4 out of 5 Stars!

Through the years, when not lending his enormous talents to Progressive rockers Kansas, vocalist/keyboardist Steve Walsh has been involved in several projects. Probably the least known is his appearance as lead vocalist for Italian band Khymera on the group’s debut album.

In many ways, Khymera’s style is comparable to Streets, the band Walsh formed in the ’80s, only with more than a touch of Pomp Rock added to the Hard Rock/AOR sound, and a mixture of both upbeat and mid-paced tempos as well as a few “stadium rock” ballads. Tunes such as “Strike Like Lightning,” “Living With a Memory,” “Shadows,” “Tears on the Pages,” and “Written in the Wind” present catchy melodies and vigorous instrumentation with a full and rich studio production, reminding me of groups such as Shy, Asia, Drive She Said, Last Autumn’s Dream, Takara, and Journey.

And, as always, Walsh’s instantly recognizable voice and powerful, emotional performances are nothing short of awesome. Also present on this album is keyboardist Daniele Liverani and drummer Dario Ciccioni (both from the technically proficient bands Empty Tremor and Twinspirits), so what we have here are creative and skillful musicians highly accomplished in the Prog-Rock world attempting more commercial material with, I believe, a fairly high degree of success.

Get The Album Now!