CONTAGION

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/

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