Our favourite cold soup returns from a long 5-year hiatus, a band that crowned many lists between 2005 and 2009 , with 3 stunning albums that set the bar perhaps too high, as Firebird, Night and Tick-Tock were exemplary recordings. Then came a string of lukewarm releases that simply did not hit any mark, except for the rabid fan. But to their credit, the band soldiered one, rekindling the past glory with this inspired effort. Comedian Jimmy Carr correctly reminded us that the difference between an artist and a musician (he said comedian) is that if the former loses inspiration, they can shrug their shoulders and flippantly claim “I am an artist, I don’t give a hoot, you just don’t understand me”. The band clearly returned to a more musician mode, a most welcome inspiration, fine tuning their craft further along the progressive path.
This premise becomes overtly apparent on the initial 9 minute “Starling”, where keyboardist Thomas Alexander Andersen has raised his talent to newfound heights with a sparkling piano display, in particular. The Jon Arne Vilbo guitars weave lacy frills amid the suave Kromer violin, highlighting a masterfully gorgeous melody that inspires singer Jan Henrik Ohme to once again boldly go where the vision takes him. The feeling of unhurried splendour is overpowering, an opening statement that will permeate the entire album, easily among the band’s finest moments ever. The final plunge into a cyclonic swirl skirts the outer edges of the cosmic divine, where the tragic guitar sizzles like phosphorous uncontained.
The masterful electronic keyboard work on “We Are Strangers” reflects the onus on modernizing their sound even further, with an assortment of details that entice the want and excite the senses, propelled by Robert Rigobert Johansen’s athletic drum drills and a stun worthy melody that would rival anything ever attempted by Depeche Mode. On “Sky King”, the balance between light and dark are expertly juggled , switching from colossal guitar riffs that fizzle uninhibited and haunting lulls where solemn melancholia and tired despondence squeeze through in between the colored ivories of a drop dead beautiful piano motif. That same voluble instrument completes the triad of shorter pieces on “Ceres”, another excuse to present an attractive theme within a choppy channel, hallowed moments colliding with oblique slashes, bells seemingly ringing in the new reality, where the vocal burden incorporates a wide assortment of harmonies.
Another cornerstone in the edifice, “Gingerbread Men” segues ideally from the opening epic, a fulsome melody latches onto the nodes without any limitation, ultimately disrupted by a massive bass run from Kristian Torp that serves to shake the foundations to the core. The ensuing elegiac hymn would make Hogarth and crew pale in utter jealousy, its that grippingly morose, another magnificent brick in the wall.
The sonic shift on the short title track works as a reminder that exploring new horizons is what prog is all about, offering a newfangled slant on a piece that could have been a Sparks classic. The goal is to settle the energy levels for the final two substantial tracks, the impulsive and feisty “Immerwahr” (German for always true) , a sonic playground with an altogether different feel, where flute, piano and adamant vocal intertwine with a voluptuous laissez-faire. The insertion of acoustic guitar is a genius move , offering a some much needed glimpses of sunshine to the overall feel of the album. The rhythm section shows exceptional skill in thrusting the groove into intuitive heights , where the climax swerves into a cosmic delight.
The spellbinding Norse ballad “Unrisen” emotes on a soundtrack level, as if flung into a frozen Middle Ages saga, images of bold drakkars heading out to sea, uncaring wherever the mighty sails will take the adventuring warriors. The gigantic, synthesized squalls rekindle thoughts of Valhalla, Odin and Thor, contrasting mightily with Jan Erik’s voice, both soothing and composed.
An extraordinary return to form, as this is perhaps their best one yet.
4.5 corner pockets