Mr. Hackett sure has been busy the last few years. Two double albums, massive touring, guest playing on a number of albums... so one could ask himself if juggling so many projects could affect the quality level on his own material. Well Beyond The Shrouded Horizon will certainly reassure everybody. I would go as far as saying that it is his best album since the seventies, and only time will tell, but in my humble opinion it may just be his best ever.

On Beyond The Shrouded Horizon Steve Hackett explores just about all the musical genres he has visited in the past (Prog, Blues, Rock, Classical and Oriental inspired music). This is done with the highest level of quality and, even though he has been writing and playing music for so long, freshness. Also, although many styles are incorporated in the music, there is a common thread to the songs, so Beyond The Shrouded Horizon can be listened to in a continious way without being bothered by frequent and abrupt mood changes, a slight reservation I had in the past with even Steve Hackett's better albums.

I have purchased the deluxe edition of Beyond The Shrouded Horizon and did not regret it. The second CD may not be as essential as the first one, but for Steve Hackett fans it is a must buy, in good part because of the "Four Winds" suite.

Those of you that got off the Steve Hackett train because of his "so so" albums of the eighties and early nineties should certainly jump back in with Beyond The Shrouded Horizon , surely one of the best Prog albums of 2011.