THE ZEALOT GENE

Nearly five years in the making, 'The Zealot Gene' marks the pleasantly surprising return of Jethro Tull as the band has been signed officially by Inside Out Music, with an updated cast of band members, and a renewed creative spark that has consolidated itself into a full-on studio release. Legendary frontman and flute virtuoso Ian Anderson is joined by guitar player Florian Opahle, bassist David Goodier, John O'Hara who plays the keys, and Scott Hammond behind the drum kit, a solid lineup that has carefully crafted a handful of well-recorded new songs that in total run for some forty-six minutes of playtime. Of course, the music on 'The Zealot Gene' is nothing new for Tull - it is the band's signature blend of hard rock with folky, proggy and bluesy influences as the record is definitely song-oriented and offers an overview of how Anderson & Co. have been tackling the standard rock format.

This is a fine return as the listener will encounter a selection of well-produced tunes that deal with topics of the English folklore, ruminations on life as well as historical themes, we have quite a decent sounding album with clear and sometimes dynamic instrumentation, yet this is no 'Trick of the Tail', nor it is 'A Passion Play', just a band of veterans who do what they're best at. One might notice the weakened singing voice of Ian Anderson, which nevertheless sounds good enough on this record. The signature flute passages are there, the folky riffs are there, the smart lyrics are also there, as 'The Zealot Gene' is an album that should be seen more like a celebration of the band's legacy, rather than an attempt to redefine the rock or prog landscape of the 2020s. With this in mind, there are several really fine tracks, including 'Mine is the Mountain', the title track, 'Shoshana Sleeping', 'Sad City Sister', and 'The Fisherman of Ephesus'.

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