THE VISITOR

Now I'll be the first person to admit that neo progressive is hardly my favourite genre but in ARENA's The Visitor we have a very well written and polished progressive album that demands respect and praise. The guitar is one of the things that really sealed the deal for me very melodic and triumphant although the cliche popular metal thug tone on the rhythm can be quite off-putting at times.

There are a lot of great songs here starting off with the ominous 'Crack in the Ice'. The guitar really comes to the fore in 'Double Vision' and pretty much makes the song as it does in a lot of others. 'The hanging tree' introduces us to what will become a recurring motif in the album, it's a good song but it goes on a bit long. Things end very strongly with the frenetic 'Running from Damascus' with some furious guitar and synth soloing and with the closing triumphant title track with a gut wrenching solo lasting 3 minutes to round out the album.

A great prog album and this is coming from someone who generally dislikes the genre and modern prog metal bands, this is an absolute must for any neo-prog fan although it might not quite be to the tastes of people who are wary of cheesier, simpler prog.

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