We rarely review progressive rock albums here. This is mostly because most “prog-rock” nowadays obviously don’t know that “prog” is short for “progressive” and that “progressive” means “favouring or promoting progress”. Well, No More Pain is no different. The Post Human Condition is a great, albeit standard, prog rock album; it sticks to the prog rock formula.

Heavily influenced by Spock’s Beard, apparently, themselves heavily influenced by the likes of Gentle Giant, ELP, King Crimson, and Pink Floyd, NMP dwell in 60s and 70s progressive rock, with a modern edge to it. There’s nothing new that’s brought to the table here, nothing that’s a game changer, and they probably won’t be very influential. That being said, The Post Human Condition is a great album for fans of the genre, and for those who actually like the standard prog rock formula.

While they use pretty much all common tropes of the genre and stick to the paradigm, it never (well, almost) sounds cliché or overtly retrograde. The guitar is masterfully done as well as the piano, and they can both almost draw tears from the listener’s eyes at times, while remaining “crazy” enough to create a feel of circus music that appears but a few times throughout the whole album. And that “circus music” feel is what made Haken sound so amazing at first (now they’ve totally lost it).

The Post Human Condition is varied enough, playing through quite a lot of prog rock styles, and it’s wonderfully crafted and perfectly played, making it, honestly, one of the best prog rock albums of recent times, easily comparable to the aforementioned Spock’s Beard. It’s a must for any prog rock fan.