When I hear that a group of musicians first got together in a Yes tribute band, the last thing I expect is anything heavy. The first ten seconds of the new ARZ album, Solomon’s Key, completely changed that opinion for me. Forget any preconceived notions that a couple of guys imitating London’s premier prog giants would be doodling in some Roger Dean-backdropped universe of lofty art school tunes – this duo is putting out some awesome instrumental progressive rock that mixes a prog metal edge with a deep artistic core and incredible musicianship. It’s also one of those albums that constantly makes me think “how do they ever play this stuff live?” But they do!
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