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Let’s get one thing straight: Take Me Home sounds nothing like Within Temptation. It it, however, a cohesive collection of 12 uplifting and melodic prog rock tunes with hints of Von Hertzen Brothers and Headspace. Despite a hectic touring schedule, Ruud Jolie not only found the time to record a follow‑up to his side project’s 2011 self-titled debut, but he even roped in members of Pain Of Salvation and Ayreon collaborators to help. Gone are the symphonic flourishes from the debut and in their place are sun-baked vocal harmonies and irregular time signatures, all set against a feel-good atmosphere. There are hints of Jellyfish in The Big Wheel’s swirly chorus, Prophets In Disguise proffers a glimpse of FAWK’s heavier side, and Anneke van Giersbergen lends her distinctive tones to the radio‑friendly We Are The Light. There are, however, a few moments where the album sounds a bit too ‘nice’ – for example, Breathe: In could be the soundtrack to a car commercial – but fortunately there are standout tracks like the punchy Colours, which shows off the project’s diversity within a four-minute window. Take Me Home isn’t the most groundbreaking release of this year, but it has some sparkling moments.

Contributing to Prog since the very first issue, writer and broadcaster Natasha Scharf was the magazine’s News Editor before she took up her current role of Deputy Editor, and has interviewed some of the best-known acts in the progressive music world from ELP, Yes and Marillion to Nightwish, Dream Theater and TesseracT. Starting young, she set up her first music fanzine in the late 80s and became a regular contributor to local newspapers and magazines over the next decade. The 00s would see her running the dark music magazine, Meltdown, as well as contributing to Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Terrorizer and Artrocker. Author of music subculture books The Art Of Gothic and Worldwide Gothic, she’s since written album sleeve notes for Cherry Red, and also co-wrote Tarja Turunen’s memoirs, Singing In My Blood. Beyond the written word, Natasha has spent several decades as a club DJ, spinning tunes at aftershow parties for Metallica, Motörhead and Nine Inch Nails. She’s currently the only member of the Prog team to have appeared on the magazine’s cover.

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