PEPPER'S GHOST

Some see "Pepper's Ghost" as the album's weakest Arena, but I consider him a worthy successor of the masterpiece "Contagion. " Succeed in your mix of neo-prog and heavy metal, this album deserves to be heard, and I think very underrated.

I will not write about every track, but make it clear that my favorites are "Smoke and Mirrors", "The shatered fortress" and the monumental "Opera Fanatica"-though every song is special and has their moment to shine, as the same may be said of the band members, though I think Rob Snowden did not sing with the same potential for "Contagion".

Unlike his predecessor and "The Visitor", the concept of the album is not obscure, it is the story of five heroes (an exorcist, a ninja, a scientist capable of time travel, a count and a cowboy) who unite to fight evil in Victorian London, this is the kind of perfect story for comics.Knew this, the band put the story in comic form in a leaflet accompanying the CD.Unfortunately, I listened to the songs on the album on YouTube.

4.5 stars.A great and good album, which makes the Arena my favorite band of Neo-Prog (next to Pendragon)