They are a three man version of Graham Bonnet era Rainbow, of Impellitteri (with Bonnet), or Yngwie Malmsteen with Joe Lynn Turner. We're talking the Ritchie Blackmore guitar style and tone, the wide vocal range and overdubbed harmonies, the dual guitar and organ lines. For the most part these are vigorous, uptempo songs with catchy melody lines, precise guitar solos and excellent production and songwriting in the classical/gothic guitar hard-rock tradition.

Mattson's use of electric sitar on "Just a Leo", combined with Uli Jon Roth-flavored fretwork creates a captivating sound I've not heard before. Other highlights include "As the Sun Meets the Sky", with evocative acoustic guitar, shakers, gliding sitars and an electric solo, ending with more acoustic guitar. And "And the Road Goes On"- featuring a short piano run behind the vocals, a long sinewy guitar solo, several false stops and a few bars of organ at the end.

This is not a progressive album per se, but it's the best guitar-based rock release I've encountered so far in 1998.