I’ve been following the Transport Aerian project for several years now, and it has been a pleasure to watch Hamlet grow from an entertaining curiosity to a full-fledged voice in the prog community, not to mention the great music he has produced along the way.  His last album “Darkblue” was his best at the time and showed real promise for the future, and Hamlet has completely delivered on that potential in his new album “Therianthrope”, an album that is human and poetic to the core.  The album releases on November 17th through Melodic Revolution Records.

I call Transport Aerian a “project” because, while it is primarily a solo outlet for Hamlet, various musicians are always present to help him bring his vision to life.  This time around Hamlet himself handles vocals, guitars, keys, bass, programming, drums, and sampling; but his guest list is pretty long: Rachel Bauer for spoken word and vocals, Paul Sax on violin, Stef Flaming on guitar, Stefan Boeykens on guitar, Elvya on hammered dulcimer, Dyian on hurdy-gurdy, Peter Matuchniak on guitar, Marco Ragni on guitar and keys, and Darren Brush on the Chapman Stick.  I almost ran out of breath just typing all of that.  So, this project is a group effort this time for sure.

When it comes to music, Transport Aerian is a little difficult to describe.  The music here is more ambitious and eclectic than anything the project has produced in the past, too.  Eerie violin muses alongside post-metal guitars, electronic accents, odd soundscapes, unconventional song structures, and irregular beats, producing a sort of diverse sound that will grow on you the more you hear it.  This is what I call “post-prog”, through and through, and that is no accident.  Hamlet has long been vocal of his opinion of the by-the-numbers prog that is unfortunately rather popular nowadays, so I see the genre variety and unconventional use of the instruments as a statement, and a powerful one at that.

Read the full review at > The Prog Mind