THE IMPRISONED WORDS OF FEAR

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.