ELEVENTH HOUR

Having started listening to this album before reading anything about it, I nearly fell off my chair upon hearing Gareth Mason's unmistakable spoken word at the start of 'Sail Away.' I mean who would have seen this coming?! Ross Jennings, the vocalist of Haken, teaming up with the up and coming powerhouse of extreme progressive metal that is Gareth Mason (go listen to Odyssey to the West by Slice the Cake and thank me later)?! Can heaven and earth occupy the same point in space?!

Despite my hyperbole, the album actually doesn't quite live up to the expectation I would have set for it given the talent involved. At the risk of making too superficial a comparison, I liken this album to Haken's Visions mixed with Mason's signature growls and spoken word. And much like Visions, the song writing is diverse, performances are strong, and almost nothing comes off offensive to the ear. But therein lies the album's drawback: its too safe. When heaven and hell join forces, I would expect something we've not quite seen before and not just plain old Earth.

This is a good album and you will enjoy it. Just not so sure you'll be coming for repeat listens.

The debut album from Novena, has been creating quite a stir in some circles, given who is in the line-up. The band comprises twin lead singers in Ross Jennings (Haken) and Gareth Mason (Slice The Cake), guitarists Dan Thornton (Ex- HAARP Machine, Ex-No Sin Evades His Gaze) and Harrison White (who also provides keyboards), drummer Cameron Spence (Ravenface) and bassist Moat Lowe (Slugdge, Ex-NSEHG). So, all the guys know their stuff, and have been around the scene for a while but there is something about this which just does not gel for me. There is no doubt everyone can really play, and for me Lowe is a real revelation with some stunning basslines, amalgam of metal and prog does not mesh like it should.

The production is great, and everything is really clear, but this was an album I just could not like, and I still do not know why as there is a great deal of complexity and musicianship on offer. Possibly it is down to a lack of cohesive direction, plus some sections such as the twee beginning to "Disconnected" have nothing going for them and would have been better off left in the studio. This album needed a strong producer to get to grips and mesh it into shape, as however many times I play it I keep coming back to the same thing, that this is a solid release but is never any more than that, no matter what other bands the musicians are involved with.