New Eden Orchestra – Vikings

New Eden Orchestra was a quintet from Pittsburgh led by composer Michael Lunn. Lunn passed away in 2009. Mike had written the music for and begun recording what were to be two CDs: Vikings and Anytown. The NEO band members, eight other musicians in total, spent their time and energy completing Mike’s work, merging some compositions originally intended for Anytown into the CD Vikings. Mike’s main influences were the big ones: Yes, Genesis, ELP, Kansas, Pink Floyd, Gentle Giant, and others. Vikings is stronger than Anyman, with the feel of Glass Hammer’s early ‘storytelling’ albums. The instrumental tracks and segments show a stronger ELP and Kansas influence, in a Song for America meets Pirates kind of way, but the vocal tracks here are just as important, with female vocals dominating.