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Arena - Contagion CD (album) cover

CONTAGION

Arena

 

Neo-Prog

4.15 | 740 ratings

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Argentinfonico
3 stars Interesting album, I have so many things to say!

"Which Hunt" is strangely lovely. The album starts with an unstoppable force! Right from the start you can tell how influenced the singer is by Mick Jagger. More like heavy metal than neo-prog. A powerful guitar riff and neat drums and bass.

"An Angel Falls" has a great poetry that is a bit wasted due to the length of the song, but it doesn't matter much because this is a concept album.

In "Painted Man", the power style of the beginning of the song reminds me of progressive rock or 80s hard rock bands like Asia. Although everything is more or less the same, the melody here is already a bit more catchy. At the beginning of the second minute there is an impressive solo! The guitar seems to go everywhere. Then there is an interlude by keyboardist Clive Nolan for a few seconds to decorate it and make it better, but half of the song belongs to the guitar, and it does it great. In the first 3 songs it is already more than clear that the philosophy of this album is not at all positive or optimistic.

This Way Madness Lies is the first instrumental song of the album. The idea remains the same: long stretches and riffs that are exploited to the maximum by means of solos, cadences, extended plucking and repeated verses. There is plenty of virtuosity here, but perhaps at times it can become a little tedious. The sound is excellently achieved and it is clear that they sound the way they want to sound. This is the end of the first conceptual part of the album.

"Spectre At The Feast" I think is strongly influenced by Peter Gabriel's "San Jacinto". I must highlight Arena's ability to keep the same energy throughout the songs pace. Definitely what appeals to me most about the album are the lyrics. Here the instrumentation is heavy and very electric (more of the same).

In "Never Ending Night" everything gets more interesting. The album really takes on a supreme power as soon as the song starts, through the instant introduction of existential lyrics and another remarkable guitar solo. This has a lot of Gilmour in it! I'd say it could be a song belonging to The Division Bell, which is why I don't score it above 4 points. Arena fans will hate to read this for sure, but I feel that this band is lacking in detachment from influences. Almost everything sounds very similar to other bands or other artists. The sound is not very progressive: as I said before, this could be a mix of heavy metal and alternative rock.

"Skin Game" is amazing! An epic song. Surprisingly everything improves enormously here. And when I say everything, I mean everything! The instrumentation, the harmony, the vocal part, the structure of the song.... Everything is more striking and interesting and generates a euphoria that throws your fear into the void. So far it is by far the highlight of the album. Not only is it a concept album, but it's also very balanced, i.e. there are almost no high and low points. It all seems to be part of the same emotional planet.

"Salamander" has a circus style and a very characteristic strength of the 80s sound. The keyboards are spectacular here and are largely responsible for the atmosphere created.

"On The Box" is part of this section of the album where the songs decline a little. A constant and tense guitar that doesn't let the listener breathe with a dramatic riff, another guitar that plucks as it is used to, more phenomenal keyboard arrangements and a percussion the same as the whole album.

The curve still hasn't found its way up. "Tsunami" is boring. I like a bit the bass and keyboard combinations here. Not much to say... It's a continuation of the previous song but with lyrics.

"Bitter Harvest" the same. It's not easy to pick up, but there's a lot of Supper's Ready here. At the beginning it starts with an effectless keyboard with nothing to stand out. I only like a few lines like "You can take away my crown but you'll never bring my spirit down".

"The City Of Lanterns" arouses interest and warns of interesting things to come. 82 seconds very well used. This is one of the most beautiful interludes I've ever heard.

"Riding the Tide" confirms. The previous song revived the album, paving the way for this one, which doesn't disappoint at all. The keyboards have never sounded so spectacular and memorable! The hammond is very well selected. The best instrumental section of this hour.

In "Mea Culpa", everything calms down for the better. After so many heavy delusions and spiritual discharges, the protagonist painfully accepts reality with a beautiful keyboard accompanying him to lament. I must say that the end of the song puzzled me. It could have closed much better.

"Cutting the Cards" has an electro-acoustic guitar that never seems to appear shows up in the mess! The album has definitely been worth listening to thanks to the last few final tracks. It's just that everything just progresses. The electric guitar arrangements and plucking have much more personality and the singing is more symphonic than electronic (as it was throughout the whole album).

We reached the end. If it weren't for this comeback, I think it would be a totally forgettable album. In the final track "Ascension", as the name suggests, the album scales to a level not yet known (this does not mean it is the best of the album). It could easily be a hit from some 80s supergroup. The percussion plays its best here, bringing more versatility to the beat and rhythm. The bass has some very interesting lines, rising and falling in a land of suspense and finality. A good ending to a super steady and balanced album.

It's not at all an album I would buy, but it could easily be an album that can be used as a reference to certain sounds... but not neo-prog! It's far from it. I would call it alternative rock. I'm a bit surprised to see the level of rating it gets and how many people love this piece, but if there's one thing that's true is that there's no accounting for taste!

Argentinfonico | 3/5 |

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