ARK

In terms that have to be decent and not too impressive, this album could easily be called as HYSTORICAL!Why this pretentious appreciation?Simply,because it bringed something new and fresh in music in 1999!At his time this album had the effect of a bomb!It was so unexpected to errupt such an album,in the middle of nothing special in music,where brilliant ideas were less and less present!An offensive of black metal,or power metal with the same clichees,even in the prog metal world nothig special was present to the most of the bands! Ordinary albums and nothing memorable!And...this ARK album came to prove that it is possibly to have an eternal new musical beginning!TORE OSTBY was a very spectacular guitar player with a good pedigree in the band CONCEPTION and the vocalist JORN LANDE was more known as a DAVID COVERDALE clone in diverse projects ,but with a more rough edge of the voice and JOHN MACALUSO made several albums with TNT,ALEX MASI and YNGWIE MALMETEEN, proving scarry technical skills ,definitelly a very impressive drummer! So,this was the core of a great band that came at the time in 1999 with a stunning album that took the prog metal community by storm!Unbelieveble complex and varied guitar parts,nervous drum tempos and a total unconventional manner to sing prog songs with latino influences sometimes,twisted measures and complicated songs and totally unusual and above all- 100% uncommercial attitude!The timing of the songs varies from a little more than 5 minutes to almost 10,and plenty of space to prove the fantastic technical disponibilities of some heavenly gifted musicians!What is the more difficult is to include in a category,a stylistical category this album or to say...well it could be compared to...?!??!Because ,undoubtedly ARK music cannot be compared to anything!The componistic influences for the guys in ARK came froim their experiences and a permanent wish and desire to make experiments,without any boundaries!!!Something unbelieveble fresh and original under all aspects! A second opus BURN THE SUN pushed even further the technical and compositional capacities of the ARG guys,but after that munfortunatelly the band split and let the dream to flow that one day they will come back!!!Even now,after 10 years-in 2009,we realise thet this kind of album was something of exceptional at it's time...and it's still today! 2010 will bring the 3-rd ARK album,officially the band was reunited by MACALUSO in 2009 August and this year a new album will be released!I have already te feeling that the prog world will suffer another shock!