THE VISITOR

What a terrific album. Although made up of 14 tracks, these are really just sections making up the whole.

"A crack in the ice" kicks of the album with a killer intro, John Mitchell's guitar soaring above the driving synthesised backbeat. Paul Wrightson's crying vocals appear for the first time as he beseeches "I defy you to stand on the crack in the ice".

There are many highlights throughout the album,. "The Hanging tree" is particularly impressive being a slower, almost folk based song which gradually builds to a soaring conclusion.

Various themes intertwine throughout the album, cumulating in "Running from Damascus" which gathers everything together, leaping frantically from theme to theme, before reaching its dramatic climax. After a momentary pause for breath, the title track stands alone as an ethereal encore.

Just when you think the album has finished with a soft refrain of the final chorus, the drums introduce one of the most stunning guitar solos I have ever heard. Mitchell reprises the "Hanging tree" theme one last time during the solo, before the electronic intro to "A Crack in the ice" takes over to bring the album full cycle.

Quite simply, every home should have one.

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