Prepare to add it to your list of must-hear albums.

I’m not sure how a collaboration between bassist Lee Pomeroy (It Bites/Steve Hackett), keyboard player Adam Wakeman (Ozzy/Sabbath), drummer Richard Brook (Roger Daltry/Rick Wakeman) and singer Damian Wilson (Threshold/Ayreon) passed me by. However alongside guitar player Pete Rinaldi, who worked with Justin Hawkins of The Darkness in Hot Leg, Headspace has actually been a going concern since 2007, when they released an EP titled ‘I Am’. Now some five years later and ‘I Am Anonymous’ finally sees the light of day as the Headspace debut full length effort. Which put simply is a sumptuous collection of progressive metal ideas that are fully realised into a stunning album from start to finish.

The press release which accompanies the digital-promo-download says that Headspace are proud to name their influences, listing them as Yes, Dream Theater, Rush and Genesis. However you know that any band so upfront about what inspired their music, already has the confidence to know that what they have produced is far too individual to truly convey those other band’s sounds. Don’t get me wrong, Rinaldi’s guitar work bristles with deep punchy riffs in a way that could remind of Dream Theater, however when the keyboard work of Wakeman adds pinches of sound effects, piano flurries and swathes of atmosphere and Wilson opens up his vocal chords to reveal his gloriously clear voice, there’s no way you’d confuse this for Petrucci, Rudess and LaBrie.

A quick read through the song titles ‘Daddy Fucking Loves You’, ‘Stalled Armageddon’, ‘Fall Of America’, or ‘Die With A Bullet’, will leave you in no doubt that this is not an easy listening album in terms of its lyrical concept. Instead Wilson has constructed a set of words that refer to the dilemmas which face the world today, not shirking away from the darker side of human nature, nor afraid to show a side of us all that we would rather not confront. Musically however, there is enough light and shade to strike a perfect, progressive balance between backing up the weighty words and offering the hope that any tale that could be so bleak needs to survive. Instead of being a tough journey through nearly seventy minutes of music, this is a voyage that negates time by absolutely whizzing by, mainly down to just how involved with the whole thing - words and music - you become.

‘Die With A Bullet’ illustrates the darker side of things, with a staccato riff setting the tone for chiming keys and an impassioned vocal, while ‘The Big Day’ pushes roaming bass lines and intricate drumming to the fore. Surprisingly given his slightly less known status, Rinaldi drives most of this album through his excellent guitar work, although the more restrained keyboard, acoustic guitar and vocal intro to ‘Daddy...’ proves that this band’s strengths lie in many directions.
2012 has already been an excellent year for prog; prepare to add ‘I Am Anonymous’ to your list of must-hear albums.

Steven Reid