ARK

Ark is a supergroup consisting of Jorn Lande (The Snakes), Tore Ostby (Conception), John Macaluso (TNT and Yngwie Malmsteen). Although they come all from mainly hard- rock bands, they developed on this self-titled album a very intricate music with a certain virtuosity in their playing. All three members are very gifted artists and their music is metal-prog oriented. A special mention must be deserved to John Macaluso, who achieved one of the most original drumming ever in the realm of metal-prog. Jorn Lande sings in the way of Coverdale but with more passion. Tore Ostby provides some flamenco guitar work on "The hunchback of Notre-Dame" and "Singers at the world's dawn". "Mother love" is rather bizarre, as it features moments of pure emotion, and a crushing chorus. "The hunchback of Notre-Dame" begins with church organs and is followed by a flamenco-like music, the accordion was also added to give a "french touch" to this song (the title of the song is taken from Victor Hugo's most famous novel). The last track : "Can't let go" is a jewel of melody, a beautiful balad that deals with african-influenced percussives at times and saxophone. Jorn's vocals may seem depressive at times, but they nonetheless bear a real emotion. Once again, I have to insist on the fact that Macaluso's drumming is stunning and will content all lovers of fusion à la Holdsworth or Brand X, or even Tony Williams New Lifetime. I remember when I saw Ark playing acoustic live, and they were truly fantastic. They were opening for Pain of Salvation, and to be honest I bought the ticket just to see them (PoS's performance was not as exciting as Ark's). On Ark's first record, the bass and keyboards are played by two relatively unknown musicians but they sound great and discreet. To conclude, melody, virtuosity, technicality and emotion meet to create a dynamic and intricate music. I gave this album five stars because I consider it as one of the best prog album recorded in the last 15 years and certainly an essential one for anyone who loves metal-prog.