Unitopia

Unitopia is the rare case of prog from "down under". The band was formed by Mark Trueack (vocals) and Sean Timms (keyboard, guitar) after they were introduced by a mutual friend who saw that the two had similar tastes in music and the story goes that as soon as Timms heard Trueack sing, he knew they had to do something together. They released their first album, "More Than A Dream" in 2005 after spending 8 years on the albums, and have since been working on material for their second album "The Garden", which was recently released after 3 years of writing, recording and mastering. The band's influences stretch all across the progressive scope and make for a very intriguing sound that has one foot in "retro"-70s style progressive while still being able to sound like other artists in the modern progressive scene. They have a rather large sound to them, which is no doubt helped by their 6-member roster (including Matt Williams (guitar), Monty Ruggiero (drums), Shireen Khemlani (bass) and Tim Irrang (percussion)). They mix a combination of Flower Kings-like symphonic qualities with the soul of Ladder-era Yes and Trueack's unique vocals to make the brunt of their sound.

With the band's two first releases they have shown that they're an ambitious bunch. While the first album failed to make waves in the progressive community, their second album, The Garden has received critical praise in many prog circles, and as a double album with multiple epics, it certainly isn't one to be taken as "a flash in the pan". From here, one can only wonder what the band will do next.

A promising new entrant into the "retro" scene which should turn the heads of those interested in hearing more modern symphonic prog with various influences.
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