THE CRUCIBLE

The Norwegian trio's 22nd studio album release comes in as their shortest album since 2009, spanning a vinyl-paradigm mere 40 minutes. New drummer Tomas Järmyr (this is only his second album with the band) continues to impress while getting his groove on.

1. "Psychotzar" (8:43) surprisingly simple and ragged in its construction, performance, polish, and engineering--all areas that are usually mega-strongpoints for the band. Sounds like a live jam by a 1970s hard rock band that is on its last days of a nine-month tour. (17/20) 2. "Lux Aeterna" (10:56) starts out like a sensitive acoustic guitar accompanied folk ballad. The support vocals are stupendous--as are the presence of the reeds. I even like the dirty sound of heavy distortion on the bass and guitars and Tomas Järmyr's drumming is really loose and fresh, filled with expressive nuances. He's really getting comfortable within the trio format. Great song construct; much in contrast to the previous muck up. Great final three minutes and ending. The only weakness I feel is in the vocal presentation of the lyrics: not always a great match considering the metaphysical message they seem to be trying to convey. Also, I'm not a huge fan of the reckless abandon used by the soloists in the seventh minute. Otherwise I'm a big fan of this one. (18.5/20)

3. "The Crucible" (20:52) I love this start: it's very dramatic, suspenseful. By the second minute the full band has launched their commitments to the song (all of which are considerable--especially drummer Tomas Järmyr's!). Things quiet down at 2:20 but only as a kind of rewind to restart everything and get to that same energy level while maintaining the same intensity. It doesn't take long upon reestablishing the pace and force for the guitarist to post a tasteful solo which then evolves into a kind of weave until everybody stops at 4:37 to start a brand new motif. A melodic (and, I have to admit, familiar) guitar chord progression starts up to which the bass and second guitar add their support so that the vocals can begin. Nice vocal melody line starts up, fitting nicely into the guitar chord sequence (which continues). Drums join in--again in support, nobody doing anything flashy at this point, thus allowing the vocal to have the listener's full attention. There is a subtle shift into a new melody line at the nine-minute mark while the vocals continue (shifting accordingly). At the end of that tenth minute the instrumentalists ramp up their performances, getting heavier and thickening the overall soundscape with some Mellotron. The guitar soloing in the thirteenth minute changes (guitarist #2 taking a turn?) developing into a more slide-like playing style. I'm not gonna lie: This has become kind of creepy. Choral vocals join in during the fourteenth minute, then everything stops, quiet piano, Mellotron, and lute-sounding instrument starting up a new, very quiet part--until, that is, the 15-minute mark when everybody kicks back in, creating a MOODY BLUES/"Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band" sounding instrumental passage. A rising octave arpeggio bridge in the eighteenth minute sets up a return to a previous motif for the vocals (now expressed through harmony choir) over an awesome NEKTAR/YES-like bass line. In the middle of the nineteenth minute everybody pauses, restarting with a YES "Perpetual Change"/Gates of Delirium"-like motif for the vocalists to close out the song over. (36/40)

Total Time 40:31

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of heavy progressive rock music; something that every self-professed prog lover will probably like.