French Psychedelic/Progressive rockers GLOWSUN set themselves no easy task with their album "Beyond The Wall of Time". Making an instrumental rock album that is gripping, tonally varied and that conveys some meaning is a difficult thing to do for any band, let alone a trio that consists solely of guitar, bass and drums! Happily though, GLOWSUN are more than up to the challenge!

The lengthy intro to opener "Arrow of Time" is laden with effects and samples (e.g. ticking clocks), and gradually builds with the introduction of the full band - at this point, you are perhaps expecting the song to burst into a big theatrical slice of Symphonic Metal. However, it quickly becomes apparent that that's not going to be the case, and it's in no way a disappointing surprise! What you get instead is big, heavy yet relaxed grooves, perfectly suited guitar tone, and subtle progressive elements that develop the sound and ideas.

"Last Watchmaker's Grave" is suitably eerie, tense and suspenseful, leading to an overall uncomfortable feeling from the music. This crafting of an atmosphere is all important in music like this, as it gives the record much more meaning that if it was just a collection of nice sounding riffs and rhythms. GLOWSUN clearly have plenty of thematic ideas backing up the music and driving the writing process also, with the concept of time being an obvious recurring theme throughout "Beyond The Wall Of Time".

The style that GLOWSUN employ - lengthy tracks with little if any in the way of vocals or catchy guitar melodies - is always going to be divisive, and it is also something that you have to be in the right frame of mind to listen to and really appreciate. Therefore, if you have a pre-existing love for Psychedelic, purely instrumental Rock, then the likelihood is that you'll enjoy this hugely! If you don't fall into that category, but are in the mood for trying something differently, then it's definitely worth opening yourself up to GLOWSUN!