Unbalancing Act

Speaking with Peter Hammill is almost like taking a step back in time. Though his clipped, well-spoken and precise tones suggest a man who could confidently command a squadron of Spitfires against an attack from marauding Messerschmitt Bf 109s in between charming the ladies over cocktails, they also belie a fury that beats at the heart of his latest venture, In Disequilibrium, a collaboration with those veterans of Sweden’s progressive rock scene, Isildurs Bane. Indeed, this is very much an album that captures and distils the present global torment that began in March 2020.

Not that this should come as much of a surprise. As even the most casual observer of both Van der Graaf Generator and Hammill’s solo material will attest, a shadow of darkness has always fallen across his work, but what genuinely raises interest as much as eyebrows here is the sheer sonic and lyrical intensity with which this project is delivered.

is far from a passive experience. Consisting of two epic suites – and – that clock in at is an immersive journey that alternately terrifies, soothes, provokes, confounds and beguiles. And any doubts about where this pairing of international talent is coming from are swiftly dispelled by Hammill’s angry opening gambit of, ‘’