so perfectly! Soaring vocals, synths connecting it all. Clark’s drumming creativity is at display here once again.

The title track, ‘Legacy’, is drenched in “Wilsonesque” atmospheres, with melodies and layers of sounds building up the mood and flowing towards a climatic high. And that scream! I had to ask, indeed it is Romain Jeuniaux! (Omnerod), who lent his powerful vocal chords not only on this song, but also on bits throughout the whole album. Oh, and that guitar solo! Also a creation by Romain. The song is a complete journey in and of itself. Soaring through melodies and changes, a song that was created to stay in our minds and hearts.

The last song ‘Signals’ closes the album on a slightly more positive note. Starting with clean guitars and a soft mood, it carries strong Riverside vibes, clear influences from the polish quartet taken into Ihlo shape. The song moves through emotions, from dark and despair to uplifting (really?). In a way, it reminds me that going through life’s shadows is necessary to reach the light.

It’s a fitting end, showing Ihlo’s ability to embrace the full range of human experience in their music… but it is not really a happy end, it is a bittersweet ending: our character reaches a solution, which is his own death, as he is lured towards the sea on his dreams (‘Haar’) and these towers, these signals tell him to walk to the sea. Finally he finds an end, he dies, swallowed by the same broken technology he was trying to escape. A bittersweet ending with mixed feelings.

“Legacy” is not just an album, it’s an emotional journey that forces us to look inside of us, and what we’re doing to our planet, to our society and to ourselves. A dramatic and powerful statement by a band that has already proven themselves among the most exciting in modern progressive metal.

From start to finish, “Legacy” is full of catchy choruses, soaring melodies, amazing atmospheres, powerful programming and synths, emotional guitar solos, and super creative and precise drumming. Every element is present, layered and precise, yet full of feeling. And I must add as well that recording at The Arch studios (housed within a 140-year-old restored church) “Legacy” imprints the studio’s breathtaking acoustics, which helped the crystal clear sound of the drums giving them an organic immediacy.

Ihlo’s growth since their beginnings has been nothing short of spectacular, and to witness how far they’ve come is inspiring. After listening nonstop to ‘Legacy’, it is really hard for me to realize that it is just their second album (!). It is so well produced with its raw energy and depth. It is truly cementing their career, carving out a big bold name within the best of the best in the prog metal universe.

As a drummer from two other well known progressive bands (who didn’t know Ihlo before) once told me while we were seeing the band playing live: “Ihlo sounds truly unique! Wow, they’re a band to watch! Creative, professional, and already beyond the common in prog metal.”

Pre-Order Ihlo – “Legacy” here: https://ihlo.lnk.to/Legacy