Trollheart

... and replaced with


Yeah, that's right. We've so much planned for Metal Week it quickly became clear that we couldn't expect to cram it all into seven lousy days! So watch out and get ready for four solid weeks of headbangin', finger-shreddin', howlin'-at-the-moon metal madness, starting October 1st to run us up to the time considered almost synonymous with heavy metal, that spooky night known as Halloween!

No, I'm not going to tell you what we have planned! But it's gonna be big! Bigger than the biggest thing you can think of! Bigger than The Batlord's ego! Bigger than Vanilla's heart! Bigger, even, than Powerstars' love of the Beatles!!

All I can tell ya is, if you miss this you had better be dead! Or in jail!

And if you're in jail...

BREEEAKKKK OUUUUTTTTTT!!!!!!!!!

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Unknown Soldier

Just don't let the metal community down on here, by bleating on about melody, more melody and even more melody on this thread!

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Metal Wars

Power Metal

Pounding Decibels- A Hard and Heavy History

Trollheart

Always room for melody, my man, especially if she's wearing a nice short skirt! But seriously, no, I'm looking up and learning about doom and death metal, as well as plenty of prog metal so there'll hopefully be something here for everyone. But there will also be some melodic metal, because I wouldn't leave such a genre out. No black metal though. Maybe some brown...

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Trollheart

Perhaps not the same story, as we focussed on in the first edition of this section, but both songs treat the same basic subject in two very different ways. Which is kind of what this section is all about really. Not that there's a finite amount of things writers can write about, but often the same themes or ideas will be used in two vastly different songs. Take something as simple as a city. Take New York. Someone might write a song praising the Big Apple whereas someone else might not be so enamoured of it, and look at its darker side. Of course, after 9/11 many songs will take that tack, whether praising the rescue services or commenting on the losses, or railing against the perpetrators of the deed, real or imagined. On a different level, one writer might see fishing as a relaxing sport, another as a form of murder, or one man's take on a news story could be totally different to another's, and how that inspires them both to write divergent songs about the same thing.


"Homeward bound" (Simon and Garfunkel) from the album "Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme", 1966
This time I'm looking at the basic idea of going home, as viewed through two very different sets of eyes. In Simon and Garfunkel's classic "Homeward bound", the opening line is "I'm sittin' in a railway station/ Got a ticket for my destination", which we'll come back to when we get to the second example I want to examine. Simon, who wrote the lyric, moans about life on the road. Now, I'm not one to castigate artistes and musicans for their take on touring. It's surely hard, being away from your family, your home, living out of a suitcase from hotel to hotel, but there is one point that Simon is forgetting, or conveniently ignoring here: he (and Garfunkel of course) is getting paid! It's not like he's out here for the good of his health, tramping across America for no reward. Sure, he wishes he was "homeward bound", but that's the life of a touring musician.

When he sings "Every day's an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines" it's hard to have too much sympathy for him. I mean, as I say, he is being paid for the inconvenience, and some people can't afford cigarettes or magazines. So he wishes he was homeward bound, but in fact he's heading off to some other American town or city to play for his fans, and yet he doesn't seem to appreciate them when he sings "Tonight I'll sing my songs again/ I'll play the game and pretend"... But whatever I think of Simon's less-than-glowing tribute to being on the road (for a better one, see Jackson Browne's "The load-out/Stay") he has his own ideas of wanting to be home, and if he wants to go home nothing, other than contractual obligations and the possibility of losing money, is stopping him.



"Borderline" (Chris de Burgh) from the 1982 album "The Getaway"

Chris de Burgh, on the other hand, is in a much darker place. His song opens with lines very similar to Simon's, as he sings "Standing in a station/ I am waiting for a train" but this train is taking him home. However, it's a temporary respite, as here he is writing about a soldier on leave from the war, visiting his girlfriend or wife, and knowing he will have to return to the fighting. De Burgh keeps the identity of the war his protagonist is fighting in carefully ambiguous, so that it could be World War I or II, or even a fictitious or future war. It does however seem to concern one in which the British fight --- there's just not an American feeling from the lines "Rolling through the countryside/ Tears are in my eyes" --- so not likely to be Vietnam or Korea. In some ways, many ways in fact this song mirrors his 1975 "This song for you", from the "Spanish Train" album, although in that song it's very definitely World War I he's referencing, not only in the twenties-influenced melody but in the line "They say this war will end all wars" which sadly, and rather obviously, we know not to be true.

But de Burgh's writing is more melancholy, less concerned with himself and while certainly sad and yearning, contains the understanding that this is only a brief respite --- "I hear my country calling/ But I want to be with you / I'm taking my side/ One of us will lose" --- and that he will face his duty even though it breaks his heart to leave his lover. He must also realise that this could be the last time he sees her, as he may not come back from the war. It's a sad song, very moving in contrast to Simon's upbeat-melody but ultimately somewhat sulky and indulgent "Homeward bound".

Both men are on a train, one heading home but knowing he will have to return to the war, the other heading away from home but in no danger and knowing he will eventually come back to his own hometown. Very interesting to see the way two very different writers, almost two decades apart, treat the subject of coming home, which when I think about it now, dovetails rather nicely with the first edition of this feature. I love it when a plan comes together. Sort of.

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The Batlord

Urban Dictionary: Brown Metal

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Trollheart

Hybrid child --- District 97 --- 2010 (Laser's Edge)


Originally beginning life as an instrumental band, District 97 were formed in 2006 but it wasn't until around 2009 (details are sketchy on the exact year) when vocalist Leslie Hunt arrived that things really began to gell for the band. Hunt had been a finalist on American Idol in 2007, and her voice, perhaps surprisingly, given the bland, imitative nature of that show, was the perfect one to transform District 97's experimental sound into a more progressive rock one. This was their first release under the new lineup, and has since been supplemented by their second album, released last year.

It certainly opens hard and rocky enough, with an almost Yes-style guitar from Jim Tashjian, but you don't have to wait long to hear Leslie Hunt, and her voice is warm and smooth, though I do have a serious problem with this song, in that the lyric consists almost entirely of the title being sung over and over, which gets very wearing very quickly. A superb cello solo by Katinka Kleijn, backed up by some great percussion from Jonathan Schang saves the song from getting too boring, but the lyric definitely needs something, like, I don't know: maybe more lines? I have to admit, first time I heard this I almost went no further when it seemed this was the limit of originality I could expect. The music kept me interested though, and the song, over seven minutes long, though it does definitely suffer from an unimaginative lyric, is a decent opener. The cello and piano work helps it along, the latter furnished by Rob Clearfield, sounds like it may be a Fender Rhodes or something similar. Finally though, thankfully, the lyric develops, mostly along the lines laid down by Clearfield and some nice smooth guitar from Tashjian too.

It's a clear example of persevering to the end and not just deciding a song is crap on first listen, but really, this is their debut and District 97 should be engaging the listener from the beginning, not testing them like this. A few tracks in, maybe, when they've grabbed the attention then maybe they could be allowed play these tricks, but I fear some people may not have listened past the first few minutes of this and then given it up as a bad job, and that's a shame but even so understandable; I nearly did the same thing. "I can't take you with me" has a boppy, jazzy organ start and some punchy guitar but the vocal seems to me a little all over the place. Mind you, John Wetton has nothing but praise for it, but then he did work with the band on their second album, so perhaps he's biased just a little. Then again, he's not the only one saying good things about this band, as you'll see if you go to their website. Big names, legends seem to be impressed: Bill Bruford, Jonas Reingold, Roine Stolt --- some of the best known names in prog rock seem to think District 97 have a bright future before them, and who am I to argue?

Given that though, the second track --- Wetton's recommendation notwithstanding --- doesn't do a whole lot to impress me, though there are some nice keyboard and even mellotron touches from Clearfield, and the vocal is certainly competent. I just hear sort of the thing that used to annoy me about Spock's Beard in it: a little disjointed, no clear direction. One of the longer tracks then is "The man who knows your name", with a big guitar and drum intro, Clearfield's squealing keys joining the melody and showing why this band was once an instrumental-only affair: they certainly know how to play. And play they do: the song lasts just shy of nine minutes and is instrumental well into the fourth minute, with classical influences and some really proggy keyboard, staccato drumming and slick little basswork. Just as you think it's going to be a full instrumental Hunt comes in with a clear, high vocal and the song takes a whole different turn, with some soaring guitar work from Tashjian, really quite impressive.

The same can't be said though of "Termites". Just as I was beginning to think this album might cut it after all, and might be worthy of the praise it's garnered from the giants of the genre, this is a loud, aggressive, annoying sub-thrash-metal song on which Leslie Hunt's vocal is even a little hard to take. It's jarring, given the basic direction in which the band have been heading up to now. It's a surprise, and for me, not a nice one. Sort of punky elements to it, another minus to my mind. Kleijn does her best to smoothen it out but even the cello can't make anything of this song than a "skippable" track for me. To be honest, this was the one that almost had me wrapping up this album. There have been half-decent tracks but nothing that has really grabbed me, and if this was the nadir of the album could it possibly get better from here on in?

Well, luckily the answer to that is yes, it can. The closer is a multi-part epic in the best progressive rock tradition, and it's no overstatement to say that, for me at least, it not only saves the album but changes my mind completely about it. "Mindscan" runs for a total of over twenty-seven minutes --- yeah, you heard me! --- and is broken into ten sections, each numbered. It appears to concern the abduction of people by aliens, and the use of these people for some sort of genetic manipulation. It opens on "Mindscan I --- Arrival", with rippling, trilling little piano and swirling keyboards in quite an ELO/Vangelis manner, which only lasts for less than a minute and a half and is totally instrumental, leading into a solitary piano line taking "Mindscan II --- Entrance", and from here most of the parts cover the three-minute or less mark. Little flashes of cello join the piano, choral vocals and percussion coming in too as it winds on into the third part, "Realisation", where the tempo changes totally on the back of sprightly keyboards from Clearfield before it settles down, returning to the motif of the opener for a moment before Schamg's drums pound in and part four, "Welcome" breaks in with hard growling guitar and wailing keys, Hunt making her first appearance, the composition itself now some seven minutes old.

On a bouncy Supertramp-ish piano and thick bass the piece trims back to soft cello before "Examination" takes the music in a more ambient, almost abstract direction, with odd little sound effects and reverb and echo, mostly it would seem on Clearfield's synth. Confused voices break through, like radio or television broadcasts, presumably as the aliens are examining the mind of the mother of the to-be hybrid child of the title, with Tashjian's guitar feeding back on itself to add to the otherworldly and somewhat scary atmosphere, then the end part is much more laidback and relaxed, very pastoral with spacey synth and floating percussion taking us into part seven, which bears the title of the album, and is mostly piano driven with a soft vocal from Leslie Hunt, very gentle and calming, almost a lullaby. The intensity kicks up a bit with heavier percussion and solid organ work, Hunt's vocal strengthening to meet the change in the music.

Hard guitar and thumping drums calls in part eight, "Exploration", as the child is taken from the mother and this instrumental perhaps symbolises the mother's anguish at the loss of her newborn baby. It builds to a crescendo, the main melody carrying on into part eight, "What do they want", as the mother relates her experience of multiple encounters with these aliens, and wonders why they keep taking her? It's mostly the same tune but with vocals added from Hunt, her final vocal performance in part nine, "When I awake", as the aliens return her to her home planet. Soft organ and piano drive this mostly, with some skipping bass and ticking percussion, and it's my favourite part of the composition, showcasing Hunt's vocals really well, and with a great guitar solo from Tashjian at the end. Part ten then closes the whole thing, with an instrumental called "Returning home", which is good but I don't believe essential: this could have ended at part nine, though that's really my only criticism of a fine foray into the world of prog rock epics for a first time band.

TRACKLISTING

1. I don't want to wait another day
2. I can't take you with me
3. The man who knows your name
4. Termites
5. Mindscan
I: Arrival
II: Entrance
III: Realisation
IV: Welcome
V: Examination
VI: Hybrid Child
VII: Exploration
VIII: What do they want
IX: When I awake
X: Returning home

"Hybrid Child" is one of the few examples of an album that was seriously going down as a bad listen in my book that then took a sudden upswing on the back of one track. Admittedly, a very long and involved track, but had it not been for "Mindscan" I think I might have consigned this album to history, marking it as unimpressive and a disappointment. Only the fact that I kept going brought me face to face with this amazing composition and completely changed my view of the album. That said, it's hard to claim that "Mindscan" by itself makes the album a good one: there are some pretty woeful tracks on it, but it does at least justify the price of purchase.

Whether their second album addressed the shortcomings of their debut or not I don't know at this time, as I have yet to listen to it, but I think they walked a fine line here at the beginning with an unengaging opener followed by another track which was not exactly inspiring, but managed to pull it off at the end. If they've learned from their mistakes, "The trouble with machines" could be a very fine album indeed. If they haven't, well, all I can say is I hope they have something of the calibre of "Mindscan" to make up for the less illuminating tracks, because without that this album would be pretty unremarkable. As it is, I'm interested to see what else they have to offer, and if the first half of the debut was just a bumpy start. I certainly hope so, because like the big names in prog, I agree that there's definitely something there: it just needs to be cultivated and watered, and it could bear some pretty impressive fruit in years to come.

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Trollheart

Okay, as promised here is the review of the new album by cloudcover, starring our very own YorkeDaddy. I put so much into this that without realising it (but suspecting) it went well over the 20,000 limit, so has to be split into two parts. Here's part one.

We may not all realise it, but Music Banter is bursting at the seams with bright musical talent, from Wolverine and Astronomer's beautifully sung renditions to original material from Plankton and Frownland, to name but a few. I'm going to have to make it my business to spend more time in the "Members showcase" section: I'm missing out on some really good music! Occasionally our members put together enough material to release an album, and I'm trying to be the go-to guy for reviewing these as they're released. The first of these was of course Plankton's Odyssey's "Krill", which I enjoyed immensely, and now it's's the third album from cloudcover.

Frownland --- cloudcover --- 2013 (Self-released)


So who, or what is or are cloudcover (I believe the lowercase spelling is important)? Well, they're a duo, one half of whom you may know as YorkeDaddy: his real name is Bryan. And his partner-in-music is called Schuyler. I'm assuming that's his first name as no other has been mentioned, they're best friends and it would be odd to call your best friend by his second name. Unless it was Kramer. Or Waits. Anyhoo, they've been working on this album for some time now, its genesis and development charted through YorkeDaddy's journal, and now it's done and dusted and out there for public consumption. And I have consumed it.

So, what's it like? I'll get to that, but first let me lay out a little about the idea behind it. I won't go into too much detail, as this is all available from YorkeDaddy's journal as I say, and being the music's creators he and Schuyler explain it much better than I ever could. But essentially "Frownland" is a concept album based around the idea of a dystopian future a la "Nineteen eighty-four", but also bringing in elements of Ray Bradbury's classic "Fahrenheit 451". In fact, it's this idea that fuels (sorry) the opening track, as the main character works in a division of the firemen, or something similar. As the album goes on he quickly becomes disenchanted with his job, and on a wider level, the way his society is run, through a brief encounter with a girl. Yes, very Orwell, and the boys readily admit to that. But the story isn't only told from the protagonist's side --- he's never named --- and we're also given a chance to hear the "evil" side of the story.

Let me set the minds to rest of those whose minds need setting to rest: this is a brilliant album. I really love it, and I'll be gushing about it in this review. However, it does have its weak points and there are aspects of it I either don't understand, or don't think work well. But what, after all, is a review if it's not well balanced, and along with the praise there needs to be some criticism --- always constructive --- some comments which may not go down well, and indeed some questions. When I set out to review an album by --- let's say people I know: I wouldn't yet consider Bryan a friend, though perhaps in time, assuming he likes what I say here --- I try to be as unbiased as I can. This is not always easy. As I mentioned in the introduction to the review of "Krill", you have to be keenly aware that someone you know --- perhaps a friend --- has entrusted you with their very personal work, and you want to make sure you don't treat it in an offhand way, for good or bad. I'm sure, to use him again as an example, Plankton would not have been overly happy to read a review of his album in my journal that basically said "this is great, I like it" without expounding on why I like it, what's great about it, and looking at it from as critical a viewpoint as possible. People have said of me that if I'm one thing it's honest, if another it's fair, and that's something I try to bring to these reviews.

Of course, it can go the other way. I could hate, or not like the album, and if I do then I will not be shy about saying so. But there are ways to say that, and you also have to be mindful of the fact that you are handling someone's baby here, and you do not want to drop it carelessly. Feelings must be protected, though if harsh criticism is needed that will be apportioned out. So it's a hard balancing act, to make sure you don't insult the person or hurt their feelings, but that you don't just gush stupidly about their work in a way that makes it clear you've hardly listened to it at all.

The first time I listened to this was just that: a listen. I liked what I heard, and then decided I needed to go and read the journal, to get a better handle on the story and the vision behind the album. I'm glad I did, because it gave me a far deeper and better understanding, not only of the music but of the guys who make it. I almost feel, having read the journal and listened to the album many, many times now, as if I know them, and yet I've exchanged a few PMs with Bryan and that's all. But listening to the music someone creates, and then reading about that creation process, I think has to bring you a little closer to the artiste and help you understand what they're about, what they're trying to say, and how they went about it. It's a fascinating read, and if you haven't already you should make sure to take a look at it.

So now I know the album is firstly a concept, based around a futuristic dystopian society --- or is it? I'll come back to that sometime later, but it is important. Like most concept albums the story follows a hero -- although the guys call him the protagonist, as I don't think he's meant to be seen as a hero in the truest sense of the word --- and his oppressor, the top man who runs things, I guess we're talking about a Big Brother type of figure here. There's also a third character, a woman, but she doesn't make an appearance except through the hero's thoughts and actions.

So, as they say, let's get down to brass tacks, shall we? Welcome to Frownland!

There's a slow descending synthline and hard percussion, then sprightly, boppy synth introducing "The fire this time", in which we meet our Hero (let's just call him that, it's easier) who works for the repressive government as a Fireman (with apologies to Ray Bradbury, no doubt) and is on a job, burning books seen to be seditious or undesirable by the powers that be. I believe it's Schuyler who sings most of the vocals, and it's his voice we hear take the lead, singing the part of the Hero. I must say, he has a great voice which would not be out of place in any rock band you can name. It's clear, it's deep, it's grave in its way and it fits the music perfectly. It reminds me of Neil Hannon or Nick Cave, or maybe Andrew Eldritch, that sort of dark but clear voice. As the verse is sung the buzzy synth drops away to just guitar and drums, then although there is no actual chorus the uptempo keys more or less make it, with the recurring theme from the opening section. The Hero tries to explain to the person being hunted that he's only doing his job, and that if the quarry only thought about it logically he would see that it is the right thing to do. "We are protectors of your peace of mind" he tells him, while we hear the voice of let's call him The Man, order the burning of the books: "Burn it to ashes/ And then burn the ashes too!"

The song ends very cleverly with the sound of air-raid sirens (which I think used to be the klaxon used in Fahrenheit 451) and the sound of marching, jackbooted feet. After this powerful opener things take a quieter turn with "One private moment", a ballad with just acoustic guitar but with the drums running in a military style, as if to remind us this is still a man who is a tool of the government, an oppressor, a stepper on human rights and a fascist weapon. The story is not clear here, but it would appear that, rather like in "Nineteen Eighty-Four", the Hero meets a woman whom he falls for, and who shows him a different side to the life he's been leading. It's not said whether or not she is part of any resistance --- or indeed, if such a thing exists --- but she certainly impresses the Hero, and he begins to think of simpler things like love and companionship. The song is, I guess necessarily, short, as it is only meant to be a temporary respite for the Hero, but it leads to him eventually questioning everything he has up until now taken for granted. There's a lovely vocal harmony in the chorus --- which I think they prefer to call the refrain here, as it only comes in the once and ends the song --- and as the album goes on you get to appreciate that Bryan and Schuyler really have a grip on some perfect vocal harmony work, which adds an extra layer to their music. Don't know whether they'll appreciate this or not, but this song gives me a very clear sense of Snow Patrol.

During the refrain, as they sing "Let's go for a ride/ See all the sights/ Dance under the glow of the lights in the snow/ We'll dream about love/ Nobody will know" there's a lovely soft, almost subsumed trumpeting keyboard line running that in ways reminds me of quiet bagpipes, and works really well with the melody. I wish it were longer, but to fit in with the rest of the story I suppose it can't be. It's a mere two and a half minutes, and you mourn its passing the moment it's over, but although "One private moment" is not forgotten, it's replaced by again a totally different track, both of which are two of my favourites on an album that has many standout tracks.

Introducing The Man, who is very cleverly identified by the utilisation of the vocoder, so that every time you hear the metallic voice, that's him, "Welcome to the party" is a masterpiece of black humour. I don't want to overly gush as I said, but the fact that the guys have latched onto the possibilities of using a double meaning for the party is really impressive. While it obviously denotes The Party, the shadowy, all-powerful force in Orwell's masterpiece, it also can mean a good time, a get-together, a disco, and this is exactly what happens. It would appear that The Man entices people to join his Party by way of booze, probably sex and drugs, by throwing a big disco wherein new members are inducted. He exults through the vocoder "So very happy that you came" as he greets the new arrivals, and assures them that "Tonight we are all one beating heart/ So forget the past, let the present start." I'd like to pause here for a moment and sort of deconstruct the lyric, which I think is probably the cleverest and most revealing on the album.

The Man welcomes every new member to the Party, as we've said. He checks they're expected --- "Could I get your name/ To make sure you're on the list?" --- and then tells them "Forget the past/ Let the present start." This, to me, says several things. Whether these were intended or not I don't know, but here's how I see it. When you join the Party your sins, crimes and any other indiscretions are overlooked, forgotten, expunged. In return for total loyalty to the Party they ensure nothing can harm you, come back out of your past or that you can be held responsible for anything you did in your life prior to this. It really is a new life: when you join the Party you leave your past behind and you take on a new future. You're essentially reborn, in the Party's image and with their metaphorical shackles attached to you. The Man goes on to promise "You won't be the same when you leave these walls" which I think is a way of saying you entered as an individual, but now all that has changed and you are a cog in the massive machinery of the Party. Although cogs are just parts and nobody cares about them, one broken or misaligned one can bring a mighty machine to a halt, so all cogs will be afforded the proper, shall we say, maintenance?

He then goes on to outilne the many benefits of being part of this organisation: "Welcome to the Party where wrong is right/ Day is night/ Black is white." The Party decides what is acceptable, not society as a whole. If you do something that is intrinsically seen as wrong, but the Party does not believe it to be wrong, it is not. This of course takes the idea from "Nineteen Eighty-Four", where Winston Smith is asked how many lights he sees, and says four. And his interrogator then asks him, "And if the Party says there are five lights, then how many are there?" Reality, truth, perception and acceptance are all decided by the Party, and if you do not agree then you do not belong. But as long as you toe the (Party) line, you'll be fine. The Man then warns, in a friendly but really threatening way, "It's unwise to drink alone." The Party does not want people alone. People alone are bad news. They're loners, and worse, they can become thinkers. And the last thing the Party wants is thinkers. More to the point, someone who is alone is not with others, and therefore cannot be observed, controlled, guided, led. If two of three people think A, and number three thinks B, there's a reasonable chance that the first two will try to change his mind, especially if the Party wants them all to think A.

There is also a hinted-at threat, although again it's couched in terms of friendliness and camaraderie: "You'll never leave this place alone." The clear implication here is that once you're part of the Party, spies will be watching you and your movements, speech, actions and perhaps even your thoughts will be observed, checked, reported if necessary. Having joined the Party, you will suddenly acquire many silent shadows who will be all too willing to turn you in should you stray from the path. The bouncy, bubbly synth also becomes, as Bryan and Schuyler confirm in their journal, easily identifiable as a tool of the Party, an instrument of evil (I always said it!) amd so whenever the "bad guys" are in a scene in a song, you will hear the synth almost as their voice, their herald, their attack dog. It works really well as the album progresses, and it's another great original idea from these two --- let's not call them genius, but they're pretty damn intelligent, okay?

The song is driven on a funky, dancy beat reminiscent of those seventies disco bands, and more recently, Daft Punk's resurrection of same on their "Random access memories" album, with thumping beats, funky guitars, dancy uptempo squelchy synth and a real party atmosphere. The Man is the MC for the night, welcoming people and telling them "You won't be the same/ When you leave these walls". My own personal interpretation of this --- which may be completely wrong --- is that while at this "induction party", pictures are taken, perhaps video, compromising positions may be arranged, blackmail prepared, so that the inductees have no option but to swear allegiance to the Party or have their behaviour broadcast to their loved ones. But it's all under the guise of a welcoming houseparty and The Man certainly does his part as he singsthe welcoming speech, gathering more sheep into his flock. Super track, and again pity it's not longer, but then I guess it's probably exactly as long as it needs to be. These guys have worked this thing out to the nth degree, they know what they're doing.

Either of the foregoing could be singles easily, and I mean hit singles. Especially with Daft Punk making disco en vogue at the moment, "Welcome to the party" is something I could hear not only playing on radios across the country but in discos everywhere. Infectious, catchy, simple and a tune that just sticks in your head: all the hallmarks of a hit single. The next song sees our Hero begin to reassess his life, thinking about what he has been doing and seeing his work, in the light of his new relationship, as perhaps not the societal service that he had believed it to be. Again very clever, the song is titled "Independence Day", I assume to reflect the sudden independence of thought, the release from the shackles of the Party of his mind, and accordingly it veers between a bright, optimistic upbeat line on guitar and a darker, more sombre tone on synth. There's a nice kind of Coldplay feel to the opening part, and it's generally a mid-to-uptempo style then about halfway through a very dark Nick Cave sound comes through as Schuyler sings "Pledge allegiance to the ones that love you/ Not the ones like you!"

The next track features, I'm told, Bryan on vocals, and he does a great job on "Diluted", in which the Hero begins to become a little paranoid as he sees spies everywhere, sure that he's being watched, that his secret is known. It's clear that he's either working against the Party now, or thinking about doing so. There's a good heavy guitar melody carrying the song, and it's an uptempo rhythm with again great vocal harmonies and of course a certain sense of paranoia, which is surely justified as we plough into "Your existence is in bad taste", with a klaxon and that blaring thick synth as The Man and the Party arrive, shouting that the Hero is surrounded. It's a really nicely-constructed industrial/new-wave piece which reminds me of Numan with some great work on the vocoder going up and down the registers and a real feeling of being pent in, trapped, indeed surrounded. However, there is a way out and next our Hero and his woman are running, and wibbly synths take us into "Keep up the pace" with a very Genesis keyboard tailing off.

A fast uptempo piece, the song certainly gives a sense of running and pursuit, with sharp violin and trundling drums, as Schuyler tells his girl that they have started a revolution --- "We're in the news/ We've lit a fuse" --- and hopes others will join them, though this at the moment seems unlikely. A very jangly guitar opens "Small stones", another highlight, though I have to wonder if the guys have heard Tiamat, as their song "Love is better than soma" has the very same opening lines? Hmm. Anyway, the song rocks along nicely as the Hero tries to pretend everything is okay as he and his girl go on the run, knowing in his heart his fight is probably doomed to failure, even though he sings "We are the small stones/ That brought Goliath down". There's again some great vocal interchange here, as Schuyler sings There's nothing they can do" while Bryan sings "Disappear from view." A sort of Beatles breakdown then in the vocal as the song heads into its end, and into the next track, another soon-to-be-classic.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Trollheart

But if you'll indulge me, here is where the cracks begin to appear. Up to now the guys have been very careful to keep the setting of this story ambiguous: there has been no mention of city, country or region. It could be anywhere; it might not even be on our planet. Some of the very best dystopian stories have used this device: Terry Gilliam's "Brazil", despite the title, markedly fails to confirm where it's set, whereas Orwell's classic, while claiming the action takes place on "Airstrip One", is clearly Britain, as is Alan Moore's "V for Vendetta". I don't think there's a location mentioned in Bradbury's story, though it's a long time since I last read it. Keeping things vague in terms of location, or even year, can be helpful in some ways, as often we don't want to face the idea that it's our own country that's being painted so darkly, face the possibility that "this could happen here". So that's fine. "Frownland" could be anywhere, really. Any time. But now all of a sudden as "We are the dead" opens, Schuyler begins singing about New York, and referencing 9/11. I understand they wanted to incorporate their feelings about the Twin Towers attacks into the music, but I feel it's blurring the message. Badly.

The thing is, now we've suddenly and without warning stuck a pin in a map and said "Yeah, it's America." It may not be New York (or it may) but the Big Apple has definitely been mentioned. The news story about the attacks has been mentioned too, so now as Schuyler sings that he's hearing the reports, you start to think this can't be any more than twenty years or so in the future. Suddenly, everything is fixed in place, located, and I really don't get it. Is this just allegorical, or is Frownland in America? I just think it waters down the storyline and weakens it badly. I'll be returning to this possibly uncomfortable topic shortly, but for now, what about the music?

Well, "We are the dead" (title of course taken from "Nineteen Eighty-Four") is a slow, sad dirge, as you might expect, with only acoustic guitar, drums and some beautiful haunting violin from a lady I believe called Emily Lisanti carrying it, an almost quiet Waterboys celtic feeling about it as Schuyler talks about 9/11 and the aftermath. The lyric is inspired --- "Did you hear the twins have died?/ Our hearts are all split open wide" --- but I sort of fail to see the message here. The overriding concept seems to be that those living today are as good as dead and must build the world for those who come after us. I confess I'm confused. It doesn't help that Schuyler then talks about being dead the moment he met his lover, which would kind of make more sense: I'll never be this happy again so I may as well be dead now. But that doesn't seem to be what he's saying... But hold on. Rereading the journal I see now what he's getting at. It's the concept from "Nineteen Eighty-Four", that death occurred with the first seditious thought. Your mind betrayed you, the Party machinery tried and convicted you and in your heart and soul, the inbred sense of unquestioning loyalty to the Party executed you. You are now dead. So what the Hero is saying is that he died when he met the girl and they began to rebel. Got it now. Sort of.

Back to the music. It's actually almost three minutes into the song before the percussion hits, and it's that much more effective when it does. There's also a nice stark choir that comes in near the end. The vocal gets much stronger and more passionate as it comes towards the conclusion, but to be honest I would have preferred it just faded on "We are the dead", and they throw in a last line which I think personally does not work. Speaking of not working, "Modern everything" is played on an, as already admitted, out of tune acoustic piano, and I just don't get it. I know Waits used one, I know others have, but it takes special skill, as it were, to play badly well, and I just don't feel this gives the same sort of effect. It's also annoying that now we have a song about a hurricane, which when I heard this the first time I naturally assumed, given the 9/11 connection in the previous song, they were now singing about Katrina. Perhaps they are, in a sort of oblique way, but according to the plot this is meant to be a hurricane --- or a metaphor for one --- that hits and kind of knocks the whole story off kilter. If this were a novel I'd say it was a clumsy plot device, and I'm forced to agree that it seems a weird kind of way of throwing the story out of whack. Great vocal harmonies again and some fine soft percussion. I also like the way Schuyler and Bryan don't feel they have to make each line rhyme, so that when you think maybe a certain word is going to come up it doesn't, and it's refreshing.

"Don't vanish" then is a short little piano-led song with a low-key vocal with the line "Sometimes I'm a visionary" repeated from the previous song, and a direct lead into the next, and longest song, "We will rebuild this city", which you would imagine harks back to the hurricane spoken of in "Modern everything", but could refer to rebuiliding society after the fall of the Party and The Man. It's a very optimistic song, as you would expect from the title, with the title of the opener repeated in it and a vein of cheerfulness and looking forward in it as the guys sing "After all this time/ I'm still keeping my head up." I also like the switching around of the lines "It's been a few years but it seems like a day" later rearranged to say "It's been a few days but it seems like years." Again this song showcases the excellent vocal harmonies in cloudcover, and it's interesting to note they throw in a reference to one of their previous albums when they sing "Enter humanity".

The song itself seems to be broken into two distinctive parts, so much so that were it not that you know it not to be the case you would think this was two separate songs. Slighlty into the third minute of the seven it runs for, the synth builds up and then breaks down as the second part comes in, a slower, more ballad-centric song, but again I'm confused. He's talking about someone saying "We'll carry you if you can point the way" and "We'll guard your life/ We won't lose you again". Who's he talking about? Freedom? Human dignity? An actual person? Again, I'm at a loss. There are some lovely ELO-type touches in the guitar and then it powers back into the riff that opened the album. Whether that's a warning that The Party is on the rise again or just advice not to let your guard down I don't know but it's very clever. They also reference "Independence Day" in New York, so again we're unavoidably located. Perhaps "she" is New York? Again it's a little ambiguous, maybe it's meant to be that way.

A very optimistic end, but then it's not, because the closing track (after some audio of people cheering and chanting) is "Give her my best", which seems to refer to the death of the Hero in a car accident. He knows he's dying, or dead, and hopes his lover will find happiness with someone else. It's touching, but a little, again, confusing. When it starts I think for a moment I'm hearing "Stairway to Heaven" --- surely that was planned? --- and the song mostly proceeds on soft strummed acoustic guitar, and works along the same lines as the very last Roger Waters song with Pink Floyd, the closing track to "The final cut", "Two suns in the sunset", leaving really a rather bleak and rather unsatisfactory ending. The song gets harder in the last few moments as Schuyler sings "I'm not coming home anytime soon/ Trapped behind a tombstone/ Trying to get a message through." Sobering, but leaves me feeling a little empty. I know in general dystopian stories, from "Brazil" to "Soylent Green" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" to "V for Vendetta" rarely if ever have a happy ending, but I would just prefer to have taken a better message away from the album than that, after all his struggles to make the world a better place --- and possibly succeeding --- the Hero dies in a senseless accident. Just seems a little unfair to him, after all he's been through, and having shared those experiences with him throughout the album and come to know, and care for him, I feel it's a bad payoff in the end, realistic and pragmatic though it may be.

TRACKLISTING

1. The fire this time
2. One private moment
3. Welcome to the Party
4. Independence Day
5. Diluted
6. Your existence is in bad taste
7. Keep up the pace
8. Small stones
9. We are the dead
10. Modern everything
11. Don't vanish
12. We will rebuild this city
13. Take it to the streets
14. Give her my best

I certainly don't want to come across as overcritical and I think I have already pointed out that I love this album and think it could do extremely well if it gets the right attention, but the above niggles, well, niggle at me. The story is progressing fine until "We are the dead" and then it just seems to veer off in a sharp turn, kind of coming back by a circuitous route right at the end, but it's too roundabout a journey for me to stay focussed on the plot. Had the story ended with "Small stones", that might have been preferable, but then of course "We are the dead", "Modern everything" etc are all superb songs and I wouldn't want to have missed them. But someone listening to this for the first time would be excused for thinking these were bonus tracks, and had nothing to do with the concept running through the album.

No doubt the guys will tell me I got it totally wrong, and I probably did. But I'm trying to understand this and I really can't. The change in direction, focus and story from that track on is just bizarre to me, and while it most definitely does not come close to ruining the album, it does taint it a little, making it that much harder to follow a pretty great storyline, something not always the case with concept albums ---"Lamb lies down on Broadway" I'm looking at YOU! I think the guys have done a fantastic job here, and I'm amazed by the talent, the cohesiveness of the vision they have, the dedication to and execution of the album, and the deep understanding between Bryan and Schuyler. I just wish I hadn't had to have these little criticisms, some of which are not so little.

But notwithstanding all of that, you need to hear this album. I mean, physically need to. It's tremendous, and should go down as a future classic. I hope they get a recording deal, or at least interest from someone who can promote and distribute this music as it should be. This is an album that needs to be heard, and by as many people as possible. It does not deserve to languish on bandcamp, soundcloud or anywhere else, forgotten and ignored. The work the lads have put into this album needs to be recognised, celebrated and shared with the world. When you consider they wrote, played, recorded, engineered, arranged, produced and released this themselves, with no help from even a minor label or any professional entity or person, well it just beggars belief and reaffirms my contention that with passion and talent and a whole lot of determination, great albums can be produced without the help of record labels. Considering how much music I've been listening to this past two weeks, it's one hell of a statement that the music I sing and that goes round in my head as I go about my daily life is from this album, exclusively. And isn't that a sign of a really successful and special album?

Although in fairness, they may need the assistance of some sort of label if this excellent music is to get to the mass market they clearly want and need to reach. If they can get the right backing, cloudcover could be damn huge. I just hope they remember their number one fan when they make it big! Front row seat, guys! Front row seat, and backstage pass.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

YorkeDaddy

I wonderfully written and superbly analytical review, Trollheart. I have no disagreements or gripes on any of your criticisms, as some of the story decisions we made were certainly debatable and any art will come out with flaws that are uniquely identified by each listener.

I've thought that "Give Her My Best" was a very bittersweet ending that reinforces some themes introduced in "We Are The Dead," in that we are all already dead essentially and our goal should be to do as much as we can for the future as humanly possible before our time is up, and "Give Her My Best" just shows that the end can come at any time, and we wanted the ending to seem a little more hopeful than bleak, as the hero's final words suggest; "Give her my best, and that's all that I ask of the world."

I want to thank you again for putting forth the time and effort to give our album a listen and to write such an excellent, in-depth review. We really are grateful when ANYONE listens to our album, let alone when they dedicate as much time as you did to giving us a proper evaluation!

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Trollheart

Believe me it was a pleasure, and I've only stopped listening to the album now (a conscious but tough decision) as I need to move on with my metal stuff. But I'll definitely be listening to it more even though the review is now finished.

Delighted you liked it and glad you're the type who can take a little constructive criticism without blowing a fuse and defending your vision to the death. I would have preferred not to have had anything bad to say, but sometimes even with my favourite albums there are things I have to pick out as unsatisfactory, as you'll see if you read my thread on Marillion, my second favourite band. Sometimes you do people no favours by pretending there's nothing wrong, allowing the cracks, small though they may be, to be papered over. So I try to give as honest and forthright a view as I can of what I listen to.

I genuinely believe you're on the cusp of greatness though. It'll only take one label executive with ears to hear how commercially successful this album can be, and I'd be really surprised and disappointed if I didn't hear of you again. Keep me advised of any progress, won't you?

And again, great job and thanks for taking the time to comment on my review. It took some time but I think it came together well.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018