THE WORLD

Three albums into their career, this is where Pendragon seem to be getting their act together, or at least, this is what I envisioned them sounding like. For the most part, I was pleased. The production is clear and simple, not relying on reverb to amplify the synths. We get exactly what we pay for: a rock band performance. The songwriting finally brings some balance to the prog with the radio behavior, allowing the band room to really explore this new sound. When it gets a little more fanciful during the middle section, it shines much more. Shane and Prayer, ironically, were the more artistic songs while the prog epics were more focused on being epics rather than instrumental showcases. This also means that the 22-minute epic Queen of Hearts, while fine, is less interesting than everything that came before. I was hoping for a real groundbreaker in that sense, but it seems that while the band has mastered the basics of the sound and production that may identify them, they haven't QUITE mastered the balance they need to stand out from Marillion. Well, at least the singer's deeper-Geddy Lee voice helps. Overall, this is the best of the first three Pendragon albums, and judging from the growth from their AOR predecessor, Kowtow, they've got more growing to do and will likely do it in the fourth album.

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