THE ROOK'S SIEGE

The Rook's Siege is the most recent album by The Stalemate Factor, which is a rare progressive rock band from South East Asia. I have all four albums but this is the most progressive overall and by far the best place to start.

The obvious draw is the opener - a great track called The Horizon Myth. A 12 minute piece that ends with a superb Moog solo it also has some fine guitar work by LK Wong and outstanding drumming from Ashwin. There are bits of the song that remind me of Rush, King Crimson and even The Beatles and Traffic. The lyrics are all about warriors and wizards, poisoned blades and a half-prince in the shadows!

Another highlight is the blistering Ashes which has some fantastic piano and organ interchanges by keyboardist/singer Vengadesan. I would also recommend The Tomb Of Osiris which blends heavy metal and jazz while ruminating on the fate of the last priest of an ancient religion. Similarly The Forest Of Thieves touches on Jain mythology, and has a captivating midsection on flute and another great outro solo by Wong.

Then there's The Heretic which is an all out brooding jam featuring electric piano, guitar and sitar by guest performer Kumar. It also has a schizophrenic Beatles-like chorus.

The album is full of hidden moments like the violin solo in The Ballad Of The Latter Day Saint and the maudlin string and flute exchanges in Death Comes As The End. I also like the vocal duet on Citadel of Twenty Six, and there are great female vocal contributions from Joanne, Alena and I-Shan Esther.

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.