Arena
The Theory of Molecular Inheritance

The role of Arena's singer is not forever; in fact, it has a well-defined duration: three albums. At least it seems so; so far, no singer has recorded more than three albums with Arena, so it leads one to think that it might be the same for Damian Wilson. Yes, that's right, Damian Wilson is the new singer of Arena and makes his debut on this tenth album “The Theory of Molecular Inheritance”; needless to say, all ears were on him. When he was chosen, I thought he was perfectly suited for Arena's sound. To tell the truth, my relationship with him has not always been one of love; for a long time, I was not fond of his voice. Even now, he isn't among my favorite vocalists, but over time I have learned to appreciate his unmistakable timbre. His voice is very strong, powerful but elegant, never harsh or aggressive. He is a rather lyrical singer and probably not very suitable for singing metal, which is probably why I always had some doubts about him after hearing him on records made with Threshold (4, to be exact) or in his contributions to Ayreon and Star One projects. But the feeling that his potential would come out better in a melodic and intense band was definitely there.

Well, indeed, there is a clear impression that this new work by Arena is written precisely with the voice in mind. But first, it's better to give a brief summary of what Arena has been so far. A very brief one: in the first three albums, they were a band of melodic and dreamy neo-prog, perhaps already a bit dark but romantic at its roots. However, the entrance into the new millennium clearly shifted them toward a prog with dark and slightly hard sounds, without ever touching prog-metal; personally, I consider them the main example of “dark neo-prog.” In this tenth album, the underlying dark imprint remains and is tangible, but it is more moderate compared to past works; it probably doesn't recover the atmospheres of the first albums, but some hints of greater brightness can be glimpsed. Even the guitars roar a bit less, assuming they ever really roared.

What I noticed is the overall very relaxed yet anguished atmosphere. The rhythms are often subdued; the tracks have very slow and lulling parts that, as the minutes pass, give way to imposing and striking sections. Everything sounds like a sort of repressed emotion that is then released; but it doesn't seem to be anger, the stronger parts are never shouted, and the guitars stay in their place; it's more the keyboards that shoot blinding lights. It probably is positive energy, and it's as if they are looking for the right moment to release it, or as if the protagonist were too shy or scared but then loosens up, it's like standing on the edge of a pool and being afraid of water that's too cold or too deep.

Another characteristic that caught my ear is a general simplicity of the compositions. Largely in the compositions, there is an attempt to avoid significantly elaborate passages, aiming for solutions with few but well-articulated notes. The band demonstrates great skill in creating with a few notes on keyboard or guitar a substantial and exhaustive melody, concentrating everything into those few notes, often repeating those small passages without realizing how truly great and rich they are; yet you may still encounter a long guitar or keyboard solo, one that truly stretches with no limits, the track “Integration” is there to prove it, positioned quite opposite to everything else.

And in light of all this, why have we talked so much about Damian Wilson? Why do we claim the album seems written just for him? Well, in this album, he is the real virtuoso, the one who spans, the one who plays with the voice, theatrical and malleable in the slower parts and yet powerful and lyrical in the stronger ones. While the other musicians almost abstain from showing their flair, he does it, albeit with moderation. They give him the center stage, and he gladly takes it without overshadowing the work of his bandmates at all.

What can I say, quite a surprise, considering it's a band that has pretty much always maintained its style once consolidated, I really didn't expect to have so much to write about this work. An album that is faithful but fresh at the same time.