Brazilian melodic rockers Landscape release their new album ‘Wide Open Sky’ on Frontier Records on 17th January

Review by Phil M.

Hailing from Curitiba in Brazil, Landfall were formed originally back in 2017 in when former Aras vocalist Gui Oliver joined Souzza and Gelbcke. The band are now into this, their third album stage, but any doubts over what can be a tricky stage in the life of a band (Women and Children First anyone?) that can quickly be ignored. This is melodic rock of the finest order, beautifully recorded and produced with quality musicianship and vocals throughout. They’ve released two singles ahead of the album being dropped, most recently ‘Running in Circles’ and prior to that – ‘No Tomorrow’ which can be viewed here:

The album kicks off though with ‘Tree of Life’ with a nicely muted guitar riff, the track bowls along at a good rate with some intricate guitar work and Oliver’s voice supported by good backing vocals and a catchy chorus. Sirens and alarms usher in ‘SOS’ before a killer riff starts with keyboards behind it, in fact throughout the track there are many layers of sound and great arpeggio work in the guitar solo. ‘When the Curtain Falls’ starts with short piece if synth work before a quick guitar riff gets the track going properly. The verse has a different, slower beat and chorus by comparison a jerkier feel to it.

Current single ‘Running in Circles’ sounds catchy from the off and comparisons with Neal Schon and Journey are valid and you could easily believe it was them if you heard this blind. The guitar solo is finely crafted with amazing harmonics and supported by pounding bass and drums and the vocals and chorus rock well. Quite simply this is an excellent track and is put straight into my playlist.

‘No Tomorrow’ follows in a similar vein though a little more AOR in approach a good chorus and multi-layered vocal harmonies and another top-notch guitar solo, which when finished leads into nice keyboards and a key change. It all fits together very well.

The tempo is taken back some for the album’s obligatory ballad ‘A Letter to You’ and lead work that reminded me of Steve Morse on ‘Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming’. The beat is upped for ‘Coming Home’ with another quick riff and cool guitar sound.

‘Hourglass’ has a more proggy feel to it with some interesting beats which bring to remind one of Dream Theater. The album closes with the title track and its surely contender for a single release with layered harmonies and complexity with a neat keyboard outro.

Quite simply this is a superb album produced by a band working together and at their musical peak (so far). The sonic landscape is wide, and there’s the complexity of Extreme in their earlier years evident as well as those comparisons with Journey. Each of the musicians deserves credit for this, and Oliver’s standout vocals are worthy of note. Let’s hope the band get the recognition they surely deserve and continue producing music like this.

Track Listing:

1. Tree Of Life

2. SOS

3. When The Curtain Falls

4. Running In Circles

5. No Tomorrow

6. A Letter to You

7. Coming Home

8. Intoxicated

9. Hourglass

10. Higher Than the Moon

11. Wide Open Sky

Landfall are:

Gui Oliver – Vocals

Marcelo Gelbcke – Guitars, Acoustic Guitars, Backing Vocals

Luis Rocha – Bass, Backing Vocals

Felipe Souzza – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals