American-based singer/song-writer and multi-instrumentalist Jeff Cannata has enjoyed a long, if slightly sporadic, career. In the early days of the art rock movement, he formed the ProgRock band, Jasper Wrath which featured James Christian (House Of Lords). Signed to MGM Records, and with their first LP receiving rave reviews, they toured extensively before the oft-quoted 'musical differences' led to the band splitting in 1976.

In the 30 years that have followed, Jeff's output has run to just four albums under the Arc Angel or Cannata banners. The most recent, Tamorok came out on the Atenzia label in 2002 and stands as probably my all-time favourite progressive AOR album. Huge melodies, beautifully crafted songs and Jeff's fantastic vocals make this addictive listening. However, when I saw that he has waited just four years to produce the follow-up, I was at the front of the queue.

Mysterium Magnum, is a real tour-de-force that manages to draw together many of the elements from Jeff's career to date. Best described as a blend of ProgRock, AOR and melodic hard rock - this has barely been off my CD player for the past few weeks - and yet still manages to unveil new charms to me on each play! If you like your rock to encapsulate memorable hooks, great musicianship, progressive arrangements, thoughtful lyrics, and a great mix of atmosphere and energy, then you have come to the right place.

Superbly played and written, there are plenty of classic 70's type arrangements but with an impressively modern feel to it all. Jeff plays a good amount of the instruments here, but there are more than a dozen guest musicians mentioned in the credits.

The opener Spirit of the Four Winds has a wonderfully catchy melody, as well as an assortment of keyboard and synth textures from both Jeff and Jay Rowe. I'm a just a sucker for the catchy, delicate hard rock melody that is the focus for King Of The Mountain (think Winger), or the more ballsy hooks that dominate Wanted: Dead or Alive (think House of Lords).

But it's the later track Life:101, which probably provides the best example of what this album has to offer. It has a great rocking melody, but around that, the music constantly changes pace and mood with dozens of small instrumental breaks, adding huge layers of interest. It's amazing what you can pack into just over four minutes.

In sharp contrast Somewhere Beyond The Sun, is one of the album's most progressive pieces, mixing up elements of Jethro Tull, Kansas and Glass Hammer. Flutes, guitars, and synths all take turns to force the song into different territories, before being brought back home by Cannata's soaring vocals.

And it's the vocals that provide the icing on the Mysterium Magnum cake. Really distinctive voices, able to drift effortlessly from tender heartbreak to belting power, are few and far between - but Jeff Cannata has it all in abundance.

Elsewhere, the balladic 4:17 [California] allows Jeff to show off his lyric-writing with a polemic on life in the colourful American state, whilst Promise You Heaven reminds me of the stripped-down, vocal-led AOR that featured so heavily on Tamorok.

Book Of Ages has a beguiling folk meets majestic rock sound not unlike early Magnum, while the two-part Kali Allah has some wonderful synthesizer and flute melodies that converge into a meeting of Jethro Tull and ELP - in the Middle East. There's only one track that fails. The prog-meets-electronica of French is just too out of place.

And it all comes wrapped in an impressive digipack containing great artwork from Ioannis. Mysterium Magnum really does provide a captivating listen.

If you're getting rather bored of the same old tried-and-tested names appearing at the top of the DPRP end of year poll, then this is an album, that if enough people are prepared to try something new, really deserves to be there. Cannata has the potential to appeal to a huge cross-section of people, especially those who enjoy accessible, melodic, progressive rock.

There are samples of every track, plus a video and details of how to get this release from the classy Cannata website. It will certainly be in my top ten at the end of the year. Love it! Love it! Love It!