Review: Hällas 'Isle of Wisdom' (prog-rock/hard rock/folk/metal)

Join Pete Pardo for a review of the new release from Swedish progressive act Hallas, 'Isle of Wisdom', out now on Napalm Records. #hallas

[liametheridge]

Man I have not been able to stop listening to this since it came out. Like you it's the first time I've ever heard of these guys, I had no clue what it was gonna even sound like. Safe to say, as a gigantic Wishbone Ash fan, when I heard those really obvious influences I was hooked. I'm not gonna lie I think this could be my album of the year. It's definitely gonna be in my top 5 at the end of this year! Incredible album 🤘🤘

[damianflavius]

As one of the newer bands on the hard rock/prog scene, they are certainly great, I forgot this album was supposed to come out until I saw the notification. Gave it a listen, no bad tracks, of course, one listen is nowhere close to enough!

Another "new" band you might enjoy (I know I certainly enjoy them) are The Night Flight Orchestra! Amazing stuff let me tell ya Pete. Great hard rock and AOR with some pop? even some disco elements in their music (that's what they remind me of). Great riffs, his voice fits well, and their albums are pretty varied when it comes to the songs. They have released 6 studio albums so far, the last one "Aeromantic II" being released in 2021, and their first one "Internal Affairs" in 2012. I'd say start with Amber Galactic, IMO that's their best one so far, but there aren't any stinkers.

Again, thanks for bringing us amazing new releases from bands that I wouldn't otherwise hear of.

[deadharvest]

Great band. I really got into the “Excerpts” album a few years ago after hearing glowing praise on line from none other than Fenriz of Darkthrone. Looking forward to delving into this new album.

[henrikkarlsson]

Pronounces Haellas. The two earlier albums are great, but this one is their best. Yet. And, check out their first EP (4 songs on it) which has a lot of early Black Sabbath influences which i kinda now Mr Pardo digs. The best album this year so far.

[chiragchittar]

Thanks for the review pete! Was really waiting for you to review this band! I think they are really promising and though they have a classic sound they don't sound like anyone else. I dunno if I really love the vocals either but I have grown to not mind them. This album was an improvement over their last album which was decent. I still feel their debut is the best by far and a phenomenal rock release from the past decade.

[garyjoyce]

Another homework assignment/ one ☝️ of many. Thanks PETE 👍💯

[dannyfeanor]

I love Hällas and their adventure rock! If you haven't yet, I highly recommend to check Excerpts from a Future Past album, it's indeed one of the most adventurous and epic albums.
STAR \m/

[thedarkwizardroom]

Quick run through and have to hear it to see if I can get into it. Thanks Pete. SOT and our all time great reviewer.

[williamwalker]

More people need to see the New Album Review Day show. It's phenomenal.

[blackeddy]

Great band from once again Sweden! Loved their last album and the songs I heard from the new album were very promising again! Good call!

[joecurrier]

Conundrum was amazing! Space rock brilliance. Can't wait to hear this one!

[Baz]

will give this a try. May i also recommend Vast Conduit's album Always Be There. Probably my favourite prog rock album in the last couple of decades.

[darcyska]

This sounds right up my alley and I had never heard of the group! That's for covering this sort of stuff and always providing more to add to the list!

[leahmatata]

Hällas, absolute fantastic! Will see Hällas next month in Berlin for the fourth time... SUPERB. Regards from Germany.

[andrewreed]

If you like these guys you should check out the band Wytch Hazel. Another very Wishbone Ash style hard rock band with some folky elements as well as heavy metal influence. They're a Christian band which can be a turnoff (was for me initially) but the songwriting and riffs are so on point it doesn't bother me at all that they're singing about medieval Christian stuff haha.

I'd also recommend the Canadian power trio SPELL. They lean more in the Blue Oyster Cult side of the hard rock spectrum with touches of Rush and other proggy heavy metal classics.

[saltofano]

Thanks for the review Pete. Have the first two.

[jono]

Great 👍🏾 album Pete, never heard before nice change for Napalm Definitely purchasing cheers.

[aidanhatton]

I just finished listening to the album for the first time and I must say, I’m impressed with what I heard. As you alluded to, I definitely heard Iron Maiden-like rhythms. Like you, I’m not a big fan of how the vocals sound but it’s definitely not awful. I look forward to listening to this record some more!

[peterm.fitzpatrick]

Those are called "umlauts", Pete. They indicate a modification of the vowel they are placed over, in this case kind of "Hellas" but very accented and nasal so kind of "Hayylas" too.

[TGE]

Hällas (Hellas)! Cool band! Tommy is from my hometown Jönköping.