THE THEORY OF MOLECULAR INHERITANCE

A gorgeous excursion into the creative realm of Arena, the band's tenth studio album and first one with vocalist Damian Wilson is a fantastic achievement for the neo-prog veterans. It seems as though the lineup change has only brought out the best of the band, as 'The Theory of Molecular Inheritance' is a flamboyant, intense, and virtuosic presentation of all of the band's strengths, which in many cases lie in the crafting of powerful songs that are equally memorable and technically impressive. As the band has always had a taste for heavier sounds, their blend of neo-prog aesthetics with heavy metal and hard rock instrumentation quite often results in an explosive flow of "orchestrated power," so to say.

Opening up the album with the dense and somewhat anthemic 'Time Capsule,' a solemn tone is set for the record that would be pretty much maintained throughout its entirety. The next couple of songs are mostly based on the masterful interplay between John Mitchell and Clive Nolan, or the guitar and keys respectively. In any case the band's sense of the gradual dramatic build-up is on display here, while the album also bolsters several mellow pieces, much in the tradition of their classic releases from the late 90s/early 2000s. The more peculiar moments, the unusual shifts in the songs' tone are present on numbers like 'The Heiligenstadt Legacy', 'Field of Sinners' and 'Part of You' - all incredibly strong compositions in which the technical prowess of the band members is effortlessly integrated with their songwriting capabilities, topped by the fantastic vocals of Wilson. There is a particularly mesmerizing quality of each album having Damian Wilson as lead vocalist, and this one is no exception - his fit into the universe of Arena is a tremendous success and the combination has resulted in one of the most consistent, well-written and technically excellent albums of 2022. A great return to form for one of modern prog rock's most compelling acts, after a series of less enthralling releases over the last decade.