THE SENTINEL

Just got hold of this along with the full Pallas studio discography aside from the latest studio release which I already had in my possession and enjoy a great deal. Relating to Neo Prog I love a great deal of it and it is probably my favourite niche relating to Prog music. Fish era Marillion is up there amongst my very favourite acts and to look objectively at this album I will have to compare it to the early Marillion releases which, for me, are the yardstick of what Neo Prog was back then and to a large extent is still today.

"Shock Treatment" - My first impression is that this is a bit too bouncy for me. Kind of like Asia with a bit more dramatic flair. The vocalist is very important to me in Neo Prog and I must say that I don't much go for Euan Lowson although admittedly at first I didn't enjoy Pendragon's vocals either (Nick Barrett) however he has kind of grown on me. The first track doesn't do much for me unfortunately.

"Cut + Run" - Also a bit too bouncy and perhaps simplistic although more interesting than the previous track. I may be a bit nuts but I do hear a semblance of the band "Sparks" in this track.

"Arrive Alive" - Almost a dance track that I can imagine bopping to on a Disco floor surrounded by flashing globe lights. Way too bouncy with a vague hint of "Sparks" again.

"Rise and Fall (Part 1)" - Still bouncy to start but soon segues into something interesting and more to my taste. The first section making up the "Atlantis Suite" which makes up the rest of the album.

"East West" - Very nice lush start to the track. I like Lowson here. This is more like it and I must say that I enjoy it a great deal. Nice lead guitar work later on in the section.

"March on Atlantis" - Nice keyboard to start, fleshing out nicely and dramatically adding a touch of spice to the works before going back gently to the beginning mood.

"Rise and Fall (Part 2)" - Bells, piano sound, the wind, almost chanted vocal - dramatic start to the section which is fleshed out towards the end by soaring lead guitar.

"Heart Attack" - I see a lot of similarity here to old Marillion and it makes me wonder what I would have though of this should Fish have fronted the band here instead of Lowson.

"Atlantis" - Dramatic start to the section seguing into very Genesis like short keyboard section - I don't much like the rest of the track after that up until just over the halfway mark and not because of the Genesis sound alike section either - it gets more interesting but I kind of wish for a more soaring lead guitar piece instead of what is offered.

"Ark of Infinity" - The final section of the "Atlantis Suite" and a very nice finish to the work.

A start to the album that almost enticed me into throwing it away with the first three commercially flavoured tracks - EMI wanted drivel for mass appeal and they got it (I'm not a fan of recording companies as a rule as I believe that they can and do mess around with art in favour of their hunt for the big buck cow). "The Atlantis Suite" makes the album worthwhile and thankfully it takes up the major portion of this album. I do feel that Fish and Hogarth would have made a major difference to the Suite had they been the members of the band here - it is not badly performed as is but it lacks the emotion of Fish (or perhaps a Stuart Nicholson) on vocals and the soaring guitar of Hogarth. It is a little disjointed but by no means is it horrible. If you are going to do a multi-part Suite then each part must make a statement or form a nuance to the entire work - don't follow one statement or nuance with an identical one. Having said all of that there are parts to this containing neo prog heaven within.

It is an album of importance to Neo Prog purists and I have to take that into account here. It is not a 5 star album by any stretch of the imagination and neither would I call it an excellent addition to my personal collection and thus I must award it with 3 stars