Timelock - Discography (1992 -2022)

The primal Dutch Timelock is back with a very ambitious album containing 10 songs that, according to the accompanying info, we have to classify in progressive (hard)rock and I can certainly go along with that. Personally, I already knew them from their first releases on the SI-music label and it is soon clear to me that this new album is quite a step forward. The album title Atomic Swap seems to be something of a term from crypto trading and is meant to emphasize the cooperation between the band members because that has been of great importance in the creation of the album. Where I initially had some trouble with the somewhat pinched, sometimes biting, voice of singer Ruud Stoker, that is now a lot less because he sings quite well. The Dutch sauce is still there but much tastier.

The album opens boldly with the more than ten-minute track Inuit and that is immediately a massive calling card. Heavy keyboards, driving rhythm section and of course fine guitar work by Martin Hendriks, although a more prominent solo at the end would not have been out of place. The cinematographic, orchestral pieces create an exciting atmosphere and second keyboardist Arjan van den Bosch is mainly responsible for this.
Very different is the following Baychimo which is reminiscent of the older work and is clearly a more rocky track but with the necessary symphonic elements. Yet it sounds very familiar and especially the chorus, with the background voices of Laura Eradus and Coby van Oorschot, builds on a fairly recognizable hard rock rhythm. Here too, the keys provide the prog character and with a pointed guitar solo Hendriks states his presence.
Stranger Within is another long track that just doesn't hit the ten minute mark and as soon as you hear the intro you know enough, this is going to be a special song. The guitar immediately creates tension and the variety with the keys is beautiful and as soon as we hear the plucking on the guitar there is that nice floating atmosphere. The pace is slow and Stoker dives deep into his own feelings and mentions his experiences with others, which are not always positive. After about six minutes the rhythm changes and bassist David Guurink and drummer Rob Boshuijzen provide a tight rhythm over which the guitar and keys solo wonderfully. Towards the end the tempo increases and we hear the biting voice of Stoker who conveys the emotion but still sounds a bit pinched. The beautiful ending is entirely due to keyboardists Julian Driessen and Arjan van den Bosch, excellent song.

The somewhat shorter Lost In Your Mind starts with a piano tune and a staccato rhythm with the voice of Laura Eradus that is deep and sometimes dark. After three minutes the whole band joins in and a really beautiful song develops with great guitar work through a nice solo. It is to the credit of the band, and especially Stoker, that he leaves room for Eradus because she sings really well. The song ends with a short keyboard solo, and again that pinging piano.
The Universe is also a somewhat shorter song and alternates quiet and heavier passages and is a bit overly pathetic here and there, but given the subject matter, that's no surprise.
You don't have to wonder what Artificial Intelligence is all about and the calm rhythm and full keys are again very tastefully arranged. There is a certain threat and build-up, but in the end it is only partially met. A clear choice has been made to place the somewhat shorter tracks of around five minutes towards the end of the album and A Passage To Rapa Nui is also part of that. This song makes less of an impression on me and Guurink's smooth bass work can't change that. The guitar solo also can't convince me and that's certainly not because of the quality of Hendriks, but it just doesn't touch me.
I get the feeling that at this point of the album we no longer reach the high quality of the first tracks and Untill The Darkness calls is partly responsible for that. The melody is very familiar and the chorus is a bit cheesy, it lacks the depth of the earlier songs.
Watch The Crime starts nicely and develops into a rocky song in which Stoker forces himself a bit here and there. The rather straightforward rhythm lacks tension, but fortunately the keys and background vocals do, to a certain extent, add it again.
The shortest track, the instrumental Insomnia, with just over three minutes, has the honour to close the album and I think that's a bit of a shame because this album deserves a grand finale. Well played, for sure, but I would have liked to have seen this song more central. And that's actually something I don't quite understand, for me the choice for the order of the tracks could have been different. I feel that the balance of the album is the cause of the fact that I lose my initial enthusiasm a bit as we get to the end.

Let's finish by saying that Timelock is a good band with good musicians and songs like Inuit and Stranger Within are really beautiful and show their enormous potential and what they are already capable of. Atomic Swap is clearly their best album so far but the difference between the aforementioned tracks and the more straight forward rock tracks is quite big. But as always, go listen for yourself because that's definitely what Atomic Swap deserves and there's bound to be more to come.

PS: Shortly after this release the band announced to call it a day!

***+ Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)