Review by Saxy S for Dan Swanö - Moontower (1999)

Dan Swanö has a knack for rewriting the songwriting textbooks. He did it once in 1996 when Edge of Sanity released Crimson, and in 1999, Swanö did it again with Moontower. The heavy emphasis of the synthesizers as a melodic instrument is a huge boost to this album and it provides some remarkable counterpoint between them and the vocals. It had a way of reminding me of Jordan Rudess and the best keyboard moments on the early Dream Theater albums. The vocals are intense and are complimented by a strong backbone. Songwriting is less interested in full on aggression and riffs, focusing more on strong melodic leads and catchiness. "Encounterparts" is one of the best progressive instrumentals because of its insistence on returning to that primary prog hook from the beginning (Dream Theater could learn a thing or two). If this album had fewer harsh screams, I would assume that this was intended to be AOR. Reminded me a lot of the band Nightingale. Moontower, for me anyway, shows a level of maturity from Swanö that is seldom found in progressive music even today. Being able to show off your technical proficiency is one thing, but if you cannot do it in a way that is engaging with the audience, you just look like a try hard. Dan Swanö pulls it off beautifully on Moontower.

Best Songs: Uncreation, Patchworks, Creating Illusions, Encounterparts

For Fans Of: Edge of Sanity, Opeth, modern Amorphis