TARDIGRADES WILL INHERIT THE EARTH

This second album is darker and more intense than the first one in the sound and in the nature of the lyrics. From the opener, we can hear the big Steve Hackett influence on the guitar sound. The production is perfect and the beautiful arrangements give to the songs that are already of high quality more value. If Nick Beggs doesn't have the greatest voice, he has succeeded to make the vocals works with some specials recording effects. The music contains some nice atmosphere and some catchy chorus that will take you back at times to the 80's new wave past of Nick. When you have Roger King on the keyboards, you can go wrong again here with some beautiful melodies. The solid precision in the drums playing of Marco Minneman is also a highlight of this album. And finally who can resist the sound of that Chapman stick of Nick Begg that apparently is responsible for a lot of the guitars section. If the first album was a collaboration work, this one is a trio effort and a solid one.

The project continues.. The Mute Gods are back, thankfully their debut 2016 album was not a one-shot wonder as they have returned with another exquisite offering albeit a tad harder and darker, a most welcome addition to our prog universe. Beggs is "pissed off, we are all a bunch of idiots because we put up with idiots". The whole atmosphere is "apocalyptic, catchy and ironic", he says as he smiles irefully. Who are these silent deities? A core trio of superb musicians in Nick Beggs on bass and Chapman Stick, the suave keyboardist Roger King , both Steve Hackett regulars as well as world- class drum maestro Marco Minnemann, they have no need to supply any kind of credentials as to their talents. Three absolutely sensational talents On "Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth", there are no invitees, just the three honing their laser chops to the highest gleam. I really enjoy the fact that there is a prog band out there that writes about contemporary issues, everything from political polarization, journalistic bias, overt media-fueled slander on the Internet to global manipulations and social apathy.

Starting off an album with a funeral march seems kind of oblique risk but these are crafty minds at work, suggesting an interment dirge as either an appropriate anthem of the cruel times we currently reside in or just an apropos burial soundtrack for this record! "Saltation Mortis" being a Roger King specialty, having done such scoring for Mr. Hackett before, also doing a fine slice of guitar that emulates the Genesis man to perfection. Somber, gruesome and devilish, a perfect introduction. You may be interested to know (or not) but Beggs is a vegetarian, so what better than "Animal Army" to rile up some organic zeal, possessed by rampant guitars, poly-rhythmic rolls and double bass drum onslaught notwithstanding , the palpable irritation is skin deep, as Nick sings "his scourge of humanity" rant with convincing authority. His voice is becoming ever more appealing but let us not forget that his prosperous bass playing is arguably among the very, very best in the world.

A scream of rage at mankind's ongoing and seemingly unabated stupidity, something Einstein once worried about so eloquently when comparing human folly and the universe in terms of eternity. Wrong decisions, bizarre counter current tendencies, programmed information, advertising and news by manipulations from both sides of the political spectrum. "We Can't Carry On" is a splendid success, a definite highlight track that has all the ingredients: intense sizzle, overt indignation, influential melodies and insistent messages, all vehiculated with prime musical authority. The Beggs vocal is sublime, hitting a higher level without any hesitation and utterly convincing. Minnemann pushes the forceful beat forward like a bull-dozer in heat. Roger then shoves a wall of synthesized strings into the fray, urging on the bombast and generally 'carrying on' like a one-man symphony orchestra (he is not a rocker! LOL)

The lads decide to stretch their considerable chops on the nuclear explosive "The Dumbing of the Stupid", which could easily have been heard on a Steve Wilson/Porcupine Tree release, as its epic in size, while spewing unfettered spittle and deliberate annoyance, the guitars ornately harsh, the bass firing on all cylinders and a drum attack that defines the musical warfare being foisted. The voice goes through various tones, encompassing the spectrum of emotions, laden with effects. These are no happy campers!

One of Roger's favorite tunes is "Early Warning", a resilient ballad that proposes a gentle essay on three distinct life issues, a woman dealing with cancer, a sister affected by a brother's self-harming tendencies and village of people who are besieged. The voice is angelic and the entwined symphonics are drenched in pastoral serenity, Beggs' mellifluous bass swerving like a dervish in rapture delight. A beautiful and majestic piece. We return to maximum acceleration on the fuming title track "Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth", a track inspired by the only guaranteed survivors of a nuclear Armageddon: cockroaches. Tardigrades are multi-cellular organisms that live in space, water and nuclear reactors and according to Beggs, will also inherit the world, whatever is left-over post mushroom clouds. The bruising pace is steered by Marco's jet-propelled pulse, allied with screaming guitars and scorching symphonic keyboards. Beggs growls, howls, screams and utters pain like a seasoned vocalist, quite the revelation, in my opinion.

The highly evocative "Window on the Sun" is quirkily about computer criticism, seeing how the technology has provided huge advantages but also many negatives, namely apathy, desensitizing and superficiality. The throbbing bass offensive is entrancing, the soaring guitar arches brilliantly and terrific drum fills compound the thrill, as the voice laments the futility of retro-progress. Roger infuses some cool choir synthetics, once again uplifting the bombast.

The brief "Lament" is way too short, a heartfelt Chapman Stick-led section, delicately stitched with acoustic guitar frills and elegant piano tinkling counterpoints. Orchestrated with subtle gentleness. This serves as a perfect intermezzo for the following 8 minute epic, "The Singing Fish from Batticaloa" is based on a strange lake in Sri Lanka that featured strange sounds from singing fish, even though the region was mired in the midst of a furious civil war. What were the fish singing about? Sweeping synths meander about, streaming into the air, as the bass bubbles and the drums ripple. Roger takes this piece and applies layers of orchestrated genius to make this quite the experience. The surreal and calm mid-section catches one unawares, sounding almost vintage Genesis-like circa Trespass, as the flute and mellotron shuffle by, acoustic guitar in tow. The pained vocal is truly majestic, here is a man who has clearly improved his vocal skills. The "Andromeda Strain" is an instrumental finale about the classic movie (one of my and Nick's favorite movies), a brief but evocative mini soundtrack about a virulent organism that threatens the planet, brought back 'accidentally' by a space probe.

The album ends on another hallmark feature of the Mute Gods, a finale ballad of epic quality and deep-felt emotional disposition. The debut had the gorgeous ode to Beggs' daughter Lula "Father Daughter", while here we have a tribute to Beggs' wife on one hand and Nick finding some semblance of happiness at a time he thought that to be impossible . Disco queen and Cher fan (inside joke) Roger King adorns the crystalline arrangement with some attractive piano motifs and suave orchestrations to further enhance the sweet vocal , full of fragile beauty and earnest feelings, worn on the proverbial sleeve, a touching tribute from musicians who clearly love what they do.

This project has a lot of important attributes in that it can be listened to as a pure entertainment on one hand , while also offering individual instrument pleasure auditions, as all three musicians sparkle and excel beyond the norm. My addiction to the bass guitar is well garnished here, Beggs using the bass (4 and 8 string), fretless and Chapman with unabashed brilliance. No wonder this band has won so many critics over as well as winning awards within and beyond the prog community. Seeing the interviews with Nick and Roger on their website proved to be a rather mercurial visit into their humorous character and generally engaging personality.

5 Amoebae successors

Sometimes a band or project is placed on a pedestal so high even before any music is released, and then, when the album is actually released, the band falls off the pedestal, and it hurts, quite a lot!

The Mute Gods is tagged as 'super trio' of the modern Progressive Rock era with names very well known: Nick Beggs (Steve Hackett, Steven Wilson and Lifesigns), Marco Minnemann (The Aristocrats, Tony Levin and Steven Wilson) and also Roger King. However, when listening to the record it is incredible to note how well-known musicians and pros managed to record an album so anemic and so poorly produced. Amateur would be the first word that comes to mind when I think of the production of the record. And that's the irony of it all.

The instruments are all mixed in a blur of sound and there is not the slightest separation in the frequencies, it seems as if is only one instrument playing, a very messy one, and you're unable to distinguish anything. Even Marco Minnemann, who is a great drummer, disappears in ... Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth because of the production, any interesting idea that the drummer has was basically destroyed by the production.

Ironic is the fact that the band call themselves The Mute Gods, because that would be the best thing for the trio: being mute! The vocals on this record are just horrible! Either they are terribly bad or they are terribly annoying, there is no middle ground!

You want a good Prog Rock record from 2017? Stay far far away from ... Tardigrades Will Inherit the Earth. There are at least 2555 more interesting bands playing Progressive Rock in 2017!