HOUR OF RESTORATION

Magellan's debut stands as one of my personal favorites from the early 90's prog-metal scene. This band, leaded by Keyboardist/Vocalist Trent Gardner, mixes classic prog-rock elements àla Yes and Kansas together with metal in an unique and interesting way, especially the lyrics too are very interesting. In 43-minutes, Magellan takes you through eight songs about the history of England, like the signing of the magna carta and the union war. Musically, It's very adventurous, bombastic and epic, without going way overboard though it's a notably complex album, often dominated by keyboards, but also backed up with an effective use of guitar too. No real drums here, only a drum machine, but it isn't really a problem since it's used in an incredibly effective way that it doesn't really sound tiresome at all. The song arrangements are very complex at times, but they still carries an acessible style to them. I have to admit that the wonderful cover art by Shawn Lux was the main reason I wanted to check this one out, but by this point, I can definitely say it was worth it.

The highlight here have to be the fantastic opener "Magna Carta"; a very progressive and dynamic track which stands out as Magellan's best track, In my opinion. As Mr. Connolly said, "The Winner" and "Friends of America" would have been fine single releases, actually, considering their accessibility and shorth lenght. Both tracks are fine too. The rest of the album is very good as well; these tracks all shows a clear similarity to "Magna Carta" although in a bit stepped down way. Still, all of them are highly enjoyable with the glorious "Union Jack" being a standout of those.

In overall, a highly enjoyable album, too bad it's so overlooked and rather forgotten, cause this is an excellent release. Fans of Dream Theater and Shadow Gallery should especially like this. It's hard to find, but if you are interested, give this one a spin (if you can find it, of course!) This one's available at the Magna Carta online store or perhaps on eBay. This is also a good starting point with this band. Highly recommended! 4/5

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