Jury's Verdict #4
On this page we will list a multiple review of a selection of 3 albums out of the (in our humble opinion) most important or interesting recent releases.
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Airbag All Rights Removed
Full review
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Arena The Seventh Degree Of Separation
Full review
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Brighteye Brison The Magician Chronicles, part 1
Full review
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Henri Strik |
The second release of this Norwegian progressive rock
band is again strongly influenced by the music recorded by
Pink Floyd.
Their guitarist Björn Riis
will certainly mention David Gilmour
to be one of his
musical heroes. Compared to the debut album this release has a lot more
variety. This time we also hear up-tempo tunes and even a long epic piece which
prevents the songs from sounding alike. All
Rights Removed is much more balanced than their debut
Identity.
So thumbs up for this wonderful release!
Rating: ****
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In the past Arena
released strong concept albums like The Visitor
(1998) and Contagion (2003).
Therefore I'm inclined to compare the new concept album
The Seventh Degree Of Separation
with those previous ones. The music is again outstanding, but to
be honest I think the compositions don't always meet the same high level as those
on the aforementioned albums. However, it needs to be said that you have to listen
to this album more often to catch the beauty of this musical concept. Despite
the new singer Paul Manzi and an
absence of more than five years, the sound of Arena is still very recognizable
and therefore this album is a must have for all their fans.
Rating: ***+
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The Magician Chronicles, part 1
is an album that certainly belongs
to my musical highlights of 2011. Especially people who fancy the progressive
rock music recorded by bands as Yes,
The Flower Kings and other related
bands will enjoy this album. Listen for instance to the 23-minute long epic
piece The Rise Of Brighteye Brison.
This track is a real musical roller-coaster that blows you out of your chair.
For me the whole album
is just a musical journey beyond imagination! This release has to be checked
out by people who enjoy the symphonic sound of analogue synthesizers, strong
harmony vocals, Mellotrons, Hammond organs, intricate arrangements and dazzling
harmonies. My only negative remark is the length of the album. A total playing
time of hardly 44 minutes is much too short for a full-length album nowadays.
Rating: ****+
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Peter Willemsen |
Identity
(2009), the debut album of the Norwegian band Airbag,
sounded beautiful but music
wise it was rather boring. All pieces sounded quite similar to me. The new
album is slightly better, but still a bit dull mainly due to the tedious voice
of singer Asle Torstrup. Yet I rate
All Rights Removed above average because
the singing is for the greater part compensated by the excellent guitar solos of
Björn Riis. Although this album is
more varied than its predecessor, I couldn't find a track without dull
passages. So for me, the adage 'never a dull moment' doesn't apply to this
album. However, there's one exception: the long epic
Homesick I-III containing great guitar solos in the vein of
David Gilmour. Even the keyboards
sometimes sound as if the spirit of the late
Rick Wright has returned...
Rating: ***
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Being a devotee of Arena
since the beginning in 1995, I felt a bit disappointed after listening to
The Seventh Degree Of Separation.
Well, is it that bad? No, no, not
at all, it's just eh... different, not like Arena... I hardly heard any guitar or
keyboard solos by John Mitchell and
Clive Nolan, no epics, it's heavier,
less symphonic and it seems that the compositions appeal less to me. To put it
briefly, the music is simpler, rockier and as a result more radio-friendly. Is
that a problem? No, it isn't, maybe I have to get used to it, that's all. Of
course, Paul Manzi certainly is a
great singer, the best Arena ever had but his voice is too obtrusively mixed in
the front. Maybe my expectations for this new album after waiting almost six
years ran too high or maybe I'm just getting too old...
Rating: ***+
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The new album of the Swedish band Brighteye Brison
starts promising with the 23-minute epic piece The
Rise Of Brighteye Brison.
It comprises fine close harmony vocals in the vein of their compatriots of
Moon Safari
albeit more complex. Despite the fact that I don't like the jazzy and fusion parts
with the strident saxophone, this music can certainly be called progressive in
the true sense of the word. It's a mixture of fusion, prog, symphonic, jazz and
even experimental with mellow, up-tempo and mid-tempo passages. Second track
The Magician's Cave isn't of my liking.
It's a kind of soundtrack with narrators and too much jazzy music for my ears. In
the final piece the harmony vocals return and also the more prog rock oriented
passages. This piece holds alternating strong and weaker passages. Especially
the first track contains lots of fine moments, but in my opinion the album
halts too much between two opinions: it's neither fish nor flesh...
Rating: **+
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André de Waal |
For me Airbag
gets full honour for their second effort
All Rights Removed. The excellent blend of
Pineapple Thief playing old Porcupine Tree
songs with Pink Floyd's
David Gilmour guesting on guitar and
Steve Wilson singing a tune every now
and then, makes for a pretty big sound in which the guitar playing by
Björn Riis
has a leading role. I'm not known for being
overly positive, but I'm now with Airbag and quite rightly so.
All Rights Removed proves for me why
prog isn't dead; not by a long shot! Okay, I've got one complaint about this
CD: why is it only fifty minutes long and not five hundred?
Rating: *****
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Arena
has never really been known for their subtlety and in true fashion
The Seventh Degree Of Separation
opens with a lot of bombast which overwhelms
the listener. However, the problem is that this kind of grand music has to be
embedded in good compositions to stay interesting for the playing time of the entire
CD, in this case almost one hour. And again Arena doesn't fully succeed in
that. There are some great tunes like The
Great Escape and The Ghost Walks,
there's an interesting storyline, and new singer
Paul Manzi - who often sounds like
Damian Wilson - does a commendable job. However, there are also
songs that just don't stick because they keep the same high energy level
without interesting breaks. Or they sound too much like a band as
Threshold in
Rapture, One Last Au Revoir and
Close your Eyes. But all in all, it's
nice to hear again from Arena after a hiatus of almost six years.
Rating: **+
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To be quite honest I never really paid much attention to
Brighteye Brison,
in fact I kept forgetting their name and the same is true for their
music. That is, until now, because The
Magician Chronicles, part 1
is a record which could propel this band to the
forefront of the current prog scene. Neither neo-prog, nor post-rock prog, but this
is good old-fashioned prog in a modern package. Three long songs of which two
are bona fide epics, a concept story, good musicians, these Swedish guys are on
the road to fame and fortune. Yes, I do hear references to
Yes and
The Flower Kings-
how can you avoid the latter being Swedish? - even some jazz fusion, and in
the singing there are some elements of Gentle Giant
too, so that gives a nice edge to this music. Bring on part 2!
Rating: ****
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