Hamadryad, hailing from Quebec Canada, is a powerful and unique band.  Each of their albums, and this is their fourth counting one live disc, is different.  Starting out as more of a rock/jazz fusion quintet with vocals, they morphed into a progressive rock quartet, and now are back to the quintet again, with a combination of their past leanings and a new sounding direction.  And this is a good thing too because Intrusion just cooks from beginning to end with a multitude of styles all played by the expert musicians that they are.

Hamadryad, named for a Greek mythological creature that lived in trees (who knew?), features Denis Jalbert – guitars, mandolin; Jean-Francois Desilets – bass, keyboards, acoustic guitar, lead and backing vocals; Sebastian Cloutier – keyboards; Nick Turcotte – drums and percussion; and Jean-Phillippe Major – lead and backing vocals.  Their style is to mix a lot of contrasts within their songs – heavy to light, fast to slow, all with superb technical ability and interesting lyrics (all sung in English, by the way). 

Here’s a rundown of what to expect in this powerful album:

Funk-a-trunk begins the LP with a heavy rock anthem including blistering guitar riff, syncopating change-ups and a sound reminiscent to something White Snake might do.  The difference here is that they move into different keys and explore avenues in jazz/fusion too, making the piece more layered.  They trade solos in a harrowing mix, the guitar shreds over top of pounding drums and tight, tight bass lines, the keyboard comes in as the track finds a less frantic space, but all of it comes back again in a more metal fashion.  Then it takes a completely different tack and gets into a funky rhythm and then returns to the original power riffs it all started with.  I think you can tell that you can’t predict for long what the band will do.  This doesn’t sound like Gentle Giant, but you might say their approach is the same – daring to challenge you to follow them down winding roads – no straight ahead here!

Pray to my God starts as a beautiful acoustic ballad, with some nice jazzy passages, but then develops into something akin to a face-paced Van Der Graaf Generator song – the dark piano and bass giving a sense of anticipation and the keyboards rising to a Genesis-influenced moment – very beautiful in all its majesty.  Even Supertramp comes to mind, especially when the song takes yet another turn to a fuller, more upbeat and definitely old school Prog sound.

Lap of Love begins with a jazz piano, something that could be on a Chick Corea album, then changes abruptly to an angular melody with interesting vocals and off tempo rhythms with the great echolyn coming to mind.  The track pushes all that aside and becomes a fast-paced mix of all sorts of styles and this I can say really recalls Gentle Giant – a really interesting and complex work.

Sentenced reflects their gentler side and could fit comfortably within Genesis’ Selling England by the Pound.  Acoustic guitars dominant here, and when the track becomes a bit more upbeat, they stay in the mix as the vocals dominate.  As the track moves along, the drummer performs a drum solo in the background while the gentle music floats above it – clever.  In addition, it was nice that this song took a break from the band’s fusion tendencies – an oasis in the storm.

Here and Now starts with a keyboard intro that sounds like a child’s toy piano, then changes to a simple rock song with melody and chorus, a nice up-tempo song and dare I say it, almost an AOR single!  The melody gets repeated to become a harder sounding take on the same song – heavier and with punchier playing including a couple of keyboard solos. 

In My Country has a real Fish-era Marillion flavour to start and a powerful short and sweet guitar solo and ends in a country-flavoured, Dixie Dregs-like line with a Moog solo to boot – then it comes back with the first part to conclude – an interesting mix of styles.

Torture Zone returns the band to a fast-paced, rock fusion excursion, and it really cooks.  Exchanging keyboard and guitar solos, with the bass and drums moving at a fast clip below, the talents of the musicians really shine here.  This is killer stuff and they pull out all the stops – be prepared to wipe down with a towel afterwards!

Lost begins at the tail end of Torture Zone and the same pace carries on but with vocals now in the mix and wah wah guitar too.  A change comes about halfway through where a spoken narrative hovers over a spooky sounding, minor key section.  Keyboard and vocal choir adds to this then the vocal comes back with a more sinister take.  The keyboards and guitars then play solos simultaneously and the whole track becomes a heavy wall of sound.

The final track, with one of the longest titles I’ve seen in a long time, which is: He was Recalling Memories but You Know I Didn’t Believe a Single Word Because, No Matter How Much Emphasis He was Putting in it…Still Smelled like Bull Sh*t (A.K.A. Liar), has a beginning that reminds me a lot of Caravan – a whimsical vocal and light melody.  Though it contains heavier bits in the change-ups, the basic feel of the song carries on, including Hammond organ.  It finally breaks into more heavy territory with a repeating chorus line and then gets into Dream Theatre-inspired metal for the final portion of the piece, but with classic keyboards – a nice juxtaposition.  The guitar solo here is an absolute killer as it ends. 

I purchased the special two disc edition, with the second disc being a DVD concert filmed in France in 2006 when they were a quartet.  It is well filmed and is bare bones, the band on a simple stage at an outdoor festival and it is terrific to be able to watch them go through their paces. 

Hamadryad certainly gives you lots for your listening pleasure.  If you like modern sounding Rock with touches of the old and new mixed with some fusion and jazz and sprinkled with top tier musicianship (and like to be surprised) then I think this band, and this CD, is for you.