BRAVE

After Marillion released their sixth studio album, "Holidays In Eden," which comprised of mostly pop rock music, the band returned to their progressive roots on "Brave" and succeeded with flying colors. This was my introduction to h-era Marillion, and while I think there are better starting points to get into this era of the band, "Brave" is quite possibly their most ambitious musical statement. Marillion's seventh studio album is a dense seventy-one minute journey of the most intricate music the band has ever written. "Brave" is a concept album dealing with lyrical themes of sexual abuse, isolation, drug addiction, and suicide. Because of how miserable this album is, I never play it with other people in the room I'm in or when I'm in the car. "Brave" demands to be listened to from start to finish, preferably on headphones and in a dark room. Each track is hauntingly beautiful and flows into each other perfectly. When Marillion perform tracks individually live, it doesn't have the same effect as when they perform "Brave" in its entirety like they did on the Brave tour and during the Marillion weekend in 2013. In other words, the sum is greater than its parts.

"Bridge" opens the album with Mark Kelly's haunting synths which lead into Steve Hogarth's delicate vocals that are accompanied by piano. This is the perfect introductory piece to the album that bleeds into the first proper song, "Living With the Big Lie." This song starts off with guitar harmonics that create an eerie atmosphere. Slowly, the music builds into a heavy rock song, and the lyrics reflect the intensity of the music. "Runaway" is a gorgeous ballad that, like the track that preceded it and most of the tracks on the album, crescendos and decrescendos beautifully, taking the listener through a roller coaster of emotions. The chord progression is sombre like the lyrics. The bridge is when the song climaxes with a powerful Steve Rothery guitar solo. "Goodbye to All That" is a multipart suite and the longest track on the album, clocking in at 12:27. It's comprised of fix sections: i. "Wave," ii. "Mad," iii. "The Opium Den," iv. "The Slide," and v. Standing in the Swing." "Goodbye to All That" starts the way "Bridge" ended, adding cohesion to the album. The ending chord of the intro leads the listener into the song, which starts with a long build of intense drumming from Ian Mosley and complex keyboard playing from Mark Kelly. I always have a hard time hearing where the 1 is in terms of the beat, as the music is complex. Steve Rothery's guitar adds to the ambience of the piece. Steve Hogarth, when performed live, portrays the heroine effectively during the "Mad" section by holding a mirror up to his face whilst sloppily putting on lipstick. He certainly gives off the impression of having gone mad. This section is in 7/8, which gives the music a sense of urgency. The guitar and keyboard interplay during "The Opium Den" is chilling. Pete Trewavas lays down a strong bass foundation throughout "The Slide," allowing for a prolonged jam session that showcases Steve Rothery's atmospheric guitar playing. "Standing in the Swing" starts off with subdued piano and vocals from h. Eventually, the whole band starts playing, giving the song a surge of energy which leads into "Hard as Love." This song is one of the more rocky songs on the album, and when I first listened to it, I thought it stood out like a sore thumb. After years of listening to "Brave," I realized that "Hard as Love" is an astounding song. Mark Kelly's organ work on this track is impressive and overall, it provides a satisfying musical break from the anguish surrounding it. I say musical break because the lyrics are still extremely depressing. Hogarth gives a ballsy performance on "Hard as Love" which suits the rock style of the music. The first half of the album ends with what might be the most beautiful piano ballad of all time, in my opinion of course, "The Hollow Man." Not to get too personal, but as someone who has suffered from depression, I know what it's like to feel hollow inside, and I can empathize with the fictional heroine to a certain extent. That's another reason why "Brave" resonates with me on a deep level. The bridge of the song, as another reviewer brilliantly put it, makes you feel like you're being lifted off this earth. I love the way "The Hollow Man" closes the first half of the record as it leaves you utterly speechless by the end.

The second half of "Brave" starts abruptly with a rapid Steve Rothery guitar lick, leading into the song of "Alone Again in the Lap of Luxury." The first six minutes of the song is great pop rock with outstanding Steve Rothery guitar playing. The concluding section is entitled "Now Wash Your Hands," and is a dark, ambient piece. "Paper Lies" is another rocky song with interesting moments, but it doesn't quite fit musically or conceptually. Despite being the weakest song on the album, it's still really good. I like the vocal round that happens during the midsection of the song. The title track is the closest Marillion gets to ambient, which they dabble with throughout the record. Tony Halligan plays beautiful Uilleann pipes on this track, giving it a feeling of gravitas. Steve Hogarth's vocal performance on the title track is moving, as it is on the next track, "The Great Escape." This piece is broken up into two sections: i. "The Last of You," and ii. "Fallin' from the Moon." This is the emotional peak of the album, conceptually and musically speaking. A snippet of "The Great Escape" theme is heard earlier in the album during the beginning of "Goodbye to All That," and is played with full emotion at this point on the record. "Fallin' from the Moon" is one of the most beautiful pieces of music Marillion has ever written, and contains arguably Steve Rothery's best guitar solo. "Made Again" closes the album, and acts as sort of the ending credits if you were to think of "Brave" in a cinematic context. Unfortunately, it actually was adapted into a movie, which was not great... "Made Again" is an acoustic piece that starts with nylon string guitar and vocals from Hogarth in the first half. More instrumentation is added in the second half. "Made Again" is the only song on "Brave" that is happy, which is why it's the perfect closing track. Whenever I hear this song, I can't help but smile.

In conclusion, "Brave" is, in my opinion, Marillion's magnum opus, and a contender for my favorite album of all time. In fact, at one point it was my favorite album. The juxtaposition of "Holidays In Eden" and "Brave" is staggering. I will refrain from rambling on as this review is well over 1000 words, but hopefully that goes to show how much I love "Brave." All I have left to say is "Brave" is essential and will change your life!!