Neon Fly - Clever Disguise EP

Based in London, Neon Fly is the musical vision of guitar player Frederick Thunder and with ‘Clever Disguise’ the band takes its first steps into the limelight currently occupied by the likes of Dragonforce and Powerquest. Frederick, a highly likeable chap of Mexican origin is joined by Paul Miller (Bass), Tamas Csemez (Vocals), Nick Tingle (Drums) and Patrick Harrington (Guitar).

On ‘Clever Disguise’ they offer up five tracks as a taster of what is to come. Opener ‘Reality Shift’ is a tasteful helping of melodic Power Metal which immediately confirms the band’s abilities. They have scored something of a coup by enlisting TNT’s Tony Mills to help on backing vocals, his input adding just a touch of extra depth to the already sweet melodies. The guitar and keyboards blend well and the choice of using a classic Rhodes type sound for the keyboard break works very nicely. ‘Broken Wings’ confirms the band’s ability to pen and play slick, attractive metal with a nod to the likes of Angra.

Next up is the delightfully quirky ‘I Thought I Saw a UFO’. This track is brim full of youthful exuberance and humour; you can almost hear them grin as they’re playing. It’s pure NWOBHM which bounces along like a hyperactive teenager and has a chorus which I’m quite sure the band will become heartily sick of when they’ve had to play it at every show they do for the next ten years! With ‘Gonna Shoot You Right Down’ and ‘Ship with No Sails’ they saved the best for last. These tracks begin to reveal Neon Fly’s real potential. The first of the two is a bombastic rocker woven around robust riffing and an impressive vocal performance. The guitar break, strongly reminiscent of Dave Murray’s style is an excellent piece of rock guitar composition and played with admirable feel and emotion.

‘Ship with No Sails’ showcases a sense of the grandiose with expansive choruses and orchestral embellishments. The arrangements and compositional abilities which Frederick and his cohorts demonstrate here are exciting to hear from a young band and hint at great things to follow. It would be unfair and possibly patronising to heap unreserved praise on ‘Clever Disguise’ because it is after all their first quasi self-produced demo/EP. Consequently there is still a lot to address in the production and delivery of their music, from some rather “clunky” moments in the mix to nailing the production on the guitar sound.  Having said that, on the evidence of ‘Clever Disguise’ the future is very bright for Neon Fly. This band has the potential to fly the flag for British progressive/ power metal for years to come. With ‘Clever Disguise’ Neon Fly have flashed an ankle, we look forward to the release of their first album and getting on stage to give us “the full Monty”! 

You can get a copy at www.myspace.com/neonflyband.