STORM CORROSION

An ambitious, bold gathering of experiments assembled by two of the greatest minds of Modern Prog.

Storm Corrosion is a project started in 2010 by legendary musicians Steven Wilson, leader of Porcupine Tree, and Mikael Akerfeldt, leader of Opeth. Their self-titled debut album got released two years after that. In this gap of time, fans of both bands waited for this LP anxiously; but when the album did get released, some ended up being disappointed, others on the other hand were really satisfied, as I was.

What many knew about Storm Corrosion, before the album was released, was that it was going to be, according to the words of the musicians, something the two Progheads had never accomplished before in studio; a tribute to the more obscure bands of golden-aged Progressive Rock. And that is exactly what we get: it's an album of relaxed and calm atmosphere, with a good deal of mellotron, almost no percussion whatsoever, creepy tremolo strings, acoustic guitars, flutes, and keyboards, especially. Some of these instruments shape the music into a somewhat Ambient form, other times, something more like into Prog Folk form. In any way, the music is always calm, with a whole variety of emotions poured into the notes, from fear, to peacefulness.

Each song has a great characteristic to it, and they all remind, in a way, of those old bands of the seventies that didn't gain as much attention as they should have.However, there simply is no specific band or style the project is aiming for. Among the strongest tracks, the single 'Drag Ropes', which also opens the curtains to the show, is the closest thing to Steven Wilson's typical style: it's not as intimate and shockingly different as the other tracks, but it still is a huge, noticeable change, for both the musicians. The track is beautifully layered by various instruments, including mellotron, synths, keys, acoustic guitars and other curiosities, and its flow feels very natural, despite its length. It is with the other songs though where things get really odd: the title track has this amazingly intimate guitar section where Wilson's voice gently contributes to the atmosphere, however, the song gets a bit of a twist when a strange, creepy wall of sound, of what seems to be strings, hypnotizes the listener effectively. After these two songs, the overall tones are much more calm and peaceful, like in the final track 'Ljudet Linnan', sung mostly by Akerfeldt, where keyboards and guitars blend into this warm, cozy aura. Some sparks of sinisterness can still be heard in the dead center of the album, but they are rare and sparse.

The biggest issue I have with Storm Corrosion's debut (the only one issue really, but it's one I simply can't ignore) is its structure and overall flow: it seems that the LP starts in one way, continues in another, and ends in another one again, without there being any sense of roundness or completeness. It's like if a few, mini albums were contained in one album. The songs don't communicate with one another, like an unfriendly neighborhood would do, where nobody says hi to anybody: they simply don't connect.

Besides this, Storm Corrosion is a brave collection of experiments on behalf of this ambitious project, which turned out to be surprisingly successful in my eyes, despite the skepticism I felt for it at first. The songs themselves are memorable, very well executed, and emotional, even though there is not much of a comprehensive structure. This is however a band people should keep an eye on, especially prog fans.

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