There are times that you wonder why a certain album has landed up on the desk of the main editor of Metal Temple. He is the one making sure we get the albums we would like to review, and sometimes you get those that need doing asap. I wonder why he decided that the ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP should be reviewed by us. Well, he did and put it on the proper list. Then I come along, see a Progressive Rock album called “Wolves” and decide that I might try my hand at making sense of the music. When I received the files, there was no information, so I looked it up on the Internet, and this is what I found on the site of the band: ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP is a Norwegian Jazzrock band formed in 2022 by drummer and composer André Drage. The band draws inspiration from the 70’s golden age era with bands like SOFT MACHINE, KING CRIMSON and MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA.

Okay, so ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP is a little outside my usual interests, but as I have always been quite nosy and curious about music, I am more than willing to give “Wolves” a decent try. I therefore have to issue a word of warning; if you are expecting any distorted guitars or any heavy rhythms, pass this one by. ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP will give you beautifully sculpted Progressive songs with a slight but definite Jazz undertone. The sound is sedate, the production is as clear and transparent as possible, and the musicianship of this quartet is unmistakable. Oh, before I forget, there are no voices being used on “Wolves”, making this an instrumental album. And I can honestly say that this didn’t occur to me until I started typing this review. This simply means that the music in itself is doing a good job, without the distractions of anybody trying to sing through the instruments.

All this put together makes me feel that although this isn’t a Metal record by any standard, this Progressive Rock and Jazz ensemble called ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP might be of quite a bit of interest to people who also like the softer parts of bands like for instance SOEN or THE PINEAPPLE THIEF. Musically this is very high-end stuff, and it will take a massive amount of listening before the songs are really well-known to you as a listener. The reason being that every time “Wolves” exits through your speakers, you will hear something you missed the last time, adding another experience to an already very pleasant one. Well done, ANDRÉ DRAGE GROUP.