Arena
The Visitor

THE REVIEW

The Visitor is the third studio album by the British rock band Arena, released in 1998 with the replacement of guitarist Keith More with John Mitchell, who was relatively unknown in the progressive scene. Let's start with the premise that Arena is one of those bands that, in my opinion, has always delivered masterpieces. Just listen to their first album to realize that they are a band worth noting, primarily because of the principal mind of Clive Nolan, the author and composer of most of the lyrics and music, as well as being one of the most beloved keyboardists in the progressive scene, not to mention the keyboardist of Pendragon, another amazing band. Let's say that Arena sounds very similar, even vocally, to Fish from Marillion, and in fact, as the drummer, we see Mick Pointer, an ex-Marillion member who only played on the album "Script for a Jester's Tear." But back to the review, this album is truly a masterpiece, and you can tell from the first track to the last that you're at the beginning of a journey made of solos and drum and keyboard patterns. I want to focus on what is the gem of this album, "Serenity." Obviously, from the way the song begins, you can almost imagine that it's very Pink Floyd-esque, but that's not the case. Let's say that John Mitchell studied well at school and has learned perfectly how to create a progressive solo, truly something remarkable. This album, let's say, is quite different from the band's previous works, even in terms of sound. It's a slightly darker album and very focused on guitars, but still an excellent piece of work, and I strongly recommend it to fans of Progressive Metal.