Amaran's Plight
Voice In The Light

It's been a while since the progressive rock/metal universe saw releases truly worthy of notice, or at least, when albums of great value were released, critics tended to put these releases in the background, once again highlighting the so-called "sacred monsters" who were busy producing records that were more or less of low quality. And I'm not just referring to Dream Theater (it's too easy to criticize them, it almost seems like it's becoming a sport), but also to those bands that seemed infallible to us. One name above all? Pain Of Salvation, a group I particularly love, which with their latest "Scarsick" reached what, in my very personal opinion, was their lowest discographic point.

In this landscape, which increasingly resembles a stretch filled with dry and dead plants, true roses still manage to bloom, refreshing the landscape. I'm referring to projects like Abydos, but also to the side project that we will discuss in the review: Amaran's Plight.

Amaran's Plight is none other than the latest band from one of the best voices in the hard & heavy field, I'm referring to that DC Cooper who, with his warm and persuasive voice, is capable of moving, with disarming simplicity, from low tones to decidedly high vocal peaks, always maintaining that melodic sense that has distinguished him for years; alongside him is a top-tier band, that is to say, that (allow me the term) GOD of Gary Wehrkamp once again as a guitarist and keyboardist just as in his main band, Shadow Gallery, capable in this album of creating moving melodic passages that are also extremely rich technically, and then again on bass one of the musicians who has made the greatest contribution in various musical fields, Kurt Barabas, already bassist in Spock's Beard, Tears For Fears and Genesis, and Nick D'Viriglio on drums, also engaged with Spock's Beard and again Under The Sun and Fates Warning.

The band was formed in Allentown, America, in 2006, to compose its debut album in 2007, making it clear to the world that progressive is more alive than ever: this "Voice In The Light" is in fact an example of how today one can still be extremely personal and original in a genre that seems to have already said everything it had to say. The freshness of the album can already be perceived just by reading the platter's lyrics, which narrate the story (it is a concept album, let's remember) of a man who, after a near-death experience, returns to normal life, trying to understand what happened to him but also trying to know what the future holds for him.

Musically, the full-length presents various facets, from the sharp progressive metal of the intro "Room 316", where the true protagonist turns out to be Gary on guitars and keyboards, to the three suites named "Incident At Haldemans Lake", where echoes of Pink Floyd and Rush can also be found, the latter with regard to the rhythmic base, "Shattered Dreams", closer to the typical canons of the Shadow Gallery home with thus great musical richness and a large number of baroque elements that greatly enrich the composition and, last but not least in numerical order, "Revelation”, introduced by a piano incipit that preludes to a song virtually divided into two parts: a more melodic and reflective one, also characterized by a melancholic vein perceptible from the singer's interpretation, and a more powerful and sharp one perfectly placed in a musical context tending to rely more on the emotional and melodic side.

At the same time, there are hints of a, forgive the term, progressive pop/rock like in the very delicate "I Promised You" in which Cooper duets with a female voice, with a tear-inducing final result. The episode displays sweet melodic lines that underscore the protagonist's rediscovered sense of love for his woman: the lyrics are extremely straightforward, leaving no doubt about being in front of a true love song and this is more evident in the chorus where phrases like "I will love you every breath I take" or again "I promised you I will give you all of myself" appear.

The other episodes travel more or less on the same coordinates as those mentioned, alternating various influences, also brought by musicians with different musical backgrounds, giving life to all songs of absolute importance.

It is thanks to classical and electric guitars, continuous piano incursions, hints at various genres (the eighties hint of "Consummation Opus" with that touch reminiscent of Queensryche is just another confirmation of the desire to let various different styles coexist), but also the great sensitivity of an ensemble of first-rate musicians that one of the best progressive albums of the last, I dare say, 5 or 6 years comes to life.

Promoted with full marks without any doubt, just hoping that this project may continue to have life, because in today's metal world situation, there is really a need for bands of this kind.

Tracklist:

1) Room 316

2) Friends Forever

3) Coming Of Age

4) Incident at Haldemans Lake

5) Reflections

6) I Promise You

7) Consummation Opus

8) Truth And Tragedy

9) Shattered Dreams

10) Viper

11) Betrayed By Love

12) Turning Point

13) Revelation