Every new CD from Pendragon creates a nice kind of tension: what will Nick Barrett come up with this time? Well, it's quite easy now: Passion goes on where the previous release Pure (2008) stopped, only better. The music again is a mixture of epic flowing prog pieces and prog rock being almost prog metal, with many up-tempo riffs and strange sound samples. Therefore this album has to be played loud and I mean let's-crack-the-walls-and-rip-the-curtains loud. The band is propelled forward by drummer Scott Higham, who puts all his energy and soul in his pounding, while old-timers bassist Peter Gee and keyboard player Clive Nolan are in a very good shape as well. But as always the star is singer-guitar player Nick Barrett who has again managed to come up with seven exquisite songs. The more I play Passion, the more passionate I get about these songs. Title track Passion is heavy and up-tempo; Empathy doesn't give you a breather, although the text gives you something to think about. Feeding Frenzy is a blend of heaviness and breaks and This Green And Pleasant Land provides for the first resting point on the high-speed Pendragon-train. This is one of my personal favourites because of the lyrical content. Next are It's Just A Matter Of Not Getting Caught and Skara Brae which are upright old-fashioned Pendragon-classics, and finally Your Black Heart is a slow quiet song that reverberates with the listener for quite a while. I can only say in conclusion: who doesn't get passion from listening to this record is not a true prog lover! ****+ André de Waal (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
