Norwegian prog-rockers Gazpacho may well have produced the best album of 2010, for which the lead contender had probably been Spock's Beard X until then. Gazpacho is not nearly as well know as it deserves to be, having forged a sound of its own without really emulating directly any of its elders. It is usually describes as "atmospheric", which barely does it justice. Its sound is distantly related to the almost-prog efforts of Muse or Radiohead but without taking the pop route. It has the inventiveness of Phideaux without being anchored in the progressive rock of previous eras and sometimes comes very close to the Marillion of Marbles, particularly that of The Invisible Man, yet it does not fall for the temptation of anthemic rock and keeps you surprised and interested. Gazpacho combines deceptively simple atmospherics that trace all the way back to Brian Eno, regular guitar-driven flashes of tension, and massive orchestration used sparingly but very effectively. All supporting the wonderfully flexible voice of Jan Henrik Ohme, at the same time fluid and tense, cold and full of emotion, always expressive. Missa Atropos is a concept album, following a composer withdrawing from the world, in a lighthouse, in order to compose a mass for the greek goddess Atropos, the eldest Fate, she who decides how one dies. Solitude and emotions both mounting towards the composer's master opus. It is very much a fusion of Gazpacho's two previous albums. Of 2007's Night, it has the lyricism and the great majestic rises and songs like Defense Mechanism or River could almost have belonged to the same creative burst. Of 2009's Tick Tock, is has the deceptive serenity and the inventiveness. Missa Atropos is not really an album made for picking favorites. Several songs stand out, notably Defense Mechanism, River, Missa Atropos, Vera and Splendid Isolation but the work is a whole, a mood trip set on a rather minimalist canvas, with burst of energy and moments of great beauty. It is telling that the album does not end on a showstopper but on a simple, short tune. In the manner of a Porcupine Tree album, but not sounding at all like a Steve Wilson project, Missa Atropos is rich, rewarding, layered and promises to become another classic. Unfortunately for Gazpacho, it may also be too modest and too intelligent to help the band hit it big. It will also be very difficult to top...