IHLO – Legacy Review
By Owlswald
The creation of an album is a long, arduous process—a truth UK prog trio IHLO knows well. After five years of painstaking work, the group has returned with their sophomore album, Legacy. Over the years, IHLO has shared glimpses of their meticulous creative process via Patreon, revealing the humorous temporary names they gave to demos—like “Szechuan Sauce” and “Banana Pants”—while showing just how demanding the journey has been. Unlike their debut, Union, where they admit they “stumbled into” its dark, brooding atmosphere, IHLO approached Legacy with clear intent, determined to bring the same melancholic, emotional core with them and challenging themselves to craft complex compositions that seamlessly blend their progressive metal, electronic, and pop influences. With Legacy finally here, it’s time to discover if IHLO’s hard work was worth the effort.
Whereas Union was a solid slab of Tesseract worship, Legacy finds IHLO forging a more distinct voice of their own. To be sure, the trio still operates on the djenty side of the prog spectrum, but Legacy is more ambitious, polished and patient, with through-composed songs1 that ebb and flow between intricate passages to monumental crescendos. The trio remains rich in talent. Singer Andy Robison gives Daniel Tompkins (Tesseract) a run for his money, with buttery smooth tones (“Source,” “Replica”), soaring choruses (“Cenotaph,” “Empire”) and sultry crooning (“Source,” “Mute”) that binds Legacy together, grounding IHLO’s progressive experimentation in accessibility. Robison, along with guitarist Phil Monro, provides bright, well-matched layers of harmony with their keys and synths over bouts of Monro’s djent-laden guitar stammers. Drummer Clark McMenemy’s polyrhythms and ghost-noted backbeats create hard-hitting tempos with Neil Peart-esque fills (“Cenotaph,” “Storm,” “Wraith”) and shimmering cymbal work. Clocking in at a hearty 68 minutes and bolstered by slick production that lets every facet of IHLO’s sound shine, Legacy is an investment, but a worthy one where the creative juice is worth the squeeze.
Legacy is structured into two main movements, with interlude “Storm” serving as a natural midpoint. The first half—from “Wraith” to “Empire”—showcases IHLO’s progressive strength through intricate musicianship and dynamic songwriting as the trio weaves diverse influences into a painter’s palette of emotional and musical payoffs. Their willingness to subvert typical song structures and build an engrossing mood from scratch is a hallmark of their songwriting that works to their advantage. “Source” demonstrates this genre-interlacing talent, beginning with a trip-hop Massive Attack feel before launching into tight, percussive grooves with Robison’s excellent vocal harmonies. After building anticipation with a drawn-out, electronic intro, “Wraith” drops into a stuttering, palm-muted verse before an airy chorus and a fantastic guitar solo envelop the listener in a blanket of warm tones. Despite its length, the track never loses purpose, with each evolution feeling deliberate. Radio hit “Empire”—with its striking guitar chords, glittering synths, and vibrant rock beat—and “Replica’s” powerful and infectious songwriting anchor the album’s first twenty-five minutes with Robison’s memorable sing-along hooks and melodies endlessly captivating.
The second movement—from “Mute” to “Signals”—reveals IHLO’s more sensitive, introspective side. The somber and melancholic “Mute,” with its arpeggiated guitars and silky, smooth singing, is a clear departure from Legacy’s earlier, more aggressive qualities. While it reveals a new facet of the group’s sound, it lacks the hooks of earlier tracks, causing a dip in momentum. Thankfully, “Cenotaph’s” strong, driving pulse largely gets things back on track with powerful rhythms and atmospheric guitar building to an epic, hard-hitting conclusion. “Haar”—serving as a would-be closer—jumps right into a triumphant homecoming that leverages a tight rhythmic groove and shimmering keyboards. But then, for some reason, the album keeps going. Closing tracks, “Legacy” and “Signals,” lack purpose and unnecessarily extend the runtime by twenty minutes. The Between the Buried and Me-influenced “Signals” starts strong but suffers from a repetitive, four-minute outro, while the latter lacks gripping hooks, making for an anticlimactic end.
While it may not stick the landing, Legacy is an ambitious and emotive album that largely justifies the group’s five-year creative journey. It evidences IHLO’s evolution, finding their voice in an ever-growing progressive metal landscape. For prog fans who appreciate intricate musicianship and poignant songwriting, Legacy is a rewarding listen and a testament to the fact that some creative journeys are worth the wait.
Rating: Good
DR: N/A | Format Reviewed: Stream
Label: KScope
Websites: ihlo.bandcamp.com | ihlo.co.uk | facebook.com/ihloband
Releases Worldwide: August 29th, 2025
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