Five years in the making, IHLO’s new album Legacy marks a major step forward for the British outfit, capturing their growth from rising newcomers to a confident force in the UK modern Prog scene.  Written collaboratively by band members Andy Robison, Phil Monro, and Clark McMenemy, “Legacy” is a fascinating and worthy successor to 2019’s “Union” - an acclaimed debut that topped Bandcamp’s Progressive Metal. Recorded in part at The Arch Studios in Southport, the album benefits from the studio’s breathtaking acoustics, which lend the drums an organic immediacy. Where “Union” hinted at IHLO’s influences, “Legacy” speaks in their own voice.

The album has ten songs, and “Wraith” is first, and the first thing I pick up on are the lush keyboards, and cinematic quality to the music. I forgot how much I like the vocals also. It quickly builds into a frenzied, but controlled crescendo, and it has an ominous sound with plenty of melodies. There is a balance of weight and splendor, and each allows the other to take the stage at just the right time. “Replica” has a bit of a gentler entrance, but darkness creeps in like a shadow rising on the wall. This time, the balance is struck between moments of light and moments of darkness. The chorus has a rich, beguiling melody, and it isn’t frugal on the weight either.  “Source” begins with a heavy electronic sound, and there is tension there, fighting against the warmth of the melodies. Heavy, Djent tones bust through the door but the melodies remain the main feature, and they are glorious.

“Empire” is straight up easy to listen to, and it wraps around you like a familiar blanket. Much of the rich, lush sound comes in the chorus, where the vocal notes are extended for more emphasis, and sparkling keyboards fill the background with effervescence. It takes a darker and heavier turn rounding the close. “Storm” is just a two-and-a-half minute song, but the emotional impact far outlasts its run time. “Mute” has a smooth, gentle, and somber feeling to it, and the title is very fitting. It reminds me of someone who has had their voice silenced. “Cenotaph” has more weight, more darkness, and more groove from the riffs and bass work. Accented Djent notes ae hit with deadly accuracy, and melody flows like a river. Following a steady sound, the vocals rise towards the end with passion, and the cut through the valley, mountains, and clouds.

“Haar” has a great combination of hardened bass notes, melodic keyboards and vocals, and some cinema. That low end power is like a diesel engine turning over and spewing thick, black smoke into the air, and the melodies are handed to you like a dinner plate. “Legacy” builds more warm tones, but they are also emotional, and somber. “Reaching for a path to set things right,” he muses. Those fat keyboard notes shine through the darkness like a beacon, and the crescendo that comes towards the end is nothing short of spectacular. “Signals” is the closer, and what a gorgeous closer it is, indeed. It might showcase the band at their best…mature songwriting, advanced melody development, and emotional impact. You can feel the tenderness slowly harden, but instead of becoming aggression, they become sparkling melodies.

An unbroken thread of melody carries the listener through an emotional spectrum. Their music exists in that space where progressive metal’s precision and compositional complexity merge with raw human feeling, creating something both powerful and deeply personal. The emotional breadth of IHLO’s sound is its defining strength. The songs give space for reflection, but they also demand release. They capture isolation and connection, despair and determination, collapse and rebirth. By the album’s end, you remember most how it felt. The album resonates in the bones, the breath, and the quiet spaces you carry inside.