THE FORM OF THE GOOD

Once again, Deluge Grander have shown themselves to be one of the most daring of all symphonic prog bands. Their second album, THE FORM OF THE GOOD, is so intense I can only describe it as visionary. And yet I wonder if it is going to find the band any new admirers. Personally, I didn't find the album a particularly pleasant listening experience. It sounds incredibly hectic. Its major opus, "Aggrandizement", sounds as if the craziest bits from "The Gates of Delirium" and THE STORY OF I (without those Brazilian influences!) have been pasted together, speeded up and extended across nineteen minutes. I must admire Dan Britton's courage, but perhaps I'm getting a little too old for this sort of thing. (I'll be hitting fifty in 2010.)

Previous reviewers have praised THE FORM OF THE GOOD's production values, and it must be said that David Berggren's highly inventive guitar playing now comes across more clearly than on AUGUST IN THE URALS, but on the whole the music sounds very shrill. Over-produced, even. Why have one instrument perform a solo at full speed when you can have two doing the same job with equal conviction - one in the left and one in the right channel? (This trick, too, seems to have been borrowed from THE STORY OF I.) On track after track, tension is built up relentlessly, until the listener finds himself begging for release, but there are no lead vocals this time, no soaring melodies in the spirit of THE FOUNTAIN OF SALMACIS. It's only in the final track that Deluge Grander achieve something totally wonderful and unexpected. The tune opens gloomily, it seems that an overwhelmingly dark album will be dragged to a glum conclusion, but then there's a sudden key change, and the piece ends with the most triumphant instrumental prog I've heard since the finale of "To Be Over".

More than ever, Deluge Grander are a band to watch out for. (If they came to my neighbourhood, I'd definitely go and watch them play.) They may not yet have come up with their definitive masterpiece, but they must be admired for their originality. In sheer audacity they far surpass any of their symphonic prog contemporaries. I've got the feeling THE FORM OF THE GOOD is going to take a lot of time to truly digest. I'll let you know if I feel differently about it in a year (or more).

Addendum: On 7 February 2010, almost a year after posting my review, I've decided the album has indeed grown on me. In spite of its predominant shrillness, I've learnt to appreciate its tunes and many more of its climaxes. I've therefore decided to increase my initial rating from three to four stars.