PEPPER'S GHOST

Great artwork, pity about the tunes. The sub-genre known as neo-prog has produced at least two classic prog albums that rival the works from the 1970's golden age, but it's a limited sub-genre filled with ersatz rock posing as progressive. Asides from the single 'Kayleigh' from Fish-fronted Marillion and the superb first two albums from IQ - 1983's 'Tales From The Lush Attic' and 1985's 'The Wake' - there has been precious little to bleat about since. Arena, led by sometime-Pendragon keyboardist Clive Nolan, have been peddling their brand of metallic prog for a while now, building up a small-but-loyal following in the process. 'Pepper's Ghost' is the 7th Arena album, and it seems like Nolan has been reading a lot of graphic-novelist Alan Moore's 'The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen' which the artwork, intricate comic-book story and overall feel of this album seems to have been taken from, such are the similarities. And the comic-booklet is a beautifully-drawn and well-written thing, quite unlike the cod-mystical, Iron Maiden-esq heavy prog that dominates this dull effort. 'The Eyes Of Laura Mars' aside, 'Pepper's Ghost' really is an unspired lump of modern prog that has very little to do with the genre's innovative heydey. STEFAN TURNER, LONDON, 2010