Archangel
The Akallabeth

Dear DeBaserian friends, as you may know, Ayreon has disbanded. The great Lukassen has decided to take other paths, and for us (few?) fans of the imaginative prog that the Dutch guitarist was able to conceive, a great void has been created. This is partly because the prog that lately (in the hard rock-metal realm) seems to be more prevalent is the darker, more modern one, sometimes more melancholic, sometimes more extreme, inaugurated by the great Pain of Salvation and in their way also by Porcupine Tree, followed by talented bands like Riverside, Sylvan, Echoes, the Dust Connection, Prymary, but also by the more established Evergrey and Redemption, just to name a few. Well, I love this genre, capable of producing melancholic concepts which, on certain gloomy autumn days, or when your love has disappointed you, or your employer or university professor has treated you like an Ugo Fantozzi... or simply when something inside you dies and an inexplicable spleen assails you, these albums, I was saying, can offer comfort to your soul which can recognize itself in the pain and melancholy expressed by the sound of these bands in a sort of artistic catharsis.

However, every now and then, especially now that the sun seems to be definitively brightening our days, it also happens, thank God, to want to dive into listening to one of those visionary, imaginative, sunny works that the good Arjen was creating with unparalleled talent until a few years ago (by the way: his latest creation, Guilt Machine, is also more introspective and dark, as were the Stream of Passion, confirming what I was saying earlier about trends in current prog).

If any of you occasionally miss an "Actual Fantasy" or an "Into the Electric Castle," know that in the meantime, you could try to fill that void with this project put together by an Italian, Gabriele Manzini, former keyboardist of the Watch (Genesis cover band, for a few years authors of their own albums always however very indebted to Gabriel and co.), as well as a member of Ubi Maior, a Milanese band of Italian progressive rock.

"Archangel" is a concept, released at the end of 2009, inspired by a story by Tolkien (just a random name...), in which, along with Gabriele on keyboards (piano, hammond, minimoog, mellotron, and synth), members of his two cited bands (Ubi Maior and the Watch) play the other instruments. But most importantly, there are three great guests taking care of the vocals: Sir Damian Wilson (former Treshold, you might know, as well as almost a regular on many Ayreon albums and in Star-One, still in Lukassen's orbit, indeed...) who sings in no less than 6 pieces; Ted Leonard (singer of the great Enchant) present in 4 pieces; and finally, last but not least, a certain Zachary Stevens (okay, to be precise: ex-Savatage, now Circle to Circle), in 2 tracks. Then there is also a damsel, Elayne, singer of the local Dunwich, and a few less-known singers here and there, interpreting the characters of the narrated story.

The proposed genre, to be precise, is hard rock, sometimes slower, sometimes more sustained, but never too fast and heavy, where the keyboards obviously take center stage, but without overflowing: it is not a solo album of an ivory key virtuoso, but a very homogeneous work where well-placed guitar riffs and tasty solos contribute to making the work varied and compact, hence we can define it as hard-prog with folk undertones that is really a pleasure to listen to, never heavy nor prolix (like my review!!) but rather fresh and engaging, thanks also to a clean production suitable for the genre.

Avoiding the unnecessary track by track of a highly homogeneous album in style (hence why we can only talk about prog for the massive presence of keyboards, but not for the heterogeneity of styles or tempos) and consistent in the (more than good) level of the 12 compositions, never too long, in which excellent instrumental portions alternate with linear sung parts, I can only point out as the only flaw, compared to a work by His Majesty Arjen, the fact that the vocal melodies, the choruses, are not always immediately impactful and winning, as the genre would require in my opinion, but require a few more listens (hence why I don't give it 5 stars).

For those passionate about these fascinating and epic journeys with their imagination (but I fear the genre here on DeB is not very popular), listening to Archangel will not disappoint you, I'm sure. Those who couldn't digest Ayreon, and find Magnum too little "true," should obviously stay away! 

The elf in me, meanwhile, has already run off to see what happens in the last, ruinous days of the island of Númenor....