Elements Of Hope is the third album by Dutch Prog rock studio project Glorious Wolf, this is a concept album based on the premise of how the world looks now, for kids seeing endless wars and the rise of AI and the lack of long-term employment, asking the question of how do you find hope in the current world. Glorious Wolf are led by Ruud Dielen along with Frank Van Der Borg, Jyoti Verhoeff, Kike Paglia, Tim Ros, Harrie Knapen, Reg Parham, Thomas Zunk and Ties van Diesen. Recorded, mixed and produced by Ruud Dielen and Sjef Eikemans and mastered by: Steve Kitch Mastering.
The A-side opens with the Elements Of Hope suite Part One is Instrumental intro and has a feeling similar to Hans Lundin's work in the 80's, it has epic guitars and shimmering percussive volleys slowly building to a gentle riff drawing listeners in.
Part 2 is Carrying This Yoke is slow languorous thoughts on just how difficult it is to remain hopeful in the 2020's if you're young looking at how the world is changing, how do you reflect on the situation and find a way to remain hopeful, what will give you that faith, well sounding like the most pedestrian Pink Floyd songs seems to be the prescription being offered.
Part 3 Into The Clouds has sweet strings and a careful bass exploration, while Jyoti's vocals try to find the hope that will lead to a happy life, drawing us into the relaxed place they have created. Part 4 is a short Instrumental interlude allowing the guitars to give a sense of millennial foreboding, that shifts straight into Part 5 Life's Chaotic Spell that feels like early Isildur's Bane with the guitars moving across the speakers and keyboard interjections to the thoughts, on how the daily grind has become even more difficult to navigate through, only the sax solo can lead the way.
The B-side opens with If You Please that is built around a long searing, probing guitar solo and widescreen drumming, on what sounds like a huge kit, along with some tonal elements leading us through the current maze.
If I Only has slow dark string opening with a sitar like guitar tone, making it this sound a bit like a Chinese Opera before the heavy guitars come in giving this a fraught despairing edge, the fears expressed in Frank Van Der Berg's vocals, trying to find value in a world that treats people like pawns, without empathy or sympathy for the struggle most people face, they encourage us all to do something good rather than evil.
Whirlwinds & Maelstroms describes what this does musically quite well, although this is a quite gentle Whirlwind it certainly conjures up windblown landscapes quite nicely. About halfway through the organ comes in like Hansson Och Karlsson to battle it out with the Tradgard Algarnas style guitar break.
The album closes with Everything Must Break To Grow & EOH Pt 2 Reprise, this is a bucolic prog folk song delving into the cycle of life and how somethings need to be broken so we can move forwards, this gently evolves and builds.
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