CONTAGION

Have you ever noticed how some bands keep getting better with each new release while others reach their zenith on the first, second or third try and then slip into that undefined area, somewhere between mediocrity and oblivion, by constantly churning out average discs at best or diminishing albums at worst.

Arena is one of the ones that get better and better, not that their previous work isn't great. The two other albums I own, Immortal and The Visitors are also excellent. This band is accomplishing what all bands would like to do, ever improving, never peaking. It's really a shame that extraordinary works in all the sub genres of Progressive Rock/Metal music get no substantial recognition while the mostly worthless so called radio friendly music receives all the kudos on the various awards shows.

What's that popular saying, which I believe was made into a Country song? Oh yeah, "Life Sucks". Country Music has a way of cutting right to the chase don't it?

Sustaining nearly as many lineup changes as one of their influences, Yes, Arena was one of the dominant neo-prog groups of the 1990s. A Quasi-supergroup, Arena featured former members of Marillion, Pendragon, IQ, and Shadowland.

Funny, If one were to ask me who my favoite British prog-bands are along with Anathema and Mostly Autumn, I would have named all the above groups except Shadowland whom I'm not familiar with. Not surprisingly, Arena's music is similar to the the members former bands and what could be better for me (and you) than a fusion of some of my favorite prog-rock bands.

Those of you who are familiar with Marillion, I.Q. and Pendragon know those bands and by description, Arena are not heavy in the least. I always thought they were a little too mellow. In fact, I would say that it is less hard than most of the popular Pop/Rock groups of Top Forty.

Arena

The current lineup of Arena, consists of Clive Nolan Mick Pointer John Mitchell Ian Salmon and Rob Snowden,

Arena was formed in 1994 by Mick Pointer, the former drummer of Marillion, and Clive Nolan, the former keyboardist of Pendragon. after about three years of musical musician chairs, guitarist John Mitchell, who instantly proved himself an able replacement. A year later after two more defections, bassist Ian Salmon and current singer, who's quite good, Rob Snowden rounded out the current lineup.

KILLER CUTS

"Witch Hunt", Never Ending Night", "Skin Game", "Salamander", "Riding the Tide", "Cutting The Cards", "Ascension"

CONCLUSION

Arena is a group that could and should have broad mass appeal since it's heritage and style are from the ever popular pioneers of British Progressive rock and even mimic somewhat, on a higher level, other very popular current British rockers, Radiohead and Coldplay.

Now some of you may have noticed that all the songs are rather short for Progressive rock songs and that is true but since this band has always been thusly categorized and since I can see no other place to put them, but you may consider them progressive alternative rock. It works for me.

The singer, Rob Snowden is excellent as are Mitchell and Nolan (Guitar and Keyboards). My version of Contagion comes in a gorgeous Triple folding digipack, which you should get if you can.

If you are a prog-rock fan, this is an essential album! If not try it anyhow. I can't recommend Contagion high enough, for any reader.

It's definitely catching

More like a follow up to "The visitor" than "Immortal?", Contagion is a concept piece made up of interwoven tracks and recurring themes. It has all the Arena trademarks, but Nolan and Mitchell find more space to display their keyboards and guitar prowess than on previous albums.

It's hard to identify the best tracks as such, with album flowing so well, but "Painted man" and "Spectre at the feast" do stand up as excellent individual pieces. The former has a strong back beat which complements one of Rob Sowden's finest vocal performances. As might be expected, "Spectre at the feast" has a more haunting tone with understated, but atmospheric vocals.

The various soft link tracks repeat a common theme with differing sounds which tie the album together superbly. The music is best described as slightly metallic neo-prog. While there are hints of bands such as Genesis and Marillion in the music, there is a refreshing sense of uniqueness in the style and output of the band.

Not having read Nolan's short story on which the album is based yet, I'm not really sure what the concept is(!), but this is a top quality album, which sits well with their previous releases. That in itself is high praise indeed. As with all Arena albums, and indeed most of the really great albums, those new to the band may find that it takes several listens to catch "Contagion", but rest assured, it is well worth the effort.

"Contagion" was followed by "two extended EPs, "Contagious" and "Contagium" which contained tracks omitted from the album. The band have indicated that an extended version of the album will be released at some stage which places those tracks in context.

"Contagion" is ARENA's fifth studio outing, and represents a very powerful and evocative concept album full of IMHO ARENA's most fulfilling music yet. In the land of neo-prog is very very hard to find a tighter band than ARENA and although the band at times sound over the top they do kick big time. On "Contagion" ARENA have delivered an intimate album of connected songs which gives the listener a feeling of a concept album which deals with the fight against a deadly virus threatening the entire civilization. As you would expect the album is graced with the founding combo of Mick Pointer and Clive Nolan and this time all returning members Ian Salmon (bass), John Mitchell (guitars) and vocals of Rob Sowden. This album is clearly Sowden's spotlight with a wonderfully vast array of vocal mixes and pungent lyrics.

Although this album is more straightforward than any previous ARENA output and its longest track is barely 5:34 minutes, all the progressive elements we've come to expect and love from the band are here: rising crescendos, heart-wrenching melodies, wonderful harmonies and a top-notch production. From the raucous, throbbing opener "Witch Hunt" to the dramatic grand finale "Ascension", chills run up and down your spine. "Painted Man' reminds me a lot of 'The Butterfly Man"; "Spectre at the Feast" with its ominous vocals gives me the impression the Cheshire Cat is right behind my back, grinning maliciously. The 3 instrumentals, interspersed through out the album, provide a welcome respite between the highly charged vocal tracks: on "This Way Madness Lies" you'll hear some incredible guitar play; "On the Box" again features some machine-gun guitar riffs - how on earth do you do this, Mr. Mitchell!?! - plus a great solo from half way down to the end; finally, "Riding the Tide", a whirling keybord number in 7/8, is a perfect follow-up to the vocal track "The City of Lanterns" - gosh, ARENA sure know how to pick their vocalists, don't they.

Speaking of vocalists, what a fine one ROB SOWDEN turned out to be; his delivery, at times, is simply orgasmic (cf. "The Skin Game"); I hear echoes of FREDDY MERCURY on "Bitter Harvest" and "Mea Culpa". This larger-than-life CD has to be one of the hardest prog albums I own. Although it does have a shorter shelf life than "The Visitor", I highly recommend it to anyone who's into melodious muscle-prog. Fans of IQ and particularly PENDRAGON will love it.

I bought this album, because of all the positive reactions I heard about it. With my first listening of the album I was honistly a bit disappointed. Where are the great complex song structures and why are the songs extremely short (for prog-rock music)? But now, when I'm writing this, I'm listening to the album for the second time and it's far better now. The songs are just very beautiful and the album is one big thing. It'll grow each time I listen to it, I'm sure of that.

This Arena album has more guitar part as compared to their previous albums. John Mitchell's guitar playing has demonstrated major improvements. The opening track is very uplifting with easy to follow lyric that may become someone's yell "Exile! You show no mercy!" uughh .. nice man! Again .. this is another nice track to open your day after you wake up in the morning. Another track that kicks me is "Painted Man". The strong point of this album is that almost all tracks have the same quality of music. It's worth for your progressive rock collection.

Arena - Contagion

This was the first ARENA record I bought, after hearing the brilliant The hanging Tree from one of their other albums and I must admit, this is a great album. 'Great' might even be an understatement.

This record really grows on to you; I did not expect it to be quite as heavy as it appeared to be (knowing Mick Pointer only by his drumming on MARILLION's "Script for a Jester's Tear").

The way Witch Hunt opens really gives me goose bumps when listening to this record through my headphones, the whispering voices in the background make the music feel so much louder when the guitar's start to play and when Rob Sowden's vocals come in, you immediately feel the magic of this song.

Maybe a nice thing to say is that this is an concept album, that also explains a bit why most songs (a lot at least) run together, which results into the listener not noticing that the songs are not quite that long :)

The next song that is worth mentioning is Spectre at the Feast; it is a really nice composition especially Sowden's vocals and John Mitchell's guitars are nice in this song.

The guitar intro of On the Box (one of the in total 3 (!) instrumentals) sounds really nice; the guitar riff is repeated very quickly over a great sonic background. And the way the Morse code kicks in at the end of the song gives it a very abrupt ending, but it is superb! Surely this is one of the best songs on the album.

The final track Ascension is also a mention worthy, but that is actually only because of the great vocals, the composition itself is not quite that original and innovative.

Because I only mentioned these 4 four tracks (out of 16) does not mean that the rest of the songs are not any good, but you really have to listen to them before knowing what is so good about them instead of somebody telling you all the great aspects.

Just buy this record, you will not be disappointed!

More straight forward than previous releases, yet the prog tendencies are all there. All the tracks have the same quality of music in them. No filler in sight. The musicianship is extremely tight and the production is crisp and clear. Arena just seems to get better and better with each release. Great prog and great rock. Highly recommended.

Are you a prog purist? Instead of buying Echloyn, you'll buy Gentle Giant? Instead of purchasing Anglagard, you'd choose Genesis? You'd choose a day of Locanda delle Fate than an eternity of Spock's Beard? Then néo-prog has a massive potential to bore the hell out of you. And it's true, IQ or Marillion could make you yawn in their lack of technical challenge and repetitive keyboard atmosphere. It did for me. I assume that I have mixed feelings about that FM type of rock.

But brighten up little troopers, there is an alternative. Yep, I didn't believed it 'till I heard it.

Arena has a silly band name, let's face it. By it's name, we could anticipate Poison-type ballads or even worse....a resurrection of White Lion. Now that would've made the children cry!

But NO! I'm totally blown away by this album. Totally blown away. I'm telling you, they'll find my socks in Tibet and my shoes in Alaska. The explosion was brutal. At the first listen, Witch Hunt captured my heart by it's catchy refrain. Salamander, On the Box, Riding the Tide, Cutting the Cards, Ascension....too many great tracks to name them all.

Rob Sowden is giving a refreshing vocal performance. Few voices had stolen my heart during my exploration in the prog buisness....but his voice is sooo pleasant. Because, let's face it, Labrie's shorts-too-tight vocals are nice, but Sowden is less irritating and less pyrotechnical. Soothing I might say. Anyway, feels good.

Apart from the exquisie packaging and exceptionnal art cover, we can easily point at the robotic drumming of Mick Pointer, who doesn't seem to get any younger. He improved a lot since Jester's Tear but...he could cut a bit on the tom rolls.

Crunchy and rusty guitars, killer riffs, lush and impressive collection of keyboards and on top super vocals...this album will absolutely please the most picky progger. Hey, THIS album opened my eyes on a new type of progressive rock. Change is good...right?

This album reflects the (very) disturbed times that our world live in. Crimes, frightning deseases, hunger, obscure wars, unemployement, family violence, the list goes on. And the spooky feel on the album is reflecting the insecurity but also the need of solutions that everybody's craving. Insecurity and fear trancend throughout the whole album. Expect dark and gloomy atmosphere.

The best of what 2003 had to offer.

After their previous good records "The Visitor" and "Immortal ?", the expectations were too high for sure. But Arena didn't disappoint the expectancies creating this very enjoyable album! Their style is maintained, the so called neo progressive rock, followers of IQ, MARILLION and PENDRAGON but with METAL influences, transmitted by instrumental strenght and speedy passages. Comparatively to the previous records, there are no long suites; in fact the longest track has 5:34, with many tracks of 2 or 3 minutes. But the tracks are well orchestrated with each others, giving a great continuance to the album; besides, there are parts that are repeated in two distant tracks, all this contributing to the truly unit of the album. The album presents us with great ambiences and great emotional sonorities, particularly the guitar work and the neo like organ. It has a lot of good melodies (sad emotional and more angst ones) spread all over.

Lyrically, futuristic ideas, the main theme is about the end of human race and the final judgement, as seen for example in AYREON's Into The Electric Castle.

When I started listening the album with Witch Hunt, (besides realizing that it was not a RUSH's cover from "Moving Pictures") I started to think that the album would be crap. The introducing song is not very progressive, it's like a METALLICA track taken from their most commercial releases. But don't be frightened because the album is going to improve a lot. The next track, An Angel Falls, is a little piano minuet with sad melody leading to Painted Man, with its main catchy bass riff (which is going to reappear in the album) and good melody. (This Way) Madness Lies is an instrumental, the first highlight of the album; it as great guitar work, particularly in the end. The climax of this song is amazing, with its tense and emotionally beautiful guitar crying and background chorus. The next track is subdivided in two parts: the first a sad and calm melody and the second, heavier. Again, sad piano in Never Ending Night leading to the heavier Skin Game. Salamander and the instrumental On The Box are another highlights of the album, presenting good ambiences created by good solo guitar work and by the organ and orchestra. In Bitter Harvest the catchy bass riff of the third track appears now as guitar riff. Riding The Tide, another highlight, achieved mainly by its spacey keyboard melodies perhaps inspired in PENDRAGON's "The Masquerade Overture". The next track presents us emotional melody with piano playing and no guitar. More again good melody in Cutting The Cards, this time joyful and more epic. The album ends not brilliantly (but it could be much worse) with Ascension. I think this album should end with a big suite and not a verse/refrain/verse/refrain track.

Essential for MARILLION, PENDRAGON, IQ and other neo-prog lovers! Highly recommendable to all progressive music fans.

My rate: 7,5/10

Arena is a "grower band". When I heard them for the very first time, I said "oh no, it's another boooring modern neo-progrock like Marillion or IQ". Well, now I know it is not! I tried to listen to "Marbles" from Marillion many times but it has never gotten into me. I don't know why, maybe because it seems very "flat" or cold to me. But after three listenings to "Contagion" I realized that I was completely wrong about Arena. I love this album, it's full of nice melodies, great musicianship and no song on the album is weak. I also got older albums and they are great too, though I think "Contagion" is their best work at the moment. So I agree with John Von Bayer that Arena isn't the same category as most of the new progrock bands like Marillion etc. Arena's music is much more heart-felt, with a wonderful melodical complexity.

I am a huge fan of this band which I compared in the beginning to MARILLION. This band, I feel have more edge than the former and always have. Great musicianship and arrangements are a trademark of their work and it is never more evident than in this CD. There are several highlights to this album and much to like, starting with the instrumental "RIDING THE TIDE" which is the statement piece for the band in terms of their ability to constuct and perform engaging and moving progressive material. They just let it rip and turn it loose on this track and display a power and majesty rarely pulled off in this genre anymore. Also of particular interest is "SKIN GAME" which is an eerie but fun track as well as another instrumental track "THIS WAY MADNESS COMES." This CD is one of the boldest prog CD's I've heard because very few bands can walk the line between prog - metal and neo/symphonic prog as well as these fellows. I strongly recommend it to any collector because regardless of who your original prog band favorite is (GENESIS is mine) you can find something to love about it, rather it be one song, two or more.

The cover of this album reminded me of the classic ROXY MUSIC "Avalon" release. The colors and imagery are similar. This cover however belongs to symphonic progressive rockers ARENA. Their latest effort "Contagion" fits the mold of a career groundbreaking recording. From what I know of this group, they made a big impression right from the start of their recording career and continued with several albums thereafter. If their previous work has been as impressive as what you will find on this CD, I would not hesitate in snatching up their entire catalog.

As a clever strategy to aggravate possible pirating of their music, they broke up this album into 72 tracks. I guess that would be a deterrent to burning a copy for your buddy now wouldn't it? It is quite a sight to watch that many tracks click off on your CD player.

From the opening of the startling "Witch Hunt" to the epic closer "Ascension," this is a rocking, compelling, larger-than-life journey of musical transitions. Vocalist Rob Snowden handles each track with total confidence and the results are astonishing. His voice is so powerful and smooth that it allows him uncommon freedom to move around inside the music as each song develops into a story of its own. The musicianship is absolutely jaw dropping. I got chills listening to this; it elevates your spirits and emotions in such a way that you fall prey to their sound and become completely enveloped in their magical musical spell. There are virtually no weaknesses on this CD. The sound, production, and engineering are excellent, leaving nothing to chance. Driving rhythms powered by an in-step rhythm section, forceful and precision guitar riffs, beautifully layered keyboards, and a lead singer with a purpose, makes this some of the very best music I have heard all year.

Remember the group, ARENA, remember the names . Rob Snowden (vocals), John Mitchell (guitar and backing vocals), Clive Nolan (keyboards and backing vocals), Ian Salmon (bass), and Mick Pointer (drums).

Go ahead and cut the cards, lay them on the table and place your wager, and bet the house on this group to become one of the most remembered progressive rock innovators in the 21st century.

[It won't be released until late January (at least in the UK/Europe). - ed.]

This one's rather disappointed me. At common sense, this is the kind of structural and stylistic copy of THE VISITOR album. Once again we have a depressive conceptual album with a range of short tracks, Prog-Metal-like arrangements and apocalyptic themes in lyrics. But it seems like less sincere and shows nothing especially new in musical sense.

CONTAGION (just like THE VISITOR) starts with loud heavy-metallic song with primitive refrains WITCH HUNT, the kind of tracks I could listen in mid-90s albums by Skyclad, Queensryche or Fates Warning. I even can say that the later albums by Arena could be rather influented by Queensryche's early 90s' albums (PROMISED LAND, for example) - it's quiet possible, because the sound and even the melodic directions are rather similar in both - heavier numbers and softer slow-tempo ones. So if you're a fan of later records by Arena, you also would easily get into Queensryche too... ;-)

I also was quiet disappointed by another kind of influence here - I'm talking about the elements of so-called "alternative" music of 90s which is still so popular nowadays. Honestly, I almost hate this kind of style - it's as no rock music (definitely) but as still is no pop - something in the middle of, "alternative" (compromising?), "as for ours, as for yours" - the kind of stuff is very useful for show-business and its top-managers' big pockets, but not for the real Art as it seems to me. (That's why I don't like Radiohead and simply hate different Oasis-Schmoasis and such-like). So I've discovered a bit of smell of "brit-pop" at some moments of CONTAGION, at Mea-Culpa, for example - what the hell of primitiveness with those weird vocal's effects?! And another example of filler - Cutting The Cards - the band simply has explored the melody of Spectre Of The Feast with acoustical guitar "Spanish" arrangement. But it is stupidly in my honest opinion! I need to say the end of the album is spoiled at all...

Gladly, there's a good stuff on CONTAGION too. At first a couple of brilliant instrumentals - On The Box and especially This Way Madness Lies - I guess that the guitarist John Mitchell is the strongest and the "most Progressive" participant of Arena. It seems like all the stronger moments on the last albums by the band are belongs to him, his guitar works are really amazing at times. In contrast, the synth-oriented instrumental Riding The Tide is more unmemorable and adds nothing especially new except several pretty melodies ripped-off from Genesis's Cinema Show, but in far less sincere and inspiring way than Tony Banks has done. Another highlights are heavy slowly-tempo compositions Salamander and Painted Man, with excellent guitar works again. Spectre Of The Feast is also among the album's highlights I guess.

So, I give the three stars for CONTAGION.

This is Arena's most creative and diverse album so far. The keyboards are once again melodic, atmospheric, and complex. The new vocalist is perfect for the portraying the progressive emotional storytelling. Not all the tracks are good, but a vast majority are exceptional. The music sounds at times like a cross between Pink Floyd, Marillion, and Pendragon. Highly recommended.

On Contagion Arena manage to blend the different styles of the previous released albums into one cohesive concept. Both the heavy guitar/keyboard style from Immortal? are present, but also the more melodic textures from Pride and The visitor find their way through the mix. it took me a couple of spins before I realised how good this album was, but now I'm convinced this is one of the best albums from this decade, and all time maybe. (time will learn about that)

This time no lengthy epics, but more compact compositions which in a natural manner progresses from one song into the next. With a good balance between the heavy parts (fast keyboards and heavy guitar) and atmospheric melodics.

Clive Nolan has proven himself in the past, but on this album he shows he's the best keyboard player today, knowing when to take the lead, but also remains more in the background when required. Mitchell is a good guitar-player and shows it on several occasions. Mick Pointer has definetly improved on his drumming, being more versatile than I ever heard him play before, with good dynamics between him and Ian Salmon, one of my favourite bass-players of todays music. I was still in doubt of Rob Sowden's performance on Immortal? which was adequate, but not brilliant, on this album however he proofs himself a worthy replacement of Paul Wrightson.

Arena's Contagion is a very good if not brilliant album, with it's roots firmly in the neo-prog scene, but not scared of an occasional side-step into prog-metal, or more classic prog. With very good instrumentals and strong songwriting. I totally love this band. 5 stars, and that is still a conservative rating :-)

HIGHLY RECOMENDED. especially to those who enjoy melodic symphonic prog in the vein of Marillion, Camel, IQ, and similar bands, with a heavy twist.

Structurally this album is far more similar to their 1998 album The Visitor than 2000's Immortal? This album is made up of a large number of shorter songs (even more so then The Visitor) that gel together in such a way that if you don't look at the track numbers you would think you were listening to 7 or 8 extremely diverse songs. This is quite refreshing; as other concept albums of a similar format that I have listened to usually contain a lot of dull "filler" material. This is not so with Contagion.

Another thing I noticed while listening to this album for the first few times, is that, for a neo-prog release, it is surprisingly challenging to get into. However, my perseverance was greatly rewarded, as, when I finally began to "get" this album, IO realised how great this album really is. It's stuffed full of stunning melodic hooks, from Rob Sowden's inspiring choruses to John Mitchell's haunting yet technically proficient guitar fills and Clive Nolan's majestic keyboard backing and solos.

The album kicks off with the heavy metal-like, Witch Hunt. The keyboards are very much in the background on this track, with Mitchell's violent riffing and Mick Pointer's solid drumming taking the fore. This track serves to launch the listener head first into the album, pulling out all the stops from the get go. 7/10

This song gives way to a minute long transition track, made up of a relaxed vocal performance from Sowden backed up by Nolan on the piano. 7/10

This leads into what; in my opinion is one of the best tracks on this album, Painted Man. A rather bombastic intro quietens down for the first chorus and then gets progressively louder leading into a solo trade-off between Nolan and Mitchell. This song sees Sowden on top form as he delivers heart-felt vocal melody after heart-felt vocal melody. 10/10

A great little instrumental follows, driven on by savage delay/reverb soaked guitar chords. This leads into a stunning guitar solo, with some dynamic bass work in the background provided by Ian Salmon and of course Nolan ever-present keyboards. 9/10

Spectre at the Feast, the longest track on this album, kicks off with keyboards that sound very much like the tunes that you get in musical boxes. This track is quite laid back for the first couple of minutes, until Pointer's drums and Mitchell's distortion soaked guitar kick in. This track contains by favourite vocal performance from Rob Sowden, particularly the vocal melody on the line "Are you so pure?" Simply breath-taking. 10/10

Never Ending Night is another strong track, which truly shows Mitchell's skill on the guitar, giving us one of the best guitar solos on the album. 7/10

Skin Game is another heavy track with an abrupt beginning, in stark contrast with the outro of the previous song. It's strong vocals are well supported by Nolan's powerful keyboards and, during the outro, nice gentle acoustic guitar. 8/10

Salamander, yet another favourite of mine, has the best chorus on the album. This track contains some excellent keyboarding by Nolan, both in the gothic sounding backing and his fantastic, if short, solo. 9/10

On the Box is another accomplished instrumental, again displaying the skill of Nolan and Mitchell, with two back-to-back solos. 8/10

Tsunami is a track that brings Ian Salmon's bass to the forefront, dominating the track with the exception of a brief instrumental break where Nolan provides another splendid gothic keyboard solo 7/10

Fallow ground is a very inspiring track with an extremely positive chorus, both musically and lyrically "But you'll never bring my spirit down." 8/10

The city of Lanterns is a haunting track with eerie keyboard and vocals, distinct from both the preceding and following tracks. 7/10

Riding the Tide is an extremely energetic song with skilful and sublime keyboard work. It is very difficult not to feel energised by this track. 9/10

The last three tracks, Mea Culpa, Cutting the Cards and Ascension provide an excellent closer to an excellent album.

Mea Culpa starts with relaxed vocals supported by organ and later piano. This is probably the most restrained track on the album, with only Sowden and Nolan performing on this song. 8/10

Cutting the Cards is a rather upbeat track with frantic acoustic guitar, which becomes much heavier when Mitchell switches to electric guitar and plays a stunning relentless guitar riff, with occasional skilful lick thrown in. Again all the band members are on top form on this track. 10/10

Ascension is simply stunning. Sowden's vocals are fantastic during the chorus. Personally I think this track is one of the best album closers ever. A truly epic sounding song, despite only lasting just four and a half minutes. 10/10

The only real problem this album has is that it occasionally dips in quality. It does not maintain the excellence of tracks like Ascension and Spectre at the feast throughout. I also realise that, as with most neo-prog, it can be quite simplistic in some places compared to more traditional progressive rock. As a result it might not be to everyone's taste. For this reason I decided to give this album 4 stars, an excellent addition to any prog music collection.

This is one of the best prog albums from the last years, in my humble opinion...

I love every song included here, and the work of every musician. Rob Sowden has an incredible voice and he sings in a powerful passionate way, Mike Pointer made a very consistent work with great drums sound (the Salamander's drums intro is amazing..), Ian Salmon's bass brights in songs like Tsunami and This Way Madness Lies, John Mitchell's work is very creative with good riffs (Witch Hunt) and magnificent solos (Painted Man) and Clive Nolan... Just hear Rinding The Tide!!! Great!!! A progressive orgasm!!!!

I'd like to emphasize the Clive Nolan's lyrics, with great moments and a good concept. Some lyrics, like Salamander and Bitter Harvest, are really catchy! But all the album's lyrics have an splendid quality. I think Clive Nolan's work with Arena it's very much productive and creative than his work in Pendragon, because he is the center and the soul of Arena. But we can't forgive the marvellous work of all the others members.

An incredible album. And the best Neo Progressive I've heard...

The legendary Clive Nolan and Mick Pointer have been the two constants of the band since it's inception, while there have been three different bassists, three vocalists, and two guitarists, with Steve Rothery of Marillion a guest guitarist on "Crying for Help IV" from "Lion's Cage", which happens to be my favorite Arena passage. But even though some of the key players have changed over time, the overall signature sound of the band has not. "Contagion" continues the tradition as the songs leading up to "Bitter Harvest" (except for "An Angel Falls") are, for the most part, heavy and intense, as Nolan, Pointer, Salmon, and Mitchell soar together on the instrumentals "This Way Madness Lies" and "On The Box". Rob Sowden's voice exudes desperation and fear as the world crumbles around him, but turns soulfully expressive as he finds his savior has not abandoned him, leading him to his ultimate destiny.The record is full of many songs, sixteen pieces grouped up in different sounding moments, and that's something that gives a good and varied range of songs. From the beginning the sound is stunning, similar to "The Visitor's" beginning, with a flurry of powerful guitar riffs and keys. As we carry on with the listening we find different moments of soft and calm periods that burst into sounding supernovas, the music explodes in our ears soaking the whole record with emotion. "Witch Hunt", "An Angel Falls", "Painted Man", shape a first part of strong guitar playing and drums inside a typical-Arena mid- tempo. Then we go directly to the dynamics of "This Way Madness Lies". Sweet pieces with power house guitar flashing wrapped up in thick coats of keyboards and nice melodies, such as "Never Ending Night" or "Skin Game". "On the Box" is one of their best songs, a piece made out of brilliant keys and great passages full of imagination, a good example of Anglo-Saxon prog rock. The truth is that the best songs are the instrumental ones like "Riding the Tide" where the producers shine brightly. There are many pieces and they all follow a thread of impressive production work. Therefore i guess we can all find the record a bit exhausting.

Before anything I must say that I knew Arena from its first album called "Songs from the lions cage". Well, there the Arena´s sound was loudly and brilliant with a lot of crushing cymbals, speedy riffs and long songs. I can say the lapse when they made music like that was great, but now with "Contagion" the band shows a hard rock sound with beautiful lyrics, amazing short songs tied in a conceptual album. Amazing task with the drummer Mick Pointer and Clive Nolan keyboardist. Particulary features to the guitarist John Mitchell with his spectacular riff in the song "With hunt" besides his task in the complete album. The bass player Ian Salmon is great. Finally I think this album is the best work in the Arena career. Congratulations to the band.....and rockers prog listeners enjoy this magnificent Arena 2002 album!!!!

This is a Great Album. Including the 2 EP's. It's a pity that they didn't made a double album in the first place. For the music it's a five star, even a 6 star album, but bring everything now, after all the fan's have it now, as a double album is very sad.

Ah well, Contagion was a slight disappointment for me. While the production on Contagion is crisp and suitable, the music is not the best that Arena, especially Clive Nolan, considering his background with Pendragon, can offer.

The biggest problem I can find with Contagion (which was apparent on the first listen), is that while there are plenty of keyboards, thoughtful guitar solos, and rhythms, most of the songs are structured as typical rock songs Also, I have to say that Sowden's vocals come off sounding gratingly hard rock and nowhere near as emotional as I would want them. Perhaps the biggest blow I can lay against Contagion (and this is strictly personal, meaning you may not here this at all) is that it sounds similar to and reminds me of Christian hard rock music with slightly veiled savior references. I doubt that this is truly the case, but the thought has been permanently engraved in my mind. This is a unpleasant thought for me indeed, but do not assume that you will find this same quality in Contagion. It's merely a justification for a slightly lower rating. And since this a strictly personal matter for me, feel free to bump the score up a bit, I suppose.

Despite these annoyances, I repeatedly listen to Contagion. The reasons lie in the more interesting songs, notably the instrumentals ("This Way Madness Lies," "On the Box," and "Riding the Tide") because they allow the band to fully flex their musical muscle, without being confined to the prison of a typically-structured rock song. "Cutting the Cards," breaks the mold of the album slightly with a ferocity only glimpsed at previously in the album. Also, I have a bit of a soft spot for the ending song, "Ascension." Though it does contain the bitter aspects of the album I don't enjoy much, it does have a certain grandiose chorus that is nonetheless moving.

For the more Neo-Progressive fan out there, I'd be wary of Contagion. I suggest Tales from the Lion's Cage instead. Since Arena has an ability to appeal to Progressive Metal fans as well, Contagion may be a more suitable album for those listeners. Yet sill, I recommend Pepper's Ghost over Contagion. It isn't a bad album, even from my perspective, but I wouldn't rate Contagion on the same level as the previously mentioned albums. However, please consider giving Contagion a try if you enjoyed those albums. You will probably enjoy it more than I did.

Well, this is my first introduction to the Neo Progressive sub-genre. My uncle introduced me to it, with this fantastic album. What an introduction !! Before this, the only stuff I heard from Arena was "The Butterfly Man" (which is not on this disc), from a progressive sampler of Big Bear Records that my father was given in a Steve Hackett concert, the last time he came to Argentina. The first time I put "Contagion" on my CD player, I was surprised by the number of songs: woah, 16 songs !! And: 58:44 minutes of total time. So I coldn't predict how the record would be. I had a lot of expectations before hear this, specially by the number of songs. Like most of 'new' prog rock bands, Arena are widely influenced by 70s british prog rock bands, specially Yes and Genesis, but, with an unique style, in some way heavier than what I expected, but symphonic and very catchy; 16 catchy prog rock songs, one by one. Another thing I liked a lot about this CD was the variety of climax it has, I mean, the fact that the record has so many songs means (in prog rock) all the different climax a song can have: sadness, happinnes, depression, 'rocker feeling', etc ... Every song is connected, maybe that's what makes the album to be conceptual (remember I talk spanish and don't understand so much the lyrics, really...). They even released two Eps used as an extension of the album, called "Contagious" and "Contagium", which I'll have to hear soon. The longest track is "Spectre At The Feast" (5:34). All the songs are excellent played, with top- notch production and catchy vocal melodies. The siger, Rob Snowden, sometime reminds me of Russel Allen (Symphony X), so that means he sings pretty well. The musicianship is very good. Nolan and Mitchell provide well done solos.

I won't do a description song by song, it'll take a very long time, so I'll talk about the remarkable pieces.

The first track "Witch Hunt", surprised me a lot, "heavy guitars?", I asked myself; but the minority of the album are heavy guitars. The riff (almost all the song is a big riff), is simple, heavy but very effective. One of the catchiest melodies of the record are here "Exile! You show no mercy, you're living in a mindless state", nice, as the guitar solo too. Good opener.

The short piano-based "An Angel Falls", is used like an intro to the sixth song, "Never Ending Night", with has one of the best solos of the album.

"Paited Man" is another highlight, with fresh keyboards, specially on the part "Why, With poison so strong in our hearts"...... beautiful. And again, very catchy melodies, like the solos too.

The follower is the instrumental "(This Way) Madness Lies", that's basically an excellent guitar solo. On this track Mitchell goes veeery hiiiigh with the notes. Also nice bass work.

"Spectre At The Feast" is the longest song of "Contagion", that bagins with hipnotic keyboards, and more romantic (?) I think: "Hey... don't fall asleep, don't close your eyes and drift away to some foreign land", wich is used like a first chorus. Then, it changes when the drums enter, and the other delicious chorus: "This brave new world has fallen and decayed, are there no heroes, just men with feet of clay?". Excellent song.

The second instrumental, "On The Box", is more heavy of what was before and has a rare guitar sound I love. Yeah, it would sound crazy, but that distortion reminds me of Megadeth. It's not trashier distortion, it's something different, you have to hear this !! The solo puts is evidence again that Mitchell is a very good guitarist.

The depression moment comes with "The City Of Lanterns". Veery depressing song, just to hear in the night, or in a raining afternoon. When I heard this, I asked myself: "Is Mikael Akerfeldt singing here ?", no, but sounds very close to his voice.

The depression moment contrasts with the third and last instrumental, "Riding The Tide", it's the whole band playing, but the keyboards are the STAR on this song, passing through different transitions and solos, and one of the best melodies I've ever heard are here. Very symphonic. Clive Nolan, what a keyboardist !!

Well, that are basically the best songs, in my opinion. Something bad is that the album should finish with "Riding The Tide" ... really I do not care so much for the last 3 tracks.

So, overall, this is an excellent addition to any prog music collection, recommendable to any prog rock fan, because this is very accesible. Arena, keep on rocking !!

Rating: 4.1/5

Arena's most accomplished album in my humble opinion, and my favorite. Even though he already did on Immortal?, Rob Sowden once again proves he is the man for the vocal job in Arena. He is intense, theatrical but not overly theatrical like Paul Wrightson was (he was good, but to me he was just another Fish in the sea... ;)). The pieces flow well into one another and things are clear from the start that this is a dark album ( I think Mitchell's guitar is tuned in C in Witch Hunt, and that makes for a dark and heavy intro to the album). No less than 3 instrumentals here, and they are all excellent, particularly "Riding the Tide" which is probably my favorite Arena song.

I like every song on this album, and the "Angel" recurring theme is always welcome and pertinent when it is played. From start to finish, the succesion of moods is fabulous, ending with the majestic "Ascension".

Every musician shines here, even Mick Pointer offered an inspired and solid performance. This album proves that this is THE Arena line-up, and everyone in the band must have felt that too, as they are still together after 3 albums, a first for this band

Arena's masterpiece, and a neo prog masterpiece. A reference to judge all neo prog albums by.

Five stars for a classic.

It took more than ten listens and a few months for this album to grow on me. I got hooked right from the start by songs like "Witch Hunt", "Painted Man" or "Spectre at the Feast" but I failed to keep focus on the latter part of the album. Plus, at first, the three instrumentals seemed pointless to me as they were cutting the flow of the story. Because, although it is not obvious by just listening to the lyrics, Contagion is telling a story, the dark story of a man who brought a terrible disease to the world and is seeking for redemption (well, at least this is what I understood from the brilliant band's biography, The Salt and the Sand, that can be found on Arena's fan club website). The concept may look cheesy and not very innovative but it works : music and lyrics combine to create a depressive atmosphere that sticks to the listener through the hour long journey that Contagion represents. The beautiful art cover and booklet also perfectly fit the purpose.

Apart from the story, another crucial point to Contagion's success IMHO are the top notch production and mixing, thanks to John Mitchell for the most part if I believe the aforementioned biography. You can hear each instrument very distinctively, along with the warm voice of Rob Sowden, and everything shines. I guess the guys put a lot of work into this album and they are well paid in return since, technically speaking, the result is close to perfection, really.

Yet Contagion has its minor drawbacks. Even if I now appreciate all the songs very much, instrumentals included, I think they need to remain in the album's context to get their full effect. "Spectre at the Feast" is the only really outstanding track that could figure on any (progressive or not) rock anthology. Another critic could be made about the pompous side of the music but I guess this is part of Arena's trademark and it doesn't bother me much. To be honest, some of Contagion's lyrics, although globally very good, don't help either. "Standing on the mountain, the olive leaf in hand" : sorry, Clive, but this is a bit too much for me .

Finally, Contagion's merits easily overcome its drawbacks to make it a great album. Try it, give it a little time and patience and you should end like the disquieting character on the cover : badly addicted.

If Arena have made an album which is a best then this must be it, eclipsing even the Visitor. It contains every element needed for a great neo-prog album. This album deserves more recognition from a wider audience than it gets, anyone who likes rock music could come to love this album. The bands line up seems to be settled and working well together and John Mitchell joining Nolan and Pointer on the writing side has moved the band well away from its early days.

What an album!

After their somewhat "heavier and less polished" 2000 release "Immortal?" ARENA continues on the same track and it seems to be they are on the right one :-)

On "Immortal?" Rob Sowden traded places with Paul Wrightson and I must admit that even though I preferred Paul's voice I do think that Rob is doing a great job and almost makes us forget about Paul. As we all know it's just a matter of "getting used to". Same thing also happened with Steve Hogarth trading places with Fish in Marillion.

So what can we say about "Contagion"? Well, it's a concept album like "The Visitor" and even though the tracks aren't really all that long it doesn't really show, because they are all flowing over into one other. So is my comparison with ARENA's highly praised album "The Visitor" a valid one? I think it's a very good album, but just not quite as good. All instrumentation is top notch again, especially Clive Nolan's keys stand out and John Mitchell's excellent guitar play as well. Once again Rob Sowden now truly is the voice of ARENA. He's fulfilling our highly acclaimed promises!

My personal favourite tracks of the album? Probably: "Which Hunt", "Painted Man", "Spectre at the Feast", "Salamander", "Cutting the Cards" and "Ascension".

The result? Well, all and all another very nice concept album delivered by Clive Nolan and consortium. Good, maybe even very good, but just not as good as the 1998 concept album "The Visitor". Therefore I would like to rate this album 4 stars, just like I did with "Immortal?". For me "The Visitor" is still the one that really stands out (5 stars).

Even though Arena is my favourite band of all time, I will try to do a fair review of the album.

Contagion is the band's fifth release, and since it's an odd number, it's a concept album (band policy). This time, the concept deals with the flaws of mankind and the end of the world. I won't venture deeper into the concept, I'll leave it up to You to explore.

Arena is one of those bands that never actually reaches the top of their abilities, and this album is no exception. The performance is brilliant, tight and always very dramatic. Vocally Rob Sowden does a fantastic job, his voice is very dramatic and interesting. John Mitchell is a brilliant guitarist, and his soaring playing definitely adds to the gloomy atmosphere on this album. Ian Salmon and Mick Pointer together form a rock solid rhythm section and leaves a lot of space for the concept and atmosphere. Last, but definitely not least, Clive Nolan's performance on keyboards is outstanding, really atmospheric on some songs, and stunning virtuoso solos on others, and still without loosing the feel of the album.

Still, I get the feeling that these guys have even more to give, and that there is more masterpieces to expect in the future.

After 20+ listens, I still find lots of new details, and Contagion just grows better and better for each time I listen.

This is highly recommended, not only to neo-prog fans, but to prog- and rock-listeners in general, and this is an essential piece in any prog collection!

At this point, Arena distinguishes themselves from their peers, and in my opinion shows that they are really the best at playing exciting and dynamic music with classic progressive sensibilities. Few of the "neo-prog" bands out there can keep up with Arena's enthusiasm and energy.

"Contagion" shows the band playing its best and sounding the most refined as a group, with strong song writing and performances throughout. Nolan and Mitchell give us their best lead playing to date, while Sowden's vocals soar with emotion. The opening track, "Witchhunt" starts the album big and band delivers with each successive song; there's rarely a dull moment (even the rhythm section is interesting!). There is splendid variety, emotion, and energy. It all adds up to an outstanding high-point in the band's library and within the genre.

Songwriting: 4 Instrumental Performances: 4 Lyrics/Vocals: 5 Style/Emotion/Replay: 5

This is the central piece of a trilogy. Their concept will be extended on two companion EP's : "Contagious" and "Contagium" in which you'll get explained how the numbers should be listened to in order to get the full and logical setlist.

This is rather complicated and I fully adhere to Easy Livin's point of view : they shoud have better inspired in releasing a double album. Less hassle for everybody. But maybe that all the pieces of the puzzle were not already finalized at the time of this release of. We'll get probably a full live versions of this entire work when Arena will celbrate the tenth anniversary of this very pleasant release ? Anyway...

When one looks at the setlist, with no less than sixteen numbers it is obvious that no epic will sit here. But this is not too harmful to the quality of this album. It was also the case for "The Visitor". This album is a collection of nice, melodious and catchy songs.

These ones are "Witch Hunt" (the opener). It is a dynamic song. A bit hard, but not too much. "Painted Man" will also be on the heavy side. "Spectre At The Feast" reminds me "Crying For Help IV or VII". The list goes on and on almost throughout the album.

As in almost all concept albums, there will be some short transition tracks. "An Angels Falls" and "Bitter Harvest" (which includes a very nice chorus) are the best of these ones. Much more than fillers, really.

I wouldn't be as positive for "and "The City Of Lanterns" and the premonitory "Tsunami". Excerpts of the lyrics : "A wave that rushes headlong through the darkness. An eternal flood that violates our minds. There's nowhere to hide now. Nowhere to run".

Both are from the poorest songs of this album. But only two out of sixteen is a great achievement.

Some instrumental numbers will be featured as well. "This Way Madness Lies" and "Riding The Tide" are very much Genesis oriented. The inspiration is definitely "Cinema Show" for both of them. "On The Box" can also be considered as instrumental if you exclude the background voices that can be heard in the background of the last part. But this one is a bit dull.

To be honest, I must say that from "On The Box" through "Mea Culpa" the album somewhat weakens.

The last two numbers will break this least interesting part. "Cutting The Cards" starts on an acoustic intro but turned out to be a good rocking song after two minutes while "Ascension" is another great and traditional Arena song : full of power. All mighty.

There are no sublime highlights but it is a very well balanced album, almost all the way through. I also feel that with this work, Rob has never sound so good. The band has finally stabilized and we get the same line-up as for "Immortal ?" which is a positive point for the future. I am missing the great guitar breaks that were available on "The Visitor" though.

Four stars for this solid and consistent album.

I know i'm in the minority here but I really feel this album is a step backwards for the band after two great records in "The Visitor" and "Immortal ?". After enjoying Sowden's vocals on "Immortal ?" so much I have to agree with stonebeard that they come off as sounding "hard rock" on this release. I just couldn't get into this album at all. Maybe it was because i've been enjoying some melodic rock by ENCHANT and THRESHOLD lately that sounds better than this album does. I don't know. I was looking forward to this release because of the advertised heaviness, but it didn't deliver in my opinion.

Some of the highlights for me are "Painted Man" with the heavy drums, organ and mellotron. Vocals arrive with some screaming guitar later. The guitar to end the song reminded me of Eddie Van Halen's work. "This Way Madness Lies" has such a good melody with bass and keys, but this is a guitar driven instrumental and my favourite track. "Spectre At the Feast" is a mellow tune until you can hear the guitar start to grind some melodies out.

"Skin Game" has some heavy passages that come and go, and I like the melody 3 minutes in. The guitar that follows sounds beautiful as do the harmonies to end the song. "On the Box" has some great guitar that just goes on and on. From here to the end of the album is really hit or miss with me. "The City Of Lanterns" is a refreshing change with lots of atmosphere. "Mea Culpa" is a dramatic tune with piano and vocals leading the way. There is a nice full sound after 2 minutes on "Cutting the Cards". The final song "Asension" has some powerful vocals and is a great closer.

My favourite tracks are the instrumentals "This Way Madness Lies" and "On the Box" , while "Skin Game" would round out my top three. Overall 3 stars.

When I buy an album of one of my favourite bands I tend to look at the length of the songs hoping for at least one, hopefully even more epics, they are usually my favourites. When I saw the playing times of the songs of Contagion I got disappointed. I'm a fan of Arena from the beginning, really loved Solomon, Sirens, Moviedrome but of course also other songs. I still bought this album, wanted to give it a real chance and I'm glad I did.

This proved to be an album that kept growing on me, the songs got better and better after each listening. It's an accessible album but is still prog (fortunately), typical neoprog actually. This album has slowly but surely grown to a true 4 star case, well deserved. Best songs are Witch hunt, Painted man, Riding the tide and Cutting the cards. Well done Arena !

Arena's second amazing concept, Contagion is at its best when you add in the two additional LPs, Contagious and Contagium. It then becomes a 90+ minute monster, bringing it alongside the Lamb and Subterranea. There is so much variety and drama present here: Arena are perhaps the future of Neo prog; driving, powerful, emotive music. In songs like Witch hunt, Spectre at the feast, March of time, and Cutting the cards, Sowden's dramatic vocal dilevery gives this album its colour, alongside Nolan's versatile keyboard atmospheres. The whole thing sounds very modern, and not backwards looking or nostalgic in any way. 90 minutes of pure enjoyment.

This is one of the four Arena albums that I own, so it's safe to say that this is by far their greatest achievement among their highest rated releases! The obvious question would be: Why is this album so hard to surpass? Simple really, Contagion has a feel and look of an epic concept album. Since we know that what looks, feels and , most of all, sounds like an epic concept piece, is very likely to be just that.

Granted that the previous statement wasn't all that explanatory in conveying the true magnitude of the performance I'll try to put it more frankly. Since the release of Immortal? it foreshadowed that great performance and most of all the song writing that the band were capable of. All they really had to do here was to create the right atmosphere for their material to work and after the hard lesson of The Visitor there seemed to be no doubt as to how to undertake such a task.

There are quite a few memorable performances featured on this album but it's ultimately the overall flow of the material which wins me over even more than Immortal?. It's all about a nice one hour long journey that is great to undertake once I'm in a mood for some melodic rock compositions performed in a dramatic conceptual way with strong melodies and ultimately a strong overall pay-off.

To be completely honest, I still haven't figured out the album's whole concept for myself, but I heard that the two EPs Contagious and Contagium do clarify it quite a bit. Unfortunately I've never had a chance to listen to them. But that being said, I believe that this albums music stands very well on its own. So if you enjoy the Neo-Prog genre then check it out!

***** songs: Witch Hunt (4:17) Mea Culpa (3:46) Ascension (4:34)

**** songs: An Angel Falls (1:13) Painted Man (4:41) This Way Madness Lies (3:35) Spectre At The Feast (5:34) Never Ending Night (3:23) Skin Game (4:43) Salamander (3:59) On The Box (2:40) Tsunami (2:38) Bitter Harvest (2:52) The City Of Lanterns (1:22) Riding The Tide (4:28) Cutting The Cards (4:57)

Total Rating: 4,22

I was a little late to the party with Arena releases. I've worked my way backwards, starting with Pepper's Ghost then Contagion and so on. Contagion hit me like a ton of bricks on about the tenth listen. I knew it was a good release, but after hearing it over and getting familiar with some of the sections, this became one of my favorite all time prog albums. Rod Sowden delivered a fine vocal performance and allowed his emotion to come through to the listener. And it's easy to focus on Sowden's vocals and John Mitchell's brilliant guitar sections, but if you listen carefully, it's Clive Nolan's keyboard work that holds everything together throughout. But that's not to take anything away from Mitchell. The tone of his guitar and the clarity of his solos are amazing. He never feels the need to overdo it at any time. Sometimes less is more, and in this case, he nails it.

The music seems so varied from each track to the next. It never feels repetitive or forced. In fact, this album flows together as good as any I have heard, getting heavy at the proper times and pulling back just as well. At times their wonderful musicianship is on display, at other times its Sowden who delivers goosebump vocal sections. This is also an album that I cannot listen to at different intervals. Each and every listen I feel the need to listen from beginning to end because the synergy as a whole needs to be appreciated with an album like this. The final 4 tracks bring everything together for me. Neo prog rarely gets any better than the 2nd part of this album.

Highlights: Spectre at the Feast, Never Ending Night, Riding the Tide THROUGH Ascension.

In summary, this album makes my top 15 prog albums of all time, not an easy list to crack. But every time I listen to Contagion, my overall mood gets an uplifting feeling because what is contained within this fine musical journey from beginning to end. Wonderfully done! Easily a 5 star release....May prog be with you....

I don't know how a band can write music that is technically good music, but still somehow comes out terribly uninteresting.

With Contagion, Arena cut down the songs lengths and released a conceptual, flowing album. Something is wrong, though. The songs for the most part do not go anywhere. The music for the most part spins its wheels gently in the thick mud. The production for the most part works but does nothing out of the ordinary. And I think that is the true problem of this release: all the tracks are ordinary. This is little more than a glorified pop rock album. True, every once in a while the band steps out and performs a little bit, but on twelve or thirteen of the tracks, we've got standard to weak music. The vocalist doesn't seem to have much in the way of a unique voice, either. So, while I was really interested in this band due to members of it appearing on Ayreon and Frost* albums, I came away pretty cold from the experience.

I must add that there a couple of good tunes, and one definitely good one. Without these, this album would probably getting only a single star. Painted Man and Skin Game are both interesting songs, with vocal melodies that actually stand apart from the things you'd expect. The really good track is Cutting the Cards, which is the one streamable on this site. From this sample, I figured more of the album would feature that kind of energy and deeper songwriting. Well, it doesn't. Instead, the rest of the album ranges from worse to less interesting when compared to this track. Now, I do suppose that some serious neo-prog fans consider this music really fantastic, and I suppose they are allowed to. But coming from a fan of progressive music who only really asks for creative and original songwriting, Contagion leaves me pretty unimpressed and not very optimistic about the rest of the band's output.

If you love neo-prog or if you love Arena, I'd say go ahead. If you are unfamiliar with the genre or the band, the genre offers better music in IQ or Marillion, while I am unqualified to discuss the rest of the band's catalog at this moment. I must admit, though, that the cover art is something really special on this album, and is the other highlight next to Cutting the Cards.

Ah, Contagion - less an album, more a cauldron of hot, spicy guitar riffs and keyboard solos. The short tracks make it more digestible than Pepper's Ghost or Immortal?, but this format may not be so friendly with all proggers. Down to business...

1. Witch hunt (4:17) - Odd crowd noises quietly lead up to a devastatingly simple opening riff. Great chorus and guitar solo.

2. An angel falls (1:13) - A tranquil piano and vocal duet, blending from Witch Hunt to Painted Man seamlessly. A good track.

3. Painted man (4:41) - Slightly off-lyrics, but this is made up for in the instrumental areas of this track, especially the ending.

4. This way madness lies (3:35) - An instrumental, with very prominent bass in parts - pure excellence. Above this, the guitar solos reign supreme. A good finish to the first few tracks.

5. Spectre at the feast (5:34) - Very atmospheric. Good singing here, too, with a slow build up to the ending. Guitar and bass are great too.

6. Never ending night (3:23) - A quite ballad, with solo. Compare it to Tears on The Visitor. Shorter, not as good, but still a good listen.

7. Skin game (4:43) - A good start and an epic finish. Awe inspiring vocals towards the end with excellent riffs that break into acoustic versions of the same riff as an ending - if it doesn't immediately grab you, there's something wrong.

8. Salamander (3:59) - Opening with keyboard, this one is fairly good, nice chorus and guitar solo/keyboard solo. This seamlessly blends into...

9. On the box (2:40) - And odd instrumental - the voices from the start of the album return at the start over the top of a guitar riff. This follows with a keyboard solo, plus guitar for good measure. At the end it fades out into the sound of Morse code which goes straight to...

10. Tsunami (2:38) - Nothing awfully significant here. The bass is quite prominent with a good riff but otherwise it's just vocal.

11. Bitter harvest (2:52) - A mini-epic, if there ever was such a thing. Starts quiet, then explodes and has a great ending, espeically the vocals.

12. The city of lanterns (1:22) - Atmospheric vocal solo here, with a few synthesized sounds below. Serves a good intro to...

13. Riding the tide (4:28) - basically, just a keyboard solo, and one of the best I've heard. Takes a while to get into, but when it sticks, you can't but help air-keyboarding along. The ending is excellently done.

14. Mea culpa (3:46) - A quiet ballad, odd name aside, it's beautiful. Just a piano and the vocalist. The central climax is the best bit ...but only find despising gazes...

15. Cutting the cards (4:57) - This exactly how to bring a concept album back from a calm ballad. Opens with an acoustic guitar, with then bursts into an energetic riff, and finally the guitars join, after we hear the brilliant chorus. The guitar effects here are very effective in their places.

16. Ascension (4:34) - The finale. Mainly loud, but quite bits towards the start, building to a finish. I'm learning to fly... excellent vocals at the finale, as well as guitar and powerful keyboard chords. Sadly, it fades out. :/

It could have been improved if the tracks were as whole sections, if you ask me, as that gives it a much more progressive feeling, but regardless, the tracks themselves are great. Highlights are Witch Hunt, Spectre, Skin Game, and from Riding The Tide to Ascension. Recommended for all Arena fans.

Just don't ask me to choose between Contagion and The Visitor...

I got this on the strength of positive reviews on this website, and agree with all previous reviewers 4/5 star reviews.

This is the first Arena LP I have purchased, but it will certainly not be the last.

It is an fantastic album, neo-prog at its best, and I say that as a huge H era Marillion fan.

Rob Snowden's vocals are utterly amazing, and the keyboards of Nolan, rhythm section of Pointer & Salmon, along with great guitar work by Mitchell complement him very well.

The album has a great rock feel, but also includes the rich textures of sounds that prog fans long for in modern bands. It is certainly a grower, getting better with each & every listen. It is entertaining, original, and does not fall in to the trap of trying to sound like a copy of classic prog bands.

Highly recommended and thanks to ProgArchives for the previous reviews.

In My Not so Humble Opinion:

Contagion by Arena is the best release in the Neo-Prog top twenty with the only possible exception being the new release by Martigan (and I only offer that exception because I don't have that one).

Let me start with a brief story. As my prog resurgence grew over the last two years, I noticed that I leaned heavily towards Neo and Symphonic. I picked up a lot of CD's during this time, most of the time from deals that I was able to find on either Amazon or in used CD shops or downloads from iTunes or e-Music. Arena was one of those bands that I just couldn't find a CD of theirs for under $20. Not that it wasn't worth it, but when I could pick up two or three Marillion CD's for the same price, I had to go for the quantity.

Finally, around Christmas time, I finally found a used copy of Contagion on Amazon, with a certain amount of excitement I ordered it along with a few others and eagerly awaited their arrival. First came Aenima, then Ever by IQ, two additional CD's that I'd been eager to get my hooks into. When Arena came, it was certainly used, a little on the beaten up side. The very next day, "A Street Between Sunrise and Sunset" by Satellite arrived in it's nice and shiny new package and I'll admit, I kind of forgot about Contagion for a month or two.

I started listening to it in about March. Since then, it's been my most listened to album, easily. Now, it's number three on my Last FM chart behind "Snow" and "Stardust We Are", both double albums that I've had for two years. My point, this is a great CD.

On to the review proper:

I have no complaints about this album; this is as close to a perfect album as we get in my mind. The production is wonderful; Clive Nolan is at his best here. His choice of keyboard patches is spot on and his solos, particularly on the showcase piece "Riding the Tide", are both beautiful and tasteful. A magnificent solo is not based on how many notes you can play but when you choose to play them.

Rob Sowden's powerful and soulful voice adds another layer of energy as he plays the part of patient zero of the plague that takes out humanity (at least that's my interpretation). His mournful plea in "Mea Culpa" almost makes you cry while his gentle urging of "Oh my brother, kneel with me tonight" in "The City of Lanterns" gives me goosebumps every time I listen to it. Rob sounds amazing on this album.

. . . and let's face it, John Mitchell is no slouch either. John's showcase piece, "This Way Madness Lies" shows his ability to solo tastefully while the last part of "On the Box" shows that he can shred when necessary. When he isn't luxuriating in the spotlight John Mitchell adds to the general ambience, blending with Clive seamlessly.

Finally, the rhythm section of Mick Pointer and Ian Salmon is tight and solid the whole way through, providing the foundation that allows the other three to shine. They really add to the "Cinema Show" feel of "Riding the Tide".

There are no weak tracks on this CD. The highlights include the previously mentioned "The City of Lanterns", "Riding the Tide" and "Mea Culpa". In addition, "Witch Hunt" starts the CD off with a driving bang, Mitchell's crashing guitar commands your attention from the first note until Sowden comes in with an angry growl a few seconds later. "Cutting the Cards" is another great song with some very tasty acoustic guitar allowing the beginning vocal harmonies to take the center stage until the full band crashes in.

The biggest highlight of the album is the run of "Spectre at the Feast", "Never Ending Night" and finally "Skin Game". Spectre is pretty and a good set up to "Never Ending Night" which starts out beautiful and just plain ends up spine tinglingly evil. "Skin Game" continues the evil vibe through the first half until about the two minute mark when it starts a 40 second build up to the most beautiful moment on this album. When Rob Sowden cries of the "quirk of fate, yielding to my DNA", the band follows with a hauntingly beautiful chord progression that, like many other points on this album, makes the little hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

In sum, I love this album and highly recommend it to any fans of Neo progressive music. This is as close as it gets to perfect for me.

To me this album stands out. Not just in the neo-progressive genre - in which it belongs in the short list of absolute great albums like 'Script For A Jester's Tear', 'Empires Never Last' and 'Resistance' - but of any sub genre. To me 'Contagion' represents the adventurous, emotional and magical journey that is progressive rock. Whereas Arena still leans heavily on the groundwork of early Marillion and Genesis, it does take the genre for a ride in a quite different direction. More based on these magical abstract atmospheres, more sci-fi, more in search for a divine sound. Existential in way. Rob Sowden is hands down my favorite recording vocalist of the genre and his well immersed powerful vocals greatly enhance the already well composed songs. He lives his songs. John Mitchell's melodic heavy guitars have long been a favorite of mine, but his contributions to songs like 'This Way Madness Lies', 'Never Ending Night' and 'Cutting the Cards' are just beyond me. Whereas all songs fit perfectly together in this semi concept album, there are actually some influences of other genres. For instance the pumping raw metal riff of 'Witch Hunt', the electronic prog of 'Riding the Tide' and the folky opening of 'Cutting the Cards'. Mostly the album fares well on neo-prog melancholy and the experience of the deep self, of which the final track 'Ascension' is a great example. Seldom was a song so suited for setting the mood for finish a musical journey. This is the original album that got me hooked on progressive rock as a fourteen year old and I can't imagine having had a better start.

Clive Nolan (best known for his work with prog legend Pendragon) is the master of the dark side of neo prog. Or something like that. Certainly he and former Marillion drummer Mick Pointer had succeeded in bringing up something quite unique. While Arena´s first two albums were too much a Marillion-like affair, from the excellent The Visitor on, they found their own sound and themes. Quite frightening themes, I should say, but still good and exciting. And Contagion is one of their best efforts.

I still think The Visitor is their best ever. It is one-of-a-kind type of album, on which everything works. But Contagious comes very close to that. For the first time the band has the same line up as their most recent work, Immortal?, another very good CD. But Rob Sowden vocals are much more confident and personal here. I also liked Ian Salmon´s bass lines very much, quite heavy and fitting very well on the overall music. My only complaint about this album is that The Painted Man sounds too much like the Butterfly Man (from Immortal?) both musically and lyrically: A coincidence? Or was it meant to be like that? Like a good mystery film director, Nolan does not give clear answers. Even the overall concept of the album is not explained, leaving the listener to find its own interpretation.

Which is fine, since the music that comes with it is simply fantastic: a kind of heavy symphonic prog, with lots of 70´s influences (specially early to Genesis). In fact the music is so rich and varied it takes some time to really sink in, but once it does, you´re hooked (or contaminated). There is little point trying to find a highlight here, since the whole album works as a big suite with many shifting moods and great musical passages that link one track to the other. After several spins, I still can´t think of any of them without the other, even if some instrumental cuts like Riding The Tide (great Banks-like synth solo!) are among Nolan´s best performances ever.

Contagious is truly a work of art and a must have for any prog lover. Highly recommended! Final rating: 4,5 stars

P.S. _ The brazilian release of this album via Hellion records includes a bonus CD that is the whole The Cry EP. Even if not one of Arena´s best it was a plus for it has at least one fine extra song (The Healer).

Arena could have easily become my favorite group. That what I thought after the first two albums. I waited with great expectations for the following one. Then, they composed their first concept album, "The visitor" which was a errible desillusion for me : great moments ("Hanging tree", "State of grace", "Blink of an eye"...) but so short !

It seems the concept of concept albums is to find an alibi to make short songs because it's more difficult to elaborate epics. It's easier to create 12 short and distinct song with one melody each than 3 long pieces composed of 4 themes that you have to articulate and imbricate and that you must lead in the same direction. It's also easier to make short songs with just a rapid solo in the middle than to create large musical developements.

I have always thought "The lamb lies down", "The wall" and "Snow", for instance, are the weakest albums of Genesis, Pink Floyd (except the Final cut but it's a Waters' album !) and Spock's Beard.

There are great ideas in "Contagion". But none is really developed. Of course, these musicians are excellent, and the voice is splendid. But I think the potential of this group is much bigger than what they show in this restrictive song format.

I really like much of Arena's work, and I definitely think they are capable of putting together a masterpiece of progressive rock. Unfortunately, I've been through most of their catalog and haven't found that piece yet, now including Contagion. On the flip side, there's certainly nothing wrong with being a model of consistency, if perhaps not brilliance.

If you don't mind a bit of cheese (and, really, can any of us who really like neo prog say that we don't?) then it would be tough to view this album as less than four stars. Snowden does a very nice job, both in passionate and well-paced delivery ( i.e., not too slow), and with interesting lyrics. Nolan lays it on nice and thick with the keys, and Mitchell brings it all over the top with some awesome guitar work.

Exhibit A: the Painted Man. A catchy, stately theme, and the instrumental break is a great example of Mitchell and Nolan supplementing each other (as opposed to dueling, Petrucci and Rudess style). Exhibit B: This Way Madness Lies (instrumental). Mitchell's guitar has this enormous sound, and he just lets it rip--I just love this guy's feel. In addition--and perhaps more with this album than any of their others--you can actually hear the bass! Not only that, but Salmon is doing some melodic stuff, as opposed to mechanically grinding it out in the low register (as on Immortal, for example).

Overall, probably the most consistent piece from a strikingly consistent band--consistently very good, to boot. Perhaps it's the lack of a Visitor-style climactic ending, the slightly cheesy heaviness of some bits, or something I can't put a finger on, but I'm going to go against my id here and place this just out of masterpiece territory.

Excellent album: A must for those of us who enjoy what Arena has to offer. I'm going to keep hoping for them to crank out a true masterpiece of prog in the future--I know you guys have it in you!

But what a pleasant surprise!I'm really amazed that album.Until then my knowledge of neo- prog was limited only to bands with Marillion (of course) and Pendragon.Listen this album gives me a new dimension this kind, although this band is almost sort of a supergroup, as it has or had members of other neo-prog bands like IQ, and Shadowland those cited above.

One of the qualities of the album is that there is no weak track: all are good or excellents.The sound is heavy on several occasions but there are also influences from Genesis in other.A interesting fact is that the songs are quite short, ranging from 1 -5 minutes.

Actually "Contagion" is very good! I need to hear more stuff of the Arena.

Neo-what? This music reminds me of the turn away from prog in the late 70s and 80s. Over and over I've listened to this soap opera music and have yet to have a song that draws me back, that becomes memorable (though the first instrumental, "This Way Madness LIes," comes close). Were it not for the pedigreed band members--which, unfortunately, raise one's expectations quite a bit--and excellent recording and sound production, this album would have gone immediately into my ASIA/JOURNEY/FOREIGNER/SURVIVOR/DEF LEPPARD "Do Not Resuscitate" bin (which is one whose discs never see the light of day again and most often get dumped at some resale shop.) I can't even seem to find any redeeming qualities to justify elevating them to my STYX/REO SPEEDWAGON/KANSAS/RUSH/ SUPERTRAMP "Re-listen ... LATER" bin--which is one box higher than the previous--and whose members at least earn the privilege of staying in my collection.

Please help me out here: What about this music, this album, is prog? Too bad, cuz I'm a big John Mitchell fan.

With the new album upon us I felt it time to revisit their earlier material?

?and fell upon the album Contagion, and was hooked. I then realised that the two 2003 EP's contained material that belonged to the concept and duly inserted it, and placed the whole into the correct order and listened, and re-listened?

This is (now) a superb (extended) album from start to finish. Sowden by his own admission felt that this was his album and he's not wrong. Once again Arena have mastered the heavy sound and imposed superb melodies with great vocals.

Each of the members has honed their skills and together with the slick production has an absolute masterpiece on their hands ? subtly similar but also completely different; this album takes from the previous two and extracts and develops what worked, the result was to clearly demonstrate the progression evident here. Another obvious contributory factor is the stability within the group.

Easily a four star award, only let down by the fact that the two EP's were never included in the original release?

Rob Sowden's second album as lead singer of Arena finds the band really hitting their stride again after the rather transitional Immortal. Incorporating a few metal influences in their music really helps the band diversify their sound, and the songwriting team of Mick Pointer, Clive Nolan, and John Mitchell have come up with some really strong material this time around.

Granted, there's places here and there where things get a bit samey or predictable, but on the whole it there aren't enough to completely derail the album, and the band pack in just enough surprises to make it worth picking up this one if you already have and are enthusiastic about their earlier albums.

On the whole, in fact, I'd say it's more or less on a par with Pride, Songs From the Lion's Cage and The Visitor, and a big step up from Immortal. I particularly recommend the Contagion Max edition, which restores the missing songs which had been collected on various EPs to their proper part in the sequence. Perhaps its biggest weakness is that this prog metal-adjacent style isn't necessarily what Rob Sowden's voice lends itself to, and the fact that in its original configuration the album risks becoming a bit samey; the more varied material on the EPs, restored to their proper place in the running order, makes the journey a touch more varied.

This album is the follow-up to 2000's 'Immortal?' and sees Arena with the same line-up of Clive Nolan (keys/vocals), Rob Sowden (lead vocals), John Mitchell (guitar/vocals), Ian Salmon (bass) and Mick Pointer (drums). It is a concept album concerning a search for salvation through a dark and foreboding vision of the future. Apart from the striking artwork by David Wyatt, the one thing that stands out on this album is the sheer intensity of the work as a whole. Some bands think that everything has to be turned up to the max, but they often miss the dramatic edge which this album has in abundance.

This is a step forward for Arena; they have raised the stakes and dare others within the prog field to follow. They have moved more into the prog metal area while at the same time staying far removed from bands such as Threshold. This is an album that is keyboard-led, as would be expected from one of Clive's bands, but when the guitars are there they are crunching and when they are not there is the anticipation and edge that they will soon be back. It gives the album a sense of drama which is heightened by the way that the music swirls and moves through themes, returning to ideas and moving on in different ways. It takes a strong vocalist to stand out against all that is going on and Rob Sowden knows when he has to take control with strong soaring vocals or when the time is right to be more emotional. He is at home when singing with just a piano or when he is fronting an all out rock band.

When Arena are in full flight they are a sight to be heard and the production by Clive Nolan and John Mitchell gives the sound the quality that it deserves. There are times when this album is multi-tracked acoustic guitars and pure venom from John while at others this is a prog band that have let loose the hounds and are running at full pelt. With 'Contagion' Arena have thrown down the gauntlet and are daring others within this area to follow. Intense, majestic, theatrical, powerful, full of visual imagery, I don't know how to convey the sheer wonder of this album. Visit www.verglas.com for more details.

I will be interviewing Clive in the next issue of Feedback (for the first time for many years), but he has already told me that this album has had the highest pre-sales of any Arena album to date and has been in the national album charts in Germany as well as top 10 in the independent releases chart in Holland. This really is a great album.

Originally appeared in Feedback #72, Feb 03

This album is quite some record - a journey through humanity's dark night of the soul to something approaching redemption at the other end.

Musically this is quite heavy for neo-prog - the first song in particular sounds like a metal song - and consequently for me it did take some getting in to, but, as with all good music, that investment of time has paid great dividends.

Contagion is a dark and atmospheric record, its success made possible Rob Sowden's vocal performance of real power and mastery. Whereas many concept albums seem to lose their way towards the end, this record gradually gathers momentum, so that the second half seems stronger than the first.

The album is a cohesive whole, but many of the best individual tracks would undoubtedly work as stand-alone songs - 'Salamander', 'Bitter Harvest', 'Mea Culpa' and 'Cutting the Cards' are personal favourites.

Overall, this is highly recommended - an album that shows the continuing possibilities of 'popular' music.

As ARENA entered the 21st century they finally hit a stable lineup and for the first time and released two albums in a row with the same band members which allowed them the opportunity to learn how to coalesce their individual talents and develop a strong and stable chemistry. On their fifth studio release CONTAGION they hit the high point of their career with yet another concept album that like many of their albums delivers vague and ambiguous notions of going through the trials and tribulations of being human and experiencing every emotion there is to be had a hundredfold. This one is supposedly about the end of the human race and all the emotional baggage of being alive until it happens. As much as i try i still haven't found a decent explanation of what exactly the concept is supposed to consist of but it matters not for at long last ARENA found their perfect sound with Clive Nolan (keys), John Mithcell (guitars), Ian Salmon (bass), Mick Pointer (drums) and their third lead vocalist Rob Sowden and the quality of the compositions on CONTAGION shows it.

From the first notes of "Witch Hunt" it is obvious that ARENA got major rekindling of musical mojo. At this point they sound less and less like 80s Marillion which was the sound of their early albums and more like their contemporaries IQ who also released a concept album at the same time. This time around the band found a new lease on neo-prog by adding heavier and harder rock guitar and bass often verging into metal territory briefly with virtuosic guitar solos and heavy churning riffs and thundering bass but still manages to weave it around the intricately delicate melodies that have been carefully crafted into extremely strong and catchy tunes that build upon one another and seamlessly transition from track to track until an entire album unfolds around you. There are also many space rock references to Pink Floyd with dreamy echoey guitars, sensual solos and Salmon's strong Rickenbacker bass lines.

CONTAGION is perfectly partitioned into vocal and instrumental tracks. "Witch Hunt" begins with a thundering bass line, heavy guitar riff and powerful vocal performance by Sowden which sets the tone for the majority of the album but there are also ballad segments like the beginning of the music box beat backed "Spectre Of Feast" and the piano laden "Never Ending Night" which weaves in tender moments surrounded by more thunderous heavy rock. Despite having the qualities of AOR, something about ARENA's attention to details make the music quite sophisticated with variations in the subtleties such as keyboard runs, echoey guitar backings or different types of drum fills. The melody is the main driver of the tracks with Sowden's vocal emphasis on the lyrics being mostly in the spotlight except when the band delivers excellent musical prowess such as on the instrumental beasts "This Way Madness Lies," "On The Box" and "Riding The Tide."

I must admit that i wasn't a huge fan of CONTAGION upon first listen as it sounds very much like many neo-prog albums that may come off as gimmicky with the heavier rock elements added but after a few spins i was hooked and the intricate charms of the album shone through with synth rich ambient notes backing heavy yet melancholically addicting melodies passing the torch to the next track that takes the listener onto a new adventure and then on to the next. While there are clearly stronger tracks than others, the beauty of the album is that is places all of the elements in key places. It opens with several strong tracks and then has some quieter less powerful tracks that skillfully link the various parts together. The musicianship is extraordinarily strong on CONTAGION with every member going the extra mile to eke out the most satisfying musical performances.

CONTAGION was originally intended to be released as a double album but Clive Nolan got cold feet on releasing such a sprawling 90 minute plus behemoth of a double album and nixed seven tracks and would release them simultaneously on two separate EPs titled "Contagious" and "Contagium." After many years of demands by rabid voracious fans to release CONTAGION as the originally intended double album, in 2013 it finally came to be as a tenth anniversary expanded edition titled CONTAGION MAX which contains all of the missing seven tracks in their proper places amongst the others. While it was not intended to replace the original truncated form and was solely intended to provide a supplemental insight into the album's history, i have to say that ARENA scored big time with CONTAGION as i find it works equally well in either form as CONTAGION doesn't feel forced and never indicates that certain tracks were left out merely for editing's sake nor does CONTAGION MAX feel like the extra tracks were superfluous filler either. Personally i would highly recommend both editions but CONTAGION is probably the first place to stop for anyone wanting to check out ARENA's thoughtful and subtly textured symphonic progressive rock. CONTAGION will surely go down as their magnum opus as it is one of those album's that only gets better the more you listen to it, at least that's the way it worked for me.

Review Nº 297

Arena is a band which doesn't need to be introduced. Almost everybody or at least people that are interested on progressive rock has listened to some of their albums, surely. For me, the band has been used for many people as a useful connector and not as a big band full of great skill and virtuoso movements. However, I have to say that they have worked out a nice musical space and deserving to be one of the most important bands of the modern prog rock scene.

'Contagion' is the fifth studio album of Arena and was released in 2002. It's their first studio album to feature the same line up of their previous studio album 'Immortal?'. So, the line up of the album is Rob Sowden (vocals), John Mitchell (backing vocals and guitars), Clive Nolan (backing vocals and keyboards), Ian Salmon (bass) and Mick Pointer (drums).

Like their follow up third studio album 'The Visitor', which was released in 1998, 'Contagion' is also a conceptual album made of interwoven tracks and recurring themes. So, as usual on the most of the cases of the conceptual pieces, the music and the lyrics flow throughout the album, for the most part of it, as if they were only a single theme. Thus, and as usual, I'm just going to review the album globally, not track by track, and make some general considerations.

So, one of the leaders of the contemporary neo-prog rock scene Arena was back with another very powerful new studio album of melodic rock with some very catchy anthems, great symphonic keyboards and a fantastic guitar performance. In reality, it's a real follow up to their highly regarded previous studio album 'Immortal?', following a very similar path to that musical work. It fully confirms that the group has gone the musical direction to a path of a much heavier sound.

Thus, despite 'Contagion' follows the same path of 'Immortal?', it's also, in a certain way, the real and truly natural successor of their third studio album 'The Visitor'. If we make a brief reflection about all their five first studio albums we may say the following. Their two first studio albums 'Songs From The Lion's Cage' and 'Pride' are very similar and follow the same formula of the traditional sound of the progressive sound of the 70's. It's also very close to the music of the traditional neo-prog bands like Marillion, IQ, Pendragon and Pallas. With their third studio album 'The Visitor' we can clearly see a change on their sound and, in my humble opinion, with this album the band found their own proper sound and space into the neo-prog style and definitively established itself as one of the major living forces into that progressive sub-genre. Their next forth studio album 'The Immortal?' shows a band, in my humble opinion, with the same style of their previous studio album 'The Visitor' but with a heavier sound, which is particularly noted with the guitar sound, with clear influences of the prog metal sound. With this new album 'Contagion', I sincerely think that it follows the same path and formula of 'The Visitor' and 'Immortal?', but bringing to it the best parts of both worlds.

About the tracks, the opening cut 'Witch Hunt' grabs you right away, with the chunky guitars of John Mitchell and the powerful, husky vocals of Rob Sowden leading the charge. This is Sowden's second recording with the band, and the singer is brimming with confidence throughout the album. On the emotional 'Painted Man', the vocalist pulls a great performance, as his powerful and pained performance is matched only by the fluid, David Gilmour influenced fret work from Mitchell. The guitarist and keyboard wiz Clive Nolan lay down some complex, sonic blasts on the melodic instrumentals 'This Way Madness Lies' and 'On The Box', two tracks that are excellent but really serve as seques to the vocal pieces. 'Spectre At The Feast' and 'Never Ending Night' are reminiscent of songs from their album 'The Visitor', featuring emotional, haunting melodies, chilling keyboard washes, and the tortured guitar lines of John Mitchell. The band even approaches prog metal bliss on songs like 'Skin Game', 'Salamander', and 'Tsunami'. Clive Nolan is fairly restrained as far as solos go on this album, and goes for a more varied and textural sound. But on the tune 'Riding The Tide' he lets loose with a vengeance, blasting out wild synth solos with a true reckless abandon.

Conclusion: 'Contagion' is an excellent album and one of Arena's best albums and undoubtedly it represents, for me, the second masterpiece of the group. Relatively to their previous studio album 'Immortal?', we are in presence of a more cohesive musical work of the band and hasn't the same weak points that we can find on it. In relation to their first two studio albums 'Songs From The Lion's Cage' and 'Pride', it's definitely better because it's much balanced and more cohesive that those albums are, despite they're also two great albums. However, when we compare it with 'The Visitor' I sincerely don't have the same opinion. In my humble opinion, and despite all I wrote before, 'The Visitor' remains, for me, as their greatest and finest masterpiece until now. Concluding, 'The Visitor' and 'Contagion' are among one of the best neo-prog albums ever made and with them, Arena ascend to the rare status of being one of the most important and immortal bands of the neo-prog scene with bands like Marillion, IQ, Pendragon, Pallas and Galahad.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

British neo-progressive rock titans Arena deliver a stunning and exhaustive collection of songs on their fifth studio recording 'Contagion', with styles ranging from pure symphonic prog to jaw-dropping hard rock with infectious riffs and choruses, to pure heavy metal-sounding bangers; or else put simply, this album is a bag of treats!

Loosely (or certainly, depending on who you ask) a concept album that is seemingly telling the story of a man's otherworldly journey through the darkest places of the mind, touching upon the topics of trust, love, fear, and angst - the recurring themes of this album; it is really challenging to precisely dissect the story and make up something that sounds convincing, mainly because the story is pretty fractured! It seems like the order of the songs that would make the concept of 'Contagion' more straightforward and perceivable is shuffled. Not only this, but as most progressive rock fans know, this album is actually lacking seven tracks that supposedly animate the story (Fortunately, the full version exists as 'Contagion Max' and unfortunately, a select few have heard it). However, the real protagonist of the whole frenzy is the 'blue flame' that is mentioned on several occasions throughout the album, hypothetically the true sources of the contagion around which the concept revolves.

But what makes this record so compelling? It could hardly be the confusing conceptual side, too blurry and mysterious to be grasped? well, it is the brilliant and shockingly good music! The 'core' of Arena (Clive Nolan, Mick Pointer, John Mitchell) is untouchable on this release, delivering some of their finest moments. Vocalist Rob Snowden's performance is also stellar, so is the one of bass player Ian Salmon.

The successful amalgamation of different moods, tones, and tempos make this album a unique and blissful listening experience, that has pretty much everything one would want from a top-tier progressive rock album. Nonetheless, there is not a single weak track on here, vocal or instrumental. However, I would say that the songs should really be heard in the context of the album, not as sixteen separate entities, since many of them flow into one another, forming a complete listening experience.

Some very good tracks on 'Contagion' include the metallic opener 'Witch Hunt', a song that sounds like it could perfectly fit 'Immortal?' as well; it isthe perfect way to open the album on a high note. 'An Angel Falls' is a small prelude to the beautiful 'Never Ending Night'. 'Painted Man' and 'Specter at the Feast' are also very strong; 'Skin Game', 'Salamander' and 'On the Box' might be my top three tracks off 'Contagion', definitely some of the best Arena material is on so far. The following three/four tracks also form some sort of a mini-epic. It has to be noted down that all the instrumentals are severely impressive, very elegantly played and always in-place, no mindless noodling on this LP, not even for a second. Finally, there are 'Cutting the Cards' and 'Ascension'; two very emotive and powerful songs to finish off a one-of-a-kind album.

All I can say as a conclusion is that the neo-progressive label that goes along with Arena's output would be a pretty imprecise and misleading categorization for this album. 'Contagion' is special for its very strong songs and for its palette of sounds and moods, topped by the flawless performance by the five men making up this band. A 21st century British prog classic! /And an album deserving much more attention/

Interesting album, I have so many things to say!

"Which Hunt" is strangely lovely. The album starts with an unstoppable force! Right from the start you can tell how influenced the singer is by Mick Jagger. More like heavy metal than neo-prog. A powerful guitar riff and neat drums and bass.

"An Angel Falls" has a great poetry that is a bit wasted due to the length of the song, but it doesn't matter much because this is a concept album.

In "Painted Man", the power style of the beginning of the song reminds me of progressive rock or 80s hard rock bands like Asia. Although everything is more or less the same, the melody here is already a bit more catchy. At the beginning of the second minute there is an impressive solo! The guitar seems to go everywhere. Then there is an interlude by keyboardist Clive Nolan for a few seconds to decorate it and make it better, but half of the song belongs to the guitar, and it does it great. In the first 3 songs it is already more than clear that the philosophy of this album is not at all positive or optimistic.

This Way Madness Lies is the first instrumental song of the album. The idea remains the same: long stretches and riffs that are exploited to the maximum by means of solos, cadences, extended plucking and repeated verses. There is plenty of virtuosity here, but perhaps at times it can become a little tedious. The sound is excellently achieved and it is clear that they sound the way they want to sound. This is the end of the first conceptual part of the album.

"Spectre At The Feast" I think is strongly influenced by Peter Gabriel's "San Jacinto". I must highlight Arena's ability to keep the same energy throughout the songs pace. Definitely what appeals to me most about the album are the lyrics. Here the instrumentation is heavy and very electric (more of the same).

In "Never Ending Night" everything gets more interesting. The album really takes on a supreme power as soon as the song starts, through the instant introduction of existential lyrics and another remarkable guitar solo. This has a lot of Gilmour in it! I'd say it could be a song belonging to The Division Bell, which is why I don't score it above 4 points. Arena fans will hate to read this for sure, but I feel that this band is lacking in detachment from influences. Almost everything sounds very similar to other bands or other artists. The sound is not very progressive: as I said before, this could be a mix of heavy metal and alternative rock.

"Skin Game" is amazing! An epic song. Surprisingly everything improves enormously here. And when I say everything, I mean everything! The instrumentation, the harmony, the vocal part, the structure of the song.... Everything is more striking and interesting and generates a euphoria that throws your fear into the void. So far it is by far the highlight of the album. Not only is it a concept album, but it's also very balanced, i.e. there are almost no high and low points. It all seems to be part of the same emotional planet.

"Salamander" has a circus style and a very characteristic strength of the 80s sound. The keyboards are spectacular here and are largely responsible for the atmosphere created.

"On The Box" is part of this section of the album where the songs decline a little. A constant and tense guitar that doesn't let the listener breathe with a dramatic riff, another guitar that plucks as it is used to, more phenomenal keyboard arrangements and a percussion the same as the whole album.

The curve still hasn't found its way up. "Tsunami" is boring. I like a bit the bass and keyboard combinations here. Not much to say... It's a continuation of the previous song but with lyrics.

"Bitter Harvest" the same. It's not easy to pick up, but there's a lot of Supper's Ready here. At the beginning it starts with an effectless keyboard with nothing to stand out. I only like a few lines like "You can take away my crown but you'll never bring my spirit down".

"The City Of Lanterns" arouses interest and warns of interesting things to come. 82 seconds very well used. This is one of the most beautiful interludes I've ever heard.

"Riding the Tide" confirms. The previous song revived the album, paving the way for this one, which doesn't disappoint at all. The keyboards have never sounded so spectacular and memorable! The hammond is very well selected. The best instrumental section of this hour.

In "Mea Culpa", everything calms down for the better. After so many heavy delusions and spiritual discharges, the protagonist painfully accepts reality with a beautiful keyboard accompanying him to lament. I must say that the end of the song puzzled me. It could have closed much better.

"Cutting the Cards" has an electro-acoustic guitar that never seems to appear shows up in the mess! The album has definitely been worth listening to thanks to the last few final tracks. It's just that everything just progresses. The electric guitar arrangements and plucking have much more personality and the singing is more symphonic than electronic (as it was throughout the whole album).

We reached the end. If it weren't for this comeback, I think it would be a totally forgettable album. In the final track "Ascension", as the name suggests, the album scales to a level not yet known (this does not mean it is the best of the album). It could easily be a hit from some 80s supergroup. The percussion plays its best here, bringing more versatility to the beat and rhythm. The bass has some very interesting lines, rising and falling in a land of suspense and finality. A good ending to a super steady and balanced album.

It's not at all an album I would buy, but it could easily be an album that can be used as a reference to certain sounds... but not neo-prog! It's far from it. I would call it alternative rock. I'm a bit surprised to see the level of rating it gets and how many people love this piece, but if there's one thing that's true is that there's no accounting for taste!