The brainchild of Metal Church guitarist Kurdt Vanderhoof, Presto Ballet walks a musical tightrope between two sound worlds: The melodic hard rock of the late 1970s and 21st century progressive metal. On-again and off-again with a nearly constantly changing line-up -- depending on Vanderhoof's busy schedule with his main band and his related side project Druid, Presto Ballet's 2005 keyboard-drenched debut album, Peace Among the Ruins, was a dramatic collision of melody and force that drew rave reviews and favorable comparisons to the music of early Kansas, Symphony X, Yes, Rush, Boston, Dream Theater, and the Flower Kings. Since then, they've doubled down, weaving an aggressive balance between crunchy, fleet-fingered guitar rock, hooky soaring, multi-part vocal harmonies, and sweeping theatrical organ, synth, and Mellotron interludes, as evidenced by 2012's landmark Relic of the Modern World. Vanderhoof founded the group in the fall of 2004 in his hometown of Aberdeen, Washington, while Metal Church were on a brief hiatus. He enlisted Brian Cokeley as lead vocalist (who'd played in Vanderhoof, another of his side projects, in the late '90s and early aughts. Other original members included guitarist Scott Albright, drummer Jeff Wade, and bassist Brian Lake. Vanderhoof and Cokeley handled keyboard duties. The band signed to Inside Out at the end of 2004 and began recording Peace Among the Ruins, which was issued in June 2005 to general praise. Critics celebrated Vanderhoof's production for the album's warm, organic sound, achieved by recording on analog tape using vintage guitars and synths. Touring in support, the band won an immediate audience among Metal Church fans and played a slew of festival dates over the next couple of years, with the line-up in near constant flux. By the time they released their sophomore album, 2008's The Lost Art of Time Travel on Prog Rock Records, the band featured an almost entirely new roster with Albright as lead vocalist. Interestingly, the sound was even more retro, landing between the aggressive harmonic hard rock of Deep Purple -- as developed by its keyboardist Jon Lord -- and Mick Box's Uriah Heep with the multi-tracked choral vocal harmony approach of American groups like Styx and Kansas. For 2011's Invisible Places, Vanderhoof recruited former Metal Church vocalist Ronny Munroe, keyboardist Kerry Shacklett, bassist Bobby Ferkovich, and drummer Henry Elwood. The approach was decidedly organ-centric but resonated with metal fans as well. The support tour won the band a new legion of fans. Reception was so positive that upon returning from touring, Vanderhoof immediately re-entered the studio with two line-up changes: Munroe left (amicably) and was replaced by Chuck Campbell on lead vocals, and Elwood ceded the drum chair to Larry Crowe. The finished album, Relic of the Modern World, was issued in February of 2012. Its highlight -- and the cut that won them the most acclaim for the album -- was its 20-minute title track, an eight-part suite that closed the set. After another tour, Vanderhoof submerged himself in Metal Church and other activities for five years, finally reconvening the band for a tour in late 2017 and early 2018 before entering the studio, this time with new drummer Charlie Lorme. In December, the band issued The Days Between to general acclaim; it married '60s and early-'70s rock tropes (loads of twin lead guitars) to modern neo-prog (à la Spock's Beard) with Shacklett and Vanderhoof crafting an utterly balanced attack that displayed angular prog hooks atop layers of catchy melodies and lush vocal harmonies. ~ Thom Jurek