While Prog’s old guard still continue to defy the ages with a continuing stream of exceptional music, we must look ahead to identify the stars of tomorrow.

In the UK, we’ve seen a steady stream of younger bands breaking through the ranks and making their mark.

One such band is Azure, who initially caught everyone’s imagination when they brought their brand of complex, fantasy-based, metallic edged Prog to wider audiences notably through relatively low key llive appearances and a fascinating second album, Of Brine and Angel’s Beaks, together with a full-on single Mistress.

Topping the Readers’ Poll for Prog Magazine’s Best Unsigned Band in 2021, the band began 2022 working on their third studio album, which they declared would be an ambitious and far-reaching concept. And they weren’t kidding!

At their heart is the creative duo of vocalist/guitarist Christopher Sampson and guitarist Galen Stapley, who met while both were studying music at the University of Sussex in their now home city of Brighton.

Their mutual love of bands such as Dream Theater, Animals as Leaders and Yes brought them together to start creating their own brand of Prog. Its Unique Selling Point is very much the fantasy stories that Sampson writes, having published their first novel Path of the Adzinist: LU in December last year.

Many of the characters Sampson has created have found their way onto the album whose simplistic title Fym belies the extraordinary, spellbinding 78 minute journey on which Azure take their listeners.

But it’s not just Sampson’s incredible imagination that dominates this album. It’s also the extraordinary way in which Sampson and Stapley fuse their musical ideas, creating a vast but always accessible cinematic soundscape. Many long walks were taken along the south coast by Sampson and Stapley during the course of the album’s evolution as they spent countless hours refining the story and its soundtrack.

It also helps that Sampson is the possessor of a unique multi-octave, sometimes theatrical voice that can soar higher than Geddy Lee’s and evokes a kaleidoscope of emotions. Stapley is the perfect foil, their laser-like guitar runs that can so brilliantly illustrate the epic story, bringing other-worldly textures to the 12 shape-shifting tracks.

One can only guess the reaction when their regular bandmates Shaz D on keyboards and bassist Alex Miles, plus guest drummer Andrew Scott, when they saw the scale of Fym’s incredibly complex musical score. Whatever they might have thought, their contributions are key to interpreting the myriad nuances within the overall sound.

It’s not just the music, it is also the storyline which is centred on the centuries-spanning travails of introverted, jungle-dwelling historian Fym Sallow, whose mission is to retrieve the shards of a glass blade called Umbra.

Introducing characters from the book and previous albums including the aforementioned Mistress, Fym’s journey is fraught with danger as she is accompanied by The Lavender Fox, which has its own song and “voice”.

Each track has its own particular theme, depicting a specific sequence of the story.

One of the most memorable is the three track continuous sequence of Sky Sailing/Beyond the Bloom/Wilt, the central piece being the most vivid descriptive piece about a natural, but dangerous landscape in which the oboe of guest player Camille De Carvalho makes an appearance.

Perhaps the most accessible song is the album’s single Weight of the Blade, a mid-paced deliciously energetic rocker on which Shaz D shines on grand piano. Its accompanying video (see link) shows the band performing on a deserted shoreline, whilw giving tantalising insights into the storyline.

The climax comes with a huge battle in Trench of Nalu, that explodes with drama and turmoil, Fym facing her biggest and potentially deadliest conflict in the bowels of an alternative Earth.

No spoilers on how it all ends, but the conclusion, the ridiculously beautiful Moonrise sees Sampson in melancholic mood, accompanied only by a gentle, soothing bass melody from Miles.

The double album’s cover is as striking as its contents, Felix La Mer, depicting many of the characters and scenes from within. The accompanying booklet telling the story also features a map and Sampson’s unique lyrical symbols.

It’s an outstanding achievement from the band, who pour every ounce of their emotional energy into layering the all-enveloping sound then producing it to an exemplary standard.

The band’s live performances are as dramatic as their music: they are currently regrouping to ensure they take their stage show to a different level to reflect the quality of their music.

Fym is one of the best Prog albums of recent years that you probably have never heard of. It’s a dazzling, head-spinning musical journey that I recommend everyone experiences.

Alison Reijman