CONTAGION

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.