THE MASQUERADE OVERTURE

This album is not like its predecessor "The Window Of Life". It is hailed as their best by many and I like parts of it of it but I still favor "The Window Of Life" much more. The mid-90's was a great time for the new prog movement as more and more bands were emerging and much of the output was fresh. This album sounds like a tribute to bands they like.

"The Masquerade Overture" was a great starter with the operatic and symphonic entry into the album. "As Good As Gold" starts out almost sounding a bit like a Marillion's song off "Misplaced Childhood." "Paintbox" has a bit of Genesis sound to it in the keyboard riff in the middle of the song. This song is pretty laid back. "The Pursuit Of Excellence" is filler. "Guardian Of My Soul" is longer song and has some good moments in it. At about the 7 minute mark it starts getting interesting and reminds me of the instrumental part of "Cinema Show" from Genesis "Selling England By The Pound" and I wonder if that was intended.

"The Shadow" has the guitar solo in the middle that once again is a bit Genesis and the background rhythm is almost reminiscent of "Firth Of Fifth". This track is one of the better ones. One of the reasons I do not like this album as much is that it lacks the originality of their previous album which had more freshness to it. "Masters Of Illusion" starts well but sounds a bit like Marillion again especially the keyboard riff. At 4:50 I like the beat shift and the end solo definitely reminds me of a Gilmour one. Barrett's best solos are faster riffs.

I hate to say it but this album struggles as it appears to sound like everyone else they must admire. Between Floyd, Marillion and Genesis this echoes so many other songs.

Bonus Tracks: Mine have the group from the 2013 version. "Bird Of Paradise" is a good track and reminds me more of the unique part of Pendragon, not an imitation of others. This would have been a good track for the album and oddly ranks as one of my favorites. "Midnight Running" plods along well and I like the fullness of the keyboard symphonic elements. This is another track that sounds like Pendragon, not like others and it is one of the stronger ones on the album. "A Million Miles Away" leaves me blank.

If I want a Genesis sound alike I will listen to The Watch who deliberately puts out new music as if Genesis kept going with the classic 5 lineup. I do like some of the parts that sound like the above mentioned bands but it gets low marks for originality. This album gets a 3.