THE IMPRISONED WORDS OF FEAR

Images from a(n even) grey(er) world

Even if the first 'single' of the record ('Images from a Grey World') is totally deceptive of Verbal Delirium's trademark sound, one thing is for sure: 'The Imprisoned Words of Fear' presents (to my ears at least) a darker, heavier, perhaps slightly more sinister sound compared to VD's previous works.

A set of compositions that have remained imprisoned for almost a decade (according to the band's frontman Jargon, a version of these was released as a demo back in 2007) have now been reworked with better arrangements and refinements. The sound remains close to the alternative, melancholic, and near-gothic feeling that VD works portray. There is a lurking Katatonia/Type'O Negative and rough-around-the-edges atmosphere and 90's atmospheric metal influences blended with the group's diverse orchestration reminiscent of the likes of Genesis and VDGG.

The legacy of Greek music can be heard in my favourites 'Misleading Path' and the epic 'Fear' (with its Moonlight Sonata closing), which resemble to the exquisite ballad 'Sudden Winter' from the band's second album. 'Images from a Grey World' is a near-progressive metal tune mixed with a Muse character that initially put me off; with the passage of time I got used to it but does not represent a high note in the band's portfolio. The three 10+ minute closing tracks are really where the band displays their talent in improvisation; organ-like lush keyboards, blended with a Hammill-ian eclectic approach, jazzy interludes (see e.g. 'The Decayed Reflection') and trip-hop/electronica combined with blast- beats (!) (e.g. 'In Memory') would leave fans of experimentation extremely satisfied.

Added to all the other diverse stuff that is going on in this album, I realised an influence from the sound of Saviour Machine, mostly on the vocals; a very theatrical and dark performance from Jargon resembles to Eric Clayton's underrated 90's pioneers (see e.g. 'Fear'), while still maintaining the group's trademark sound.

Yet another esoteric and strongly emotional album, this is a candidate for the year's top-10 and lives up to the high expectations VD have cultivated. I very much look forward to the group's appearance in HRH prog festival this year. Recommended to those who enjoyed 'From the Small Hours of Weakness' and those looking for a theatrical/eclectic though, accessible, modern prog album. Absolute highlights: Misleading Path, Fear.

Review #34. The very talented Greek band Verbal Delirium is back with a new album, which can be characterized as their most "serious" one. The style and the sound are similar with their 2 previous works (So close and Yet so far Away & From the Small Hours of Weakness), but now the band seems more mature than before. The compositions have become more complicated, the sound became heavier, and the performance of Jargon, their singer, is more theatrical than ever.

Those who know Verbal Delirium from their previous works will not be surprised, because they already know what to expect more or less. But those who don't know them yet, will find themselves in front of a dark and heavy album, filled with beautiful and haunting melodies, that suddenly are changing to heavy guitar riffs, in an endless chance of rhythm and pace in almost all the songs. The album includes 7 songs, and has a total running time of almost an hour. For the first time, there are 3 songs over 11 minutes in length included.

The album's opening track is Words, which gives to the listener a first idea of what is going to follow. Dark, melancholic, almost haunting I could say. It's nothing really special actually, but it works fine as the album's intro. And exactly after that, the powerful guitar riff of Close to You enters and catches you by surprise. The guitar riff lasts only for a few seconds, before the rhythm turns to a jazzy cool part with the flute entering and changing it completely. But that part doesn't last too much also. The guitar enters again, and the song is changing once more, becoming something different as it evolves. Close to You is a very good and musically interesting song, one of the album's highlights and one of my personal favorites. Next, comes Misleading Path, another favorite of mine. It begins with a cool Jazzy rhythm, but very soon it will start changing into something more complex and beautiful. Very nice "touch" are the small parts that the band shows its Greek heritage and influences. Images from a Grey World that follows, is a powerful - almost Prog Metal in parts - song, which proves that Verbal Delirium can compose and perform powerful songs equally well. And now we come to the 3 last and long songs. All 3 of them are musically interesting, but the absolute highlight of the album is the 13-minute-long Fear. Words cannot express its quality. Definitely one of the best songs I've listened to this year, and a true epic! It begins with a melancholic first part, that tends to be Verbal Delirium's trademark, it evolves on and on, and every time it becomes better and better. If for nothing else, then it's worth buying the album only for this song. Yes, it's that good!

Before you decide to buy this album, you should have in mind that this is not something that you will have it play in the background, while you are washing your dishes. It will require your full attention in order to totally appreciate its beauty. It is a dark, melancholic, powerful, gentle, romantic, and kind of noisy album in parts, that already occupied a spot in my yearly Top-10 list. I don't think I can put under 4 stars to it. Highly Recommended!

The third album of Verbal Delirium was actually the first demo of the band which was recorded back in 2007 and, obviously, pre-existed From the Small Hours of Weakness and So Close and Yet So Far Away but Jargon, the mastermind of the band, deemed it was not the time. After two albums, and the line-up somehow cemented, the timing felt right. We find actually the epic The Decayed Reflection (A Verbal Delirium) which provided also the monicker of the band (initially named Afterglow) and it is my personal favourite of the album and actually one of the best of our beloved music. The Words is a piano-based intro with some electric guitars lurking on the background and some fulte lines which serves well its purpose and gives way to Close to You. The guitar becomes instantly heavier before the flute takes over and the verse is executed over clean guitar chords. The band hits a fine balance between harder and softer parts throughout. On Misleading Path the playful piano pattern intermingles both with distorted and clean, funky guitars (a favoutire style of George Kyriakidis) to produce an interesting verse. Some Greek origins become evident, too. On Images From a Grey World Verbal display their heaviest side, ever, with dystopic lyrics that suit fine. The driving drumming works wonders, even the shredding on the guitar sounds totally in place. The instrumental section halfway the song that gives way to the drums which bring the song back to life is a personal favourite of mine. Fear, for some reason, just never clicked, somehow it seems to me like it drags on and on (by the way, it's the second epic in a row and the longest one). Of course it has its moments, there are fluctuations of the mood and there is an interest ending (orchestrated by Nikitas Kissonas, the former guitarist of the band), but generally I don't feel like listening to it. On the final track In Memory (the third epic of the album) Verbal Delirium showcase how they can draw influences literally from everywhere. The dubstep drumbeat may sound as weird but it gels perfectly with the ominous atmosphere. Even the blast-beat in the end is breath-taking. One of the highlights of the album.

Verbal Delirium did great on the third album, usually the trickiest one. Jargon had the right idea to "ease" the listeners into the sound of Verbal Delirium with more easily digestable albums before they show how deep their progressive roots can go, but still maintaining a modern and fresh edge. It is an album that requires careful listens and it will repay the listener.

An excellent addition to any prog music collection whose owner takes delight in modern prog rock.