INVICTA

This was a most unforeseen revelation, a new album from this storied yet eclectic group led by the irascible iconoclast Robert John Godfrey. I, as many proggers from the golden age have known and possessed the first 2 legendary The Enid albums (In the Region of Summer Stars and Aerie Faerie Nonsense), attracted by the quirky union between classical orchestrations and more formal prog-rock. Their long history is very well documented and there is little need to hash over such golden territory. Let us just state that their deep instrumental symphonics were perennially modulated by trumpet-timbred synthesizers, ornate piano colorations and colossal waves of strings. RJG now has evolved into infusing this brittle formula with stunning operatic vocals, courtesy of voice wunderkind Joe Payne, owner of a lonely falsetto that would make any music fan blush with envy. He is without any doubt the focal point of this tremendous release.

This monstrous talent is evident on the stellar "One and the Many" , a brooding and melancholic composition loaded with towering strings, dense atmospherics and a dual vocal performance , first with that nearly feminine falsetto and then his "normal" tone which just shimmers with trepidation. Toss in some rumbling church organ for a finale and you have a track for the ages. Wow!

"Who Created Me" shows off some transcendent lineage that would make Freddie Mercury smile a bucktooth expression, up there in regal heaven. Playful piano toying with the operatic theatrics is perhaps an acquired taste but we are really not far removed from 'A Night at the Opera', including that zippy guitar sound that has such a captivating appeal. "Execution Mob" provides some opening cinematographic effects with carnival sonics, carousel flutes, chirping fowl and pealing bells blending in with massed choir vocals that hint at the Beach Boys what with a little calypso feel mixed with some utter Britishness! Cool runnings!

The daring "Witch Hunt" has an ominous tone where marimba patches, marshmallow guitar shrieks and swooning vocals meld into quite a stir pot of sound, spiced with dabs of trumpet/ trombone blasts. Vivacity, thunder, lightning, very very frightening! Galileo? Well we did say Witch Hunt, no? The hysteric axe creaks nastily amid the blooming string whoppers, the tympani drums booming Magma-esque when combined with the massed zeuhly choir work.

"Heaven's Gate" is the epic 9 minute colossus, a luxuriant doorway to profligate sounds, untenable angst and barely concealed apprehension, like some Kubrick-ish audio nightmare with a slowly evolving main motif. Extremely multi-dimensional space instrumental with operatic overtones in its bombastic finale, this one will require multiple revisits to sink in its anti-satanic message. Yes, and beauty will prevail in the end. Bravo!

Synthesizers anoint the perception quite religiously in the very English "Leviticus", here rather Beatles-esque than anything previously displayed, as the piano revels in the Joe Payne voice with fretting humility. This man can sing impressively and is a talent to be watched closely. Brazen guitar work only heightens the surprised enjoyment.

"Villain of Silence" is more classic the Enid, with intense importations of heady guitar (Jason Ducker, whose shattering solo will agonize the track later on) and cavernous RJG arrangements but all yielding to the playful Joe Payne voice, full of dynamic range, coy theatrics and artistic liberties (think a modern musical rock opera). "It takes the King's crown" Indeed!

"The Whispering" closes of this little masterpiece in utter style, a startlingly enjoyable listening experience that makes an immediate impact (the songs are simply of damned good quality!). Again fans of tremendous vocal ability will flock to this precious relic and will look forward to many future revisits.

The old school black and white cover artwork even winks at past glories, sylvan forests where angels, goddesses and lazing nude eunuchs play the lyre and the zauber flutes.

"I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul"

Progstreaming strikes again, providing the required marketing to hunt this one down.

4.5 poetic justices