Sometimes people find instrumental music hard to understand. Phrases like "there are no words, so there's no meaning" are often thrown around, along with annoyance that the genre usually means that the players have to be several levels higher as musicians in order for it to have any real worth. Among this is also the way that from time to time instrumental groups can forget the musical aspect of their craft and break down into merely a long series of show-off ultra-technical solos with little musical value.

SPECIAL PROVIDENCE from Hungary have definitely managed to avoid falling into that trap with their latest release, "Essence of Change". The band manages to glide between beautiful melodies and heavy riffs, through intricate solo passages and some stunning, complex unison passages and deep grooves. "Gas Giants" is a fantastic example of all these elements, even mixing in a little bit of a Funk riff with the Jazz and Progressive Metal elements. The trade-offs between guitar and keyboards are stunning, featuring enough time changes to keep listeners on their toes, and including elements of more Electronic music. The album's opening number showcases some of the heavier elements- including time changing riffs, crazy shredding and gentler, atmospheric sections. The main piano riff for "Northern Lights" has a very classical edge to it, which juxtaposes really well with the very Joe Satriani-esque lead guitar line. The music reminds me of the instrumental breakdowns from groups like HAKEN and LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, with a mixture of precise musicality and pure fusion craziness.

Overall, this album offers enough of interest to be enjoyable for people who like instrumental music, without being all about a single player having all the spotlight. As a quartet, these Hungarian lads really seem to be able to shred with the big dogs, and gigging with Prog titans DREAM THEATER in their native Budapest next month really proves it.