Review by Bob Keeley
Since 1993 when the release of Journey of the Dunaden marked the debut of the mostly-studio band Glass Hammer, the albums produced by Steve Babb and Fred Schendel, along with a rotating cast of other singers and players, have focused on storytelling. Of their 22 previous studio albums (depending on how you count), at least 16 of them are concept albums, most telling a story. The earlier albums were inspired by existing stories from the likes of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis but soon they (primarily Babb) began creating their own, even going so far as writing books to flesh out the stories even more.
Here we are, 33 years later, and Babb continues to carry the Glass Hammer banner. While Schendel has been less involved in the last few albums, he doesn’t appear on this album at all. Last year, Babb had surgery to have a brain tumor removed (he is doing fine now) and that process unleashed a creative surge. Over the years, as one would expect with an artist with this sort of longevity, the sound of the band has shifted this way and that, fueled in part by changing musicians with whom the band was working but also with the desire to have the music fit the story Babb wanted to tell. That is especially true on their new album, Black Light.
Glass Hammer likes to present big, bold stories but always with a twinkle in their eye and, often, a joke lurking in the background. This time, the jokes are a little more evident. Babb has created a fantasy story about a musician who gets pulled into a black light poster in a rehearsal room that takes him on a journey that involves meeting some of the characters that have populated previous Glass Hammer albums. Perhaps, facing serious surgery caused Babb to want to look back a bit. But Black Light is no nostalgia trip.
The first two tracks, “I Stared at it Too Long” and “Lost Horizons,” set the stage by putting our protagonist in a dream world. The first track is a brief non-melodic introduction, but by the time we get to “Lost Horizons” we realize that Babb is having fun with us. Much like Ian Anderson made fun of prog while producing an excellent prog album in Thick as a Brick, Black Light treads the same ground, both being very prog while poking fun at itself and the genre. For example, much like early prog, many of these tracks are titled with multiple sections and with a wink that shows that Babb knows exactly what he is doing.
The first part of this track is titled “Part 1. Concept album excess – it begins.” Gone is the heavy sound of the Skallagrim Trilogy and we find ourselves in classic Glass Hammer territory with melodic keys and guitars supporting a strong vocal melody featuring new singer Christopher Galen. One surprise for longtime fans is that Schendel was apparently not the only good keyboardist in the original duo. Babb, who played bass in the band’s occasional concerts, handles all the keyboard duties on Black Light with aplomb. Ferran Ligero handles the electric guitar duties nicely as well.
Track 3, “Evermore” features a nice ongoing guitar riff and allusions to the sorcerer from the album “On to Evermore.” During the middle jam section, flute gives a nice textural shift to the song. (I assume this is a flute sound played on keys since no one is credited with playing flute.) Nice three part Beach-Boy-esque background vocals help to reinforce the sixties feel to the theme of this album.
The ten-minute “Return to the Shadowlands” references both the album Shadowlands and the first section of the song (with the subtitle “Strangely Familiar to Fans”) which includes a reference to “The Morning She Woke,” from what many fans consider their best album, The Inconsolable Secret. The second section is more laid back but features another memorable melody with singer Trevor Laake featured on this track. His voice makes a nice change from Galen’s. The track builds in intensity as we approach the end of this track as Laake sings “I thought to cherish our walks in the garden,’ again with a nod to The Inconsolable Secret. This is a fun track and an early highlight.
Next we come to a trio of instrumental tracks with over thirteen minutes of music at the heart of this album. In “Neon Wizard – the Battle,” the first of these instrumental tracks, Ligero’s guitar and Babb’s keys trade riffs and Drummer Ken Kristiansen is particularly noticeable. This track is reminiscent of the epic finale of Arise, although it could just be Glass Hammer sounding like Glass Hammer. Next, we move to another instrumental, the moody track, “The Forest of Forgetting” and then to “The Persistence of Memory.” A delay-infused guitar riff drives this final instrumental piece with nice Hammond organ playing from Babb.
We come out of these moody and varied instrumental tracks and on to “Mercury Rain,” featuring the lovely voice of Olivia Tharpe, who we heard in their previous album, Rogue. I wish there was more of Tharpe’s voice on this album as it is a real highlight. On an album with lots of memorable melodies, “Mercury Rain” has perhaps the most memorable hook. This is followed by the short track “It Falls Upside Down” featuring spoken words over another moody backdrop. The finale, “Kaleidoscope Eyes,” brings the album to a stirring conclusion with both Galen and Laake swapping lead vocals. Lots of cool instrumental sections in this song once again giving Babb’s organ and Ligero’s guitar a chance to come to the front.
The music on Black Light is varied and inventive and can be appreciated without any reference to the story, but the story is fun and adds another layer of enjoyment to the music. Long-time fans, though, are rewarded with Easter Eggs referencing other Glass Hammer albums going back over 30 years. Steve Babb manages to continue to find new inspiration and talented new collaborators as Glass Hammer’s fourth decade looks every bit as interesting as their first three. Black Light is evidence that Glass Hammer is still a band to pay attention to as they deliver a superb example of how prog can reference the past while looking forward.
Released on Nov. 6th, 2026
1. I Stared At It Too Long
2. Lost Horizons
3. Evermore
4. Return To The Shadowlands
5. Neon-Wizard – The Battle
6. The Forest Of Forgetting
7. The Persistence Of memory
8. Mercury Rain
9. It Falls Upside Down
10. Kaleidoscope Skies
Christopher Galen – Lead & backing vocals
Trevor Laake – Lead & backing vocals
Olivia Tharpe – Lead & backing vocals
erran Ligero – Lead & rhythm guitar
Ken Kristiansen – Drums Oliver Day – Acoustic guitar
Steve Babb – Keyboards, bass, percussion and backing vocals
Order only at glasshammer.com, and will ship ahead of the November 6 world release.
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