New Hampshire’s Dreadnaught may not be metal, per se, but their proggish aesthetic will appeal to fans of adventurous rock from Big Black to Birdsongs Of The Mesozoic. Their fourth album, Musica En Flagrante, finds the trio drifting from their patented and self-professed ‘progabilly’ rock formula and into more challenging directions. In fact, the album opener “R. Daneel Olivaw” sounds like a totally different band, bubbling with techno/hip-hop backbeats and some ProjeKct-era King Crimson mixed in for good measure. “One Trick Pony,” however, delves back into what made 2001’s The American Standard so catchy and (guitar-) noodle-licious. “Kazak, The Hound Of Space” is a stormy piano interlude, the sax ending of which sounds like the soundtrack to a children’s story. Again, “Tiny Machines” is classic Dreadnaught but a more updated sound: it’s less jazz-metal than previous outings, reflecting more of the side projects that each member has been involved with over the past three years. “Northern Pike” is an industrial/ambient interlude, again with techno/hip-hop backbeats, accomplished synth work, a little harmonica, and funky guitar and bass. More experimentation follows in “Are Your Pants Down? (Pants Down)” with tympani, piano, and instrumental yet controlled mayhem, while its companion piece “Pull Your Pants Down (Pants Down)” is Crimson-ish guitar noise. Another instrumental, “Big Cats,” sounds like the theme to an imaginary Disney western, while the organ/synths of “Fanfare For A Losing Team”—and also the woodwinds of “Winston Niles Rumfoord”—sound exactly like incidental music from a ’60s movie, though the latter sports some Rick Wakeman-like keys. “Elba (Never Come Back, I Want You Gone)” pits Justin Walton’s Rhodes chords against Bob Lord’s beefy, White Stripes-ish bass riffs. A violin joins up for “Back Through Newport, Rhode Island” and “Salo” (sections of the four-part “The Sirens Of Titan” suite), making these two cuts a distinctive cross between Beethoven and Ricky Skaggs. Album closer “Royal Jelly” summarizes their stance with Walton’s Steve Howe-styled tones and drummer Tim Haney’s tasteful polyrhythms. Wherever their musical muses take them, Dreadnaught are sure to find blazing glory in their jaunty experi-prog, as Musica En Flagrante is just a rest stop in their journey.

Chris Ayers
www.digitalmetal.com