THE ROOK'S SIEGE

Interesting effort from this chess-themed prog band from Malaysia. Behind the dark and brooding album cover of Martin Vengadesan & The Stalemate Factor's "The Rook Siege", the fourth album in their catalog, its opening track "The Horizon Myth" shows off the best of Vengadesan's talents, taking us on a sonic journey that is explorative in nature in this playful 11-minute-50-second suite. A fun lengthy song by Stalemate Factor.

I was particularly taken by the acid-soaked track "The Heretic" told from the perspective of a person struggling with late night depression. Its beauty is in its darkness, as is much of this album. The mood of the song flickers like a light switch between verse and chorus, brilliantly depicting the violent throes of manic depression in its lyricism and arrangement.

Its chorus stood out. Anyone who has identified as an outsider at some point of their lives would be able to see themselves in the lines:

Am I a heretic if I do not think like you? Or just a broken man who knows not what to do? All trace of this life I guess will soon be gone No one needs to know that I never belonged

This eventually builds up to a spirited jam between sitar, keys and electric guitar.

Check out "The Forest Of Thieves" for its Ian Anderson-reminiscent flute lines and blistering guitar solo, and "Ashes" - a charming piano-forward song, heavily backed by mellotron, telling a tale of betrayal.

Another piano-forward track is "The Tomb Of Osiris", which reminds me of Iron Maiden at its best, rocking and rolling with soulful backing vocals supplied by I-Shan Esther. Notable mentions are tracks "Citadel Of Twenty-Six" for its fantastic outro and medieval imagery and "Death Comes As The End", which I believe is a nod to Agatha Christie's work of the same name.

A very pleasing hour spent on "The Rook's Siege" indeed.

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