Pendragon
Pure

Before I start the actual review, I must confess something: I know nothing about Pendragon, nothing at all, an absolute void.

In my hands, I have only this album, "Pure", one of the many conquered in the field, that is, borrowing it, if you can say so, from my ex's brother (may God scorn her forever...). I was intrigued by the cover, anguishing and psychedelic, this young man not well-defined, chained and trapped in a glass cage-container.

"Pure" saw the light in 2008, while Pendragon is a British neo-progressive group founded in 1978 by guitarist Nick Barrett, so it's an album released by a band with 30, and I emphasize 30, years of career and above all experience. Now, as always, in these cases, one is more inclined (because prejudiced, some might say, because they're communists!) to consider such an album as a last resort album, a useless album, to be clear. Well, that's not the case for this album.

You might say: "Eh bravo, but didn't you say at the beginning that it's the only one you have of Pendragon!?" and I answer: "Eh yes, precisely because I'm not prejudiced, I can judge it for what it is! A great album."

So why a great album!? Essentially because it is not a derivative neo-progressive rock work, meaning the Pendragon, in this case, don't copy their big brothers Genesis. In the way this album is played, it turns out to be closer to progressive metal in the Dream Theater style with a touch of Riverside and atmospheres akin to Porcupine Tree. No sweet, dreamy, fairytale-like, ethereal melodies; the sound is a perfect mix of psychedelic atmospheres of all kinds and varieties.

"Indigo" opens the album, perhaps the best track, in a crescendo of guitars, electronic sounds, impressive, leaving one speechless. And one indeed remains speechless when only Nick Barret cradles us with his guitar, a long, continuous solo, an infinite vortex of sensations, a spiral that chains us (remember the young man on the cover!?) to the ground but at the same time allows us to soar far away.

Certainly more hard-rock proves to be "Eraserhead", the least successful episode of the album in my humble opinion, not very pleasant, and quite filler, placed there almost by chance.

Quite another thing is the following suite "Comatose", in which we find everything: melody, rhythm, powerful and continuous riffs, new psychedelic, dilated atmospheres, and then again Barret's guitar sometimes used to bring us back to earth, other times to propel us into the void of the cosmos or close to it. A continuous alternation that never tires. "The Freak Show" continues the play of previous atmospheres and leads us to the end of the album, leaving us in the hands of the last leg of the journey, "It's only me". We catch our breath, and then again those now familiar atmospheres tell us the album is over, because, as we know, paraphrasing De André, beautiful things last like roses, in this case, 53 minutes and 10 seconds...

"Pure" was elected best album of 2008 by Classic Rock Society, a prize awarded by Steve Hackett to a very emotional Nick Barrett, voted in the polls of the best prog sites and performed with great success on the tour which celebrated Pendragon's 30 years of activity, another reason to buy it, right!? What are you waiting for...