It’s not unusual for the paths of Science Fiction and Progressive Rock to intersect. There have been a number of times where the work of famous sci-fi writers has been the inspiration for some heady projects. But results unique where the writer, in this case Kevin J. Anderson actually gets involved with the project to use the musical scope of prog to provide a crossover project for his work as novelist.
Kevin J. Anderson is most famous for continuing Frank Herbert’s Dune saga, he’s also produced tie-in novels in the Star Wars, X-Files and DC universes. But Kevin is also deeply involved with the prog music world; he and Neil Peart wrote a novel based on the Rush album ‘Clockwork Angels’.
ROSWELL SIX is a fascinating project also involving novels and music albums. And now they just released the third opus titled “Terra Incognita; Uncharted Shores”. The brain of the musical side is composer / keyboardist Erik Norlander (Asia feat. John Payne, Last in Line), and there’s some terrific artists participating – not only ‘guests’, but fully involved.
On vocals there’s the awesome Michael Sadler (Saga), Dan Reed, Ted Leonard (Spock’s Beard, Pattern-Seeking Animals), Anneke van Giersbergen (Ayreon), Hans Eberbach (Sweet Vine), and the great Greg Bissonette is on drums, among other musicians.
“Terra Incognita; Uncharted Shores” is pretty much more straightforward than the previous 2 efforts, ‘song-format’ classic prog rock. Fans of Kansas, Styx, Saga, Spock’s Beard, Threshold, Arena, will love it.
Title track “Uncharted Shores” is a wonderful opener, conjuring the spirit of late Seventies Kansas with contemporary prog. Next ”The Promised Land” is much more commercial, almost progressive melodic rock with swirling guitars and catchy choruses akin Styx.
The beautiful voice of Anneke van Geirsbergen appears in track 3, “A Sense of Wonder”. We like the acoustic, Celtic sounding “Haunted and Hunted” a lot. It must be noted all that excellent violin work on the album is by Jonathan Dinklage – he led the Clockwork Angels string section on those 2012 & 2013 tours. Rush connections aplenty!
“Lighthouse” is another highlight, with its chugging melodic rock riffing and excellent guitar soloing, plus Michael Sadler excellent lead voice. “The Ballet of the Storm” is an instrumental that has a very nice intro played on violin that transforms into a warm piano/electric guitar duet underpinned by some excellent bass.
“The Key to Creation” features the return of Anneke, and it has a fun ’80s pop-rock vibe to it – it’s got a relentless beat with a wall of synthesized sound. As a matter of fact, it’s our favorite track on the album. It has a nice hook in the chorus that sticks to your my ear.
“Unexpected” keeps the musical quality high with, with talented Dan Reed handling the vocals. The song’s haunting melody keeps you hooked. For a minute, you thought Steve Walsh had emerged from retirement! Reed has this grizzled timbre, but a real purity of tone and expression underneath, and he absolutely sells the part.
And The Grafenberg Disciples vocalist Hans Eberbach brings it all home on “Not In My Name” – gutsy and soulful by turns, and consistently dramatic (with Tull’s Doane Perry contributing a spoken-word cameo. The line up also enlists the talents of fantastic drummer Greg Bissonette.
All praise to Kevin J. Anderson for bringing together so many beloved things: fantasy, science fiction, and class prog rock. And Erik Norlander as musical director of these marvelous musicians.
HIGHLY Recommended
01 – Uncharted Shores
02 – The Promised Land
03 – A Sense of Wonder
04 – Haunted and Hunted
05 – Mortal Enemies
06 – Lighthouse
07 – The Ballet of the Storm
08 – The Key to Creation
09 – Unexpected
10 – Not in My Name
Erik Norlander – keyboards
Michael Sadler – vocals
Anneke van Geirsbergen – vocals (3,8)
Ted Leonard – vocals
Dan Reed – vocals (9)
Hans Eberbach – vocals
Doane Perry – spoken word
Bob Madsen – bass
Billy Connolly – guitar
Jerry Merrill – keyboards
Jonathan Dinklage – violin
Ed Toth – drums
Greg Bissonette – drums
ROSWELL SIX – Terra Incognita: Uncharted Shores (2025)MP3+FLAC
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