Review | Headless – Transitional Objects

M Theory Records

If there’s one thing Headless have perfected over the years, it’s the art of sharpening complex ideas until they cut like hooks. `Transitional Objects’ is a no-filler record engineered to move. It marries brains, bite, and big choruses. On paper the architecture is lean and mean. It is a densely musical record that rewards close listening without sacrificing immediate grip.

Headless operate in a tantalizing bandwidth where AOR melodicism and progressive muscle interlace. The line-up remains a stellar collection of players: mastermind Walter Cianciusi’s surgical-yet-soulful guitars slice, Martin Helmantel’s elastic low end (Elegy alumni know) thunders and Enrico Cianciusi’s precision drumming hits heavy and with impressive rhythmic variance. Topping things off with emotive vocal lines Göran Edman’s unmistakable top-line sheen with an elegant croon turns melodies into a signature effortlessly. Their biography is the chemistry of this unit that powers the album as a matured, road-seasoned conversation between players challenging each other in impressive interplay while remaining on target throughout.  

ABOUT THE SONGS

The record’s flow is smart. Its previously reviewed opener ,,Weightless’’ is an unapologetically progressive, hyper-detailed piece where the rhythm section weaves intricate patterns without derailing the momentum. The guitars deployed wonderful licks and shred melodies atop the punching drums. Edman glides over odd-meter currents, and the guitars flip between razor riffs and melodic filigree, while Helmantel’s bass doesn’t just anchor but countermoves, creating tension-and-release inside the groove. The song breathes Headless as an engine for emotion, and melodic charge. That same economy and intent threads the album’s midsection.

Track titles like the pumping ,,Losing Power’’ with its vocal harmonies in the centre and Göran’s moan and soar, and its constant call-and-response threads, is impressive. Cinematically constructed, is brings impressive melodic stride and progressive tidings forward. It contradicts with the heavier ,,Fall to Pieces’’, with modern tech applied to the opening chords and the riffs in metal pace. Edman injects commanding vocals, constantly switching registers with sonic colors woven into the fabric. He moans and croons towards the echoing pitches. The drums constantly shift gears with intense double bass runs and floor to tom interplay, while the bass either ploughs underneath to anchor the groove inside the blasts or meandering atop, countering on the driving guitar riffs and licks.

When Helmantel takes the helm, his bass runs chords and melodies down your neck, with drums morphing around the chords. ,,Misery’’ provides the outline to brings this darker edge forward. The vocals are rich in texture with layered harmonies and King’s X alike melodies contrasting from the dark tenure of the song. Walter’s solo traverses a bluesy edge before dazzling with short blisses of shred magnificence.

EMOTIONAL GRANDEUR

,,Still My Thrill” breaks root from the turbulence, but not without laying down insane dynamics with its bass ‘n drum interplays. Weld atop the guitar riffs and chords, the bass leads the way to construct an immersive rhythmic soundscape Enrico hammers solid with jazzy shifts, twists and turns. Edman brings his most emotive vocals to the front, uplifting the song. It feels like a ballad without being one. The encapsulation ooze of melancholy and passion is impeccable, with the guitars in fine line. The end solo sees Walter breaking loose at full shred, trading in the detailed rich licks and chords for impressive fire, stacking swirling notes and fretboard wizardry in the song’s tail.

,,Refugee’’ hints at a more emotional contour. Withering vocals and echoing notes atop the sturdy drums and bass. The song’s momentum-versus-fracture is immersive, with the wonderful vocal harmonies emphasizing the song’s emotion. This emotion erupts in the song’s breakdown, with a bluesy solo and layered vocals. Chops of emotional grandeur are matched by technical intricacy in the seam of the tracks, like on ,,No One’s Waiting”, smoldering as a momentum builder, blending musicality with strong phrasing and melody.

Edman once again shines with a new register displayed. His moan suddenly transcends with Vedder-like gruff to transcend into his searing register, countering on the layered vocal harmonies of the song’s impressive running bridge. The song’s dynamics and melodic threat are unparalleled and are hallmark Headless.

MEGADETH

With only eight cuts, the band resist to pack too much, as the music already demands your full attention. Instead, arrangements feel carved rather than piled high. With tight intros, verses that breathe, bridges that pivot, solos that serve the song, it all is extremely well mapped out by Cianciusi and his squad. It’s a seasoned writer’s record! The payoffs arrive because the path toward them is engineered with hyper care for detail.

A calling card for Headless’ long-standing ‘deep cut’ habit is their redux of Megadeth’s more obscure tune ,,I Thought I Knew it All’’ that closes the album. Rather than chasing the chugging thrash adrenaline, they recast the tune in their own, with stacked harmonies, a tightened rhythm, and the kind of guitar articulation you expect from Cianciusi. The vocal interaction is intense and adds character. The scatting of voices in the back, its coherent Q&A momentum, it all adds up. Guest soloist Andy Martongelli (Power Quest, Anthemis), who plays together with Walter in David Ellefson’s touring band, adds his own unique flavor, making the song go down magnificent. It’s reverent Megadeth while choosing a different cadence.

This cadence hails from the lyrics emphasizing its statement about what happened around the band. It lands with this personal effect. Being the second single release for the album is also features reimagined cover art of Megadeth’s `Youthanasia’ as well as the videography gripping back to this elusive image of the lady hanging babies out to dry.

THE PERFORMANCE

Performance-wise, the interplay is the headline here. Cianciusi’s phrasing balances shred-ready agility with lyrical intention. He knows when to surge and when to songwrite with the fretboard. His melodies and licks are like vocal lines, while his solos serve the song and paint pictures adding to the experience. Helmantel sculpts basslines that tug at harmony rather than merely tracing it. The low-end subtle nudges that make choruses bloom larger on repeat spins. Anchoring the songs while in the meantime providing an extra layer of depth to counter score the guitar riffs and licks, makes the album a pleasure for prog heads alike.

Enrico’s drum book is crisp and musical, pushing accents that make the riffs feel newly minted, propelling the tracks or discharging elaborate stops and hooks. His fills are phenomenal and the interplay with Martin is stellar. Edman’s vocal is the connective tissue atop. Smooth in timbre butt edged in delivery, turning complexity into carry-along melody. His croon and soar are phenomenal, and he can inflate songs with heartfelt passion and dismantling honesty with a breath or a stop. The musical balance and virtuosity harnessed is impressive.

The record hits that sonic modern-prog clarity without being clinical. Production is kept in-house with Walter at the helm, which explains the guitar-centric detail and its overall warmth. Mastering was handled by Fabian Tolmin who created a mix where drums crack, bass breathes, and the upper midrange carries hooks. It’s high-definition heaviness that still feels human. The single master of the album’s announcement single ,,Weightless’’ was handled separately, which is why the album version touches differently in the spectrum of the record.

HEADLESS – THE CONCLUSION

Do they surprise? Yes!

In a scene that often equates ‘progressive’ with ‘more, more, more’, Headless double down on proportion. Eight songs, zero padding. The proggy DNA is intact with its odd pulses, metric feints, harmonic left turns. Those moves are woven into songs that stick. Even the adventurous moments respect the monumental chorus and harmonies architecture. You’ll find yourself humming lines for days, later noticing the rhythmic booby trap you missed the first time. That’s the sweet spot this band keeps finding.

Headless don’t just play well together, they think well together. `Transitional Objects’ is meticulously built and instinctively musical, the work of a band confident to carve away excess and let the interplay do the talking. Edman sings like he’s painting with light, Walter and Andy’s closing duet tips the hat, and Helmantel and Enrico keep the floor moving. That’s exactly why this record lands.

The artwork by Brian Lewis tilts stylish rather than literal, and the physical editions (including limited purple LP) will please the collectors among us.

Release date: 29 August 2025