Trollheart

Can anyone tell me what happened here? According to my lyric sheet, both "Dryad of the woods" and the title track have lyrics but I got nothing but two instrumentals up until "Waking every god"?????

Anyway...

1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?

For me this only evoked one band: Marillion, particularly early Fish-era, around "Script" or "Fugazi". Got a lot more in the vein of progressive metal than rock fairly quickly though, and that initial impression was lost.

2. What did you think of the opening tracks?

The first two were a lot heavier than I expected, and the sudden onslaught of guitar took me more than a little by surprise. I wasn't quite sure what to think, given the rather gentle opening and what it set me up to expect.

3. What did you think of the later tracks?


I sort of only became any way invested in the album when "A trace of blood" arrived; thought that was very well written and played, and evoked some disturbing images, but very true to life. Losing a child must be one of the most traumatic things anyone can go through, and if there's a better example of joy becoming sorrow in an instant I can't think of it. Great job there. I found a lot of Floyd's "Hey you" in the melody of "Undertow", (come on: it even has the multiple echo of the last word at the end!) and I must compliment Gildenlow's vocal performance on this: just superb, a highlight of the album. Got a little confused/frustrated with the title track and "Dryad of the wood", which both came across as instrumentals but it seems should not be....

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?

Returning to my Marillion comparison, perhaps oddly though I mentioned early Marillion was the impression I got originally, I found the vocalist, again initially, more like Steve Hogarth than Fish, but fairly quickly I got the Gabriel comparison, especially in the more "angry" exchanges. Hogarth doesn't really do angry well, I feel. I wasn't crazy about the muttered, mumbled soliloquies though. I also think that it would have been hard to have made out many of the lyrics if I hadn't had a page in front of me with them printed on it. With that, I could follow the album better, but really, the singer should elucidate properly enough for me to be able to make out all the words he's singing, and I found I couldn't.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?

I'd definitely categorise this more as progressive metal than rock; I think it has a much harder edge, tougher guitars and more forceful percussion that you generally don't get to hear in many prog rock bands. Very accomplished musicians though, of that there's no doubt.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?

Much better; I really found myself warming to it. Though as I say my enjoyment/understanding of it was definitely enhanced by having the lyrics to refer to.


7. What did you think of the lyrical content?


I'd agree with ET that some of the lyrics are a little esoteric, with a lot of references that got prog rock bands tagged, perhaps fairly, as "snobbish" and "elitist" in the seventies. The depiction of a young woman's attempts at suicide in "Rope ends" is tremedous though, and the double-meaning of the song title is a stroke of genius. I love the line "Winnie is strong and would not let her fall", using the image of a well-loved children's character to link into a horrible act of self-harm. Chilling.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?

Some of it was very good, though the guitars dominate a little too much I think. The piano in "Fandango" is interestingly sparse and bleak, almost single notes, which is something different. I think this track actually reminds me in places of Diablo Swing Orchestra, never a bad thing! However at times, particularly during the end part of "Thorn clown", the guitar got so frenzied and loud that it totally drowned out the vocals, which in my mind was a ridiculous thing to do. If it's a solo, fine, but the guy was singing and you couldn't make out a damn word he was saying! That said, great guitar solo and excellent piano in "Rope ends".

9. What did you think of the production?

As always, I can never comment on production, but I didn't think it was produced badly.

10. How well do you already know the band/artist?

Only through "One hour by the concrete lake", which I hated, though I listened to it a few times.

11. What sub-genre, if any, would you assign this music to?


Progressive metal.

12. On repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?


N/a as only listened the once.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?


"A trace of blood" tied closely with "Undertow". No wait: "Rope ends", definitely. And sure thrown in "Second love" too...

14. And the one you liked least?

"Thorn clown" followed by "Chain sling" then "Beyond the pale". Really didnt like that.

15. Did the fact that this album is a debut/sophomore/middle period or later period allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?

Again, this question should be ignored if the album is NOT a debut, only. This isn't, so I'm passing over it.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing other albums by the band/artist?

I'd be prepared to give them more of a chance than I was after "One hour", after which I had basically written them off as a band I would not like.

17. Did you get, thematically, the idea behind the album if there was one?

Yes, the idea of a man starting his life as a child looking for love and then finding it, losing his child and continuing on through the pain (to try and find) salvation came through very well.

18. Did the album end well?

Kind of found it returned to a Marillion style on the last track, for the opening, then later it got all almost death metal, kind of swung between genres and for me got a little confused. Think maybe they were trying too hard to end the album well, and may have missed the mark. I think finishing with "Second love" would have been more appropriate and a better closer. "Beyond the pale" sounds just like that, something a little too over the top, forced and almost tacked on, as if PoS felt they had to have an epic to end on. Although it revisits themes from the first track I feel it's slightly incongruous with the rest of the album and doesn't fit in well with the rest of their work on this.

(That would be a no, then.)

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?


Tone down the guitars a little and let the keyboard through a bit more. Also, some more distinctive vocals would have helped in places. Also WTF was going on with those two instrumentals-that-shouldn't-have-been?

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?


Very definitely held together well and got the concept across successfully.
Overall album rating: 7 out of 10

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018