Norwegian progressive rock quartet Sykofant have finished their two-part EP project with the release of Leaves, the companion piece for last year's Red Sun. That one offered a rather bright sonic spectrum and by contrast they now went for the play of light in shade in the forests, alternating between pastoral acoustic musings and full-on dark prog-metal. They could not resist another blink-and-you'll-miss-it nod to Pink Floyd - Pigs in the subdued opener Roots and Canopy.
It all comes together in the multi-part longform composition Heart of the Woods, in which they may seem to wander around without a clear idea of where they are going, but no matter how many turns they make with shifting time signatures, whispering acoustic interludes, painting with broad strokes cinematic textures and this one goes to 11 electric. They never put a foot wrong and reach their destination by using shortcuts as well as roaming around freely for a bit and enjoying the sonic scenery they came up with.
