NOT OF THIS WORLD

I would probably give this two-and-a-half stars, but we can't do that here. There are some good ideas here, some of which are executed well. However, the album suffers from two fatal flaws. First, as with so many European prog bands I'm listening to now (and reviewing), Pendragon lacks a good vocalist. (That said, none of their lyrics are particularly creative, so it might not matter.) Second, as another reviewer notes, much of the album sounds the same; there is too little "difference" between songs. True, there are two "themes" (lyrical and musical) that "show up" at various times. But this is not what I'm referring to. Rather, when you get to the end of the album, you truly cannot remember which song was which. Still, as noted, there are enough good ideas here - and enough good musicianship - to warrant a listen. Whether you add it to your permanent collection will depend upon how much you enjoy this type of thing. / As an side, the band description notes influences as Pink Floyd, Camel, IQ, Arena. Yes, there's a bit of Floyd, especially in the guitar work. However, I've got two comments here. First, on this album, the band "refers" to the main theme of "Heart of Lothian" (from Marillion's "Misplaced Childhood") - almost note for note - not just once, but twice. Second, I hear more Genesis influence here than anything else. In fact, just for fun, listen to this album and try to count the number of times that it "refers" (musically) to Wind & Wuthering and, even moreso, And Then There Were Three. A point for each one you catch. 10 points wins a trip to Willow Farm.

Not counting a numerous of live albums, compilations and best of albums, this is the first sign of life from PENDRAGON in five years. The last time was 1996 and "The Masquerade Overture" (April 1996) and "As Good As Gold" (mini album CD, October 1996). It has definitely been worth the wait. PENDRAGON is better than ever musically, especially the keyboard wizard Clive Nolan. He has a very tasteful approach: He can be both bombastic in his playing, but also quiet and mellow when it is required. They still have their unmistakable warm melodic neo-progressive sound and Nick Barrett's compositions and lyrics are as good as always. Nick's lyrics often seem to be very emotional and personal, especially on this new album. It nice to see that the album contains only five, very long tracks. I have always loved long songs as long as it doesn't affect the overall quality of the composition. If I should raise any complaints it would be that PENDRAGON seldom surprise their audience. But on the other hand this is also their strength. Their fans always know what they'll get, and this album fulfils every fans wish, although it doesn't match "The Masquerade Overture", their finest release to date. The highlights on this album are "Not Of This World" and "A Man Of Nomadic Traits". Two songs that have everything you could with for. As bonus tracks there are two acoustic versions of "The King Of The Castle" and "Paintbox". Both of them can also be found on the Polish compilation "The History: 1984-2000" released on Metal Mind Records last year. The inclusion here makes it less necessary to buy that compilation if you already have all the other albums. Simon Williams's cover artwork is magnificent with lots of details and the 16-page CD-booklet contains all the lyrics, paintings and photos. I should also mention the amazing production and mixing by Karl Groom (with assistant from PENDRAGON). PENDRAGON is one of the better neo-progressive bands today and this album will probably be in the top rankings when it's time to vote for this years best releases.

Sorry for the low rate, but I'm obliged to point out the lack of originality regarding this strange band, which started his career in a remarkable way and then. They began also to "duplicate" their derivative style according to an infinite loop. At the time of the issue of "The Masquerade Overture" such derivative style was well hidden and filtered through their important experience all over the world (in the last twenty years at least). Thanks to their maturity... but nowadays this repetitive formula has become tired!!

Make your own choice!!

Pendragon, along with IQ and Marillion, are yet another English neo-progressive act that owe a large debt of inspiration to Genesis (and, to a lesser degree, Pink Floyd). Unlike the very good discs which I have reviewed by those bands, however, Pendragon's NOT OF THIS WORLD doesn't consistently captivate me to any prolonged extent. In struggling to assign a numerical rating to this album, I have vacillated from a low of two stars, to a high of four, and thus "strike a balance" with a mark of three stars.

As the rating implies, this is a "good" CD. It is neither bad, nor great, but nonetheless warrants repeated listening. I find much of merit here: unlike some earlier reviewers, I have no problem with singer/guitarist Nick Barrett's vocals, and I think that he is a fine guitarist whose playing often favourably evokes that of Steve Hackett. Clive Nolan does an accomplished job on the keyboards, and the remainder of the group nicely fill out the overall "neo-prog" sound.

While the musicianship may be of a reliably high quality, the songwriting is rather uneven in comparison. NOT OF THIS WORLD is a concept piece, with each track flowing into the one that follows. The lyrical subject of the album is a lofty one: that of the nature of mortality, the quest for worldly enlightenment, and the hope for a higher order of existence after death. In general, the thoughtful lyrics do justice to the ambitious theme, and are delivered with passion and sensitivity, but the music is at times less than gripping, overtly bombastic, and upon occasion seems to ramble and re-hash itself. The album proper (not counting the two "bonus" songs, which are pleasant, acoustic re-workings of previous releases), at over seventy-seven minutes, would have carried more impact and immediacy if it had been condensed from its near double-album status to a shorter, more direct and focused version. Tracks such as the overblown "The Lost Children" and "And Finally" seem to be overlong merely in an attempt to be "progressive" -- almost as if the band had reasoned: "Hey, we're a serious progressive band, and serious progressive bands write long songs." Trim off the "fat" next time, Pendragon, and just give us the meat!

The "meat" here, is represented by strong efforts such as the impassioned "If I Were the Wind," the catchy "All Over Now," the title track (with a soaring instrumental opening section that is quite reminiscent of classic Genesis) and -- my favourite -- "A Man of Nomadic Traits," which is a very worthy piece of multi-textured progressive rock.

In conclusion, NOT OF THIS WORLD is a good, but somewhat overlong and uneven album -- a fine choice to practice your "track programming" skills on. It should not disappoint the band's long-term followers, and offers many passages and "vistas" of power, intelligence and beauty to those who are patient enough to accompany the band on their roundabout musical journey.

I said, in my review for The Masquerade Overture, it would be hard to better that one. Well, in my opinion, they just about have! Some reviewers have knocked this, saying it is directionless and a re-hash of old things. Well, I beg to disagree! It is very clever, the way it is done. Yes, it is a concept album, and that is why the songs sound 'the same' in certain areas. They are supposed to! It is a very long album, but I enjoyed every minute of it! The opener, 'If I Were The Wind' is excellent, with an absolutely brilliant guitar intro, followed by the majestic entry of a Genesis-like rhythm section. The keyboards are likewise superb here. This song is only in one part, but it does appear to split into two, the second half much quieter and keyboard dominated. Then comes 'The Dance Of The Seven Veils' which is in two parts, 'Faithless', and 'All Over Now'. Both parts are excellent and balance each other nicely. More Floydian influences here, with the girly backing vocals carrying on where they left off on 'Masquerade'. Then comes maybe the best piece, the three part 'Not Of This World' The first part opens with tremendous soaring guitar work, reminiscent of Genesis, only more powerful. Excellent driving bass and drums on this. The second part, 'Give It To Me', is short and amusing, before the third part dreamily appears, 'Green Eyed Angel' with its infectious, melodic chorus. This track takes your breath away. Then follows 'Man Of Nomadic Traits', which is officially in one part, yet seems again to split into two - a catchy verse and chorus, which is followed by a blistering guitar solo, which seems to conjure rides on magic carpets for me! Then comes the chorus again, slowing down before leading into the final track, 'World's End.' This is in two parts. The first, 'The Lost Children', starts off with a reprise of the opening track's guitar intro - excellent! Quiet and melodic, it is thoughtful and ethereal, before it picks up near the end and becomes a little raunchier. The second part, 'And Finally...', brings the other parts together, and adds some nice guitar work, before fading out. The whole album, for me, brings to mind a desert landscape, as it is intended to. This is a must, one of the best prog albums of all time. The two bonus tracks, Acoustic versions of 'Paintbox' and 'King Of The Castle' are very lovely and end the album nicely. Incidentally, I didn't comment on the bonus disc with 'Masquerade'. This has edits of 'As Good As Gold', and 'Masters Of Illusion'. Both similar, but shorter to the album versions. The 3rd track, 'Schizo', is a classic Pink Floyd track! Well, I can imagine them playing it anyway! Very nice too. The last track, 'The King Of The Castle' (The Shadow part 2), is haunting, and brings to mind immediately 'Entangled' from 'A Trick Of The Tail' by Genesis. This is the track that has its acoustic version on 'Not Of This World'. Wonderful stuff!

If you've read some of my reviews, you've probably guessed by now that I'm sold to this band. PENDRAGON's music sways me like few others, thanks to Clive Nolan's unmistakable personal touch. And if "Not of This World" had been the band's first (or even second) effort I 'd cry out 'Genius!' at the top of my lungs. However, I'm forced to agree with some reviewers on this one: it smells a little too much of 'déjà vu'. To be fair, it does have its strong moments. For one, the intro to the first track features one of the most mind-blowing guitar intros I've ever heard. In short, it promises the world (no pun intended). As the album unfolds, however, many songs seem to drag on unnecessarily.

As much as I hate to admit it, every time I hit the last part of "Dance of the Seven Veils Part 2", I invariably want to skip it and get on with the next track (this, unfortunately, also happens with a couple of others - something I never thought any PENDRAGON album would prompt me to do). Fellow reviewer Peter Rideout hit the booboo right on the nail when he said the album would have carried more impact had the band trimmed off the 'fat'. As it stands, it's still a fine CD where the musical romanticism we've come to love from PEBNDRAGON still shines through out: a 76-minute epic where all songs progress nicely and melodically, with plenty of catchy hooks and spine-tingling chords. But too many of them drag on and (sadly) are often predictable.

Todate, every new PENDRAGON release showed some upward progression, quality-wise. With "Not of This World", the band has taken a small step backwards. If you're an undaunted fan, I still think you should get this CD, if only for such fine pieces as the opener "If I Were the Wind", the 3-track suite "Not of This World" and the epic "Man of Nomadic Traits".

PINK FLOYD had a way of combining moody, anglo-tinted, alienated rock with gospel- style vocals and lush or ambient spacey embellishments; after "Dark Side", they revisited this melding from time to time, right up to "The Final Cut" and the non-Waters era. It was such a successful combination of textures that bands still do it to this day, some with questionable results (ARCHIVE), some with more class...like Hogarth era MARILLION, and PENDRAGON. "If I Were the Wind" demonstrates that a stylistic influence doesn't always equal a rip-off, as I daresay they do it better than FLOYD did on many of their later releases.

Barrett's unique tone and undisguised british phrasing take a bit of getting used to, but he generally sounds both heartfelt and dramatic in moderation, and this saves "The Dance of the Seven Veils" from pleasant mediocrity. The first movement, "Faithless" is much more pop-rock influenced; its companion piece "All Over Now" has a "Dogs"-like rhythmic guitar riff but a more contemporary 90s sound and a good sense of progression throughout.

The "Not of this World" suite has a much more modern (neo-prog, prog metal) feel, soaring nicely with blazing guitar work and warm washes of synth. The excellent drumming seems a little drowned out in the mix at times, but it is a very big sound. "Give it to Me" is a slightly poppier take on the "Money" theme, and "Green-Eyed Angel" is a more reflective, moody love song (that could have used a bit of a goose on the bum to get it moving).

"A Man of Nomadic Traits" has some uninspired lyrics, but the driving, moody pulse of the music makes for good listening. Again, it could have been trimmed a bit, and the tinkling guitar arpeggios and propulsive drums deserve to be heard better. The sweet guitar harmonies and synth washes make this a respectable neo- prog epic with more GENESIS than FLOYD influence this time.

The "World's End" dyad returns to the moody FLOYDian trappings (the first few minutes are even closer to "Hey You" than "Faithless" was) but includes also some GENESIS- inspried synth arpeggios in the more upbeat sections. "The Lost Children" makes a nice transition from a lament to a protest to an anthem, whereas "And Finally" is definitely updated FLOYD style; an interstellar crooner- smooth, sweet and warm like honey heated on a bunsen burner in a laboratory. "Momentary Lapse of Reason" should have had more moments like this.

There's also some bonus acoustic tracks; not being very familiar with the band, I can only comment on these versions. "Paintbox" has a nice nostalgic, melancholy feel- too bad those kind of pickups make acoustics sound so artificial, but strangely enough, this ends up working well with the antique harpsichord texture and solo voice of "King of the Castle". Neither song is amazing, but "King" is a nice pastoral piece.

PENDRAGON are not pioneers, but they make the most of the classic influences while incorporating choice neo-prog and metal elements. Sometimes you may want to light a fire under them, as the songs can drag or repeat a bit, but the sounds are comfortable and warm yet crystal clear. They keep the prog fire burning without simply rehashing the past, and so I give the album a lukewarm but generally positive three stars.

Well padded

A very complete album from Pendragon, which flows seamlessly from beginning to end. The tracks are generally pretty similar, being lengthy pieces of symphonic prog. The one irritation I had with the album was I kept hearing sections which sounded very like other people's work. There are extracts which sound like Steve Howe, Enigma, etc., and one which is almost identical to a section of Barclay James Harvest's "May day" from "Octoberon". I'm not suggesting there's any sort of plagiarism going on, but I found the presence of so many similarities distracting.

None of the tracks are Pendragon classics as such, there's no "Good as gold" or "The shadow", but they are all of a high standard, and very melodic. The pace is raised slightly on "All over now", and "Give it to me", but "If I were the wind" and "A man of nomadic traits" are more indicative of the overall feel of the album. Throughout there is a symphonic sound, Clive Nolan layering keyboard after keyboard as the foundations.

While some of the tracks are nominally broken into sections, the shortest track is over 9 minutes, giving some idea of the space available to develop the themes. That space is not always exploited to the full, and the album would perhaps have been better if they had introduced more variety within each piece. The notion that they may have been thin on ideas is supported by the inclusion of two "Bonus tracks". These originally appeared on the extra disc which accompanied some copies of "The Masquerade Overture". Both are acoustic versions of tracks from that album, "King of the castle" being extracted from "The shadow".

The albums is probably best heard as a complete piece, despite the fact that the tracks do stand up OK on their own. While it is a quality offering, it would have been better if the tracks had been developed more, instead of simply being made longer.

Let me point out that this album is the only studio work I own by Pendragon, (other then a live one I found in the used bin) so for all you fans my comments are not prejudiced by their earlier works. What stands out immediately is Barret's voice and guitar work. His voice took many many plays for me to get used to. It's emotional yes, but he just can't hit or sustain high notes, but boy oh boy he does give it a try. His guitar sounds alot like David Gilmour's, almost too much! With those two negatives out of the way, I will say that the music is bombastic, IQ bombastic at times (which is a good thing, given I like IQ very much) and that falls on Nolan's keyboards which are fantastic. "Not Of This World" and "A Man Of Nomadic Traits" are the best songs on the album for the simple fact that they compare to IQ in structure, quick paced. The rest of the songs just plods along, with a Marrillon burst here and there, (the beginning of the track "Not Of This World). Two notes, the two bonus acoustic songs that close the album are sung better then any other song on the album. (hint, hint....) and are the female harmonizing singers the same women who back-up Pink Floyd?? It's uncanny! So, to summarize--If you are into Neo-prog, and enjoy Pink Floyd guitar work with IQ keyboard flourishes, then this will be your cup of tea. "For complex this is not!", replied Master Yoda.

I'm fairly new to Pendragon's music, but have been buying up a lot of their material from the 90's material to the present day--including last year's Believe.

Not Of This World is a worthwile disc, displaying impeccable musicianship. Barrett's vocals can be a bit grating and over indulgent at times, but the music is so good that it's thrust to the forefront. If anything, the instrumentation grabs me more than the vocals or the lyrics. Especially on the "Not Of This World" section where Clive Nolan really shines, and Barrett showcases that he's a more than capable guitarist. The musicians in Pendragon strike me as being amongst the most talented in the neo progressive genre. Peter Gee's bass seems to be muffled a lot in the mix, however.

The trait I've noticed in Pendragon's music is the music reaches upward and really whirls around. That tradition is carried on with Not Of This World (although a bit downplayed on Believe). It's very well produced and might not be as consistent as Masquerade Overture, but the musicianship is top notch.

One of Pendragon's best! Ok, maybe a notch or two below The Masquerade Overture, but that's a little unfair, since you can't really compare the two. They are different and masterpieces on their own. Actually I was quite aware if Pendragon would ever release something the same level as Masquerade by the time it was released. It seemed like the band got better with each release since The World. And every album surpassed the one that came before. And Not Of This World in some aspects do that. It's highly emotional, the musicianship is even more bombastic and elaborate than Masquerade, which does not mean it was overblown. In fact this album takes a little more getting used to than those previous ones. But once you really get into it, you're hooked. It's different, and yet it's the perfect follow up to one disc that did not seem to have a match. I can't tell which song is better than the other, since they all seem to flow in the whole concept without a fault. Actually everything here sounds like one fantastic song with many many variations, colors and emotions. Superb! I can't really stop hearing it once I put it on the CD player. I have to hear it all. I wish their more recent CD Believe would surprised me as such. But I think it would be asking too much. After more than a decade of delivering masterpieces, they'd have to go down one day. I Hope Pendragon will produce something as good as Not Of This World next time. Highly recommended!

Finally a new studio album from Pendragon. Their fans had to wait for five years to get a follow-up to their best album so far (IMO) : "The Masquerade Overture".

There won't be a revolution in style on this album of course; as you can expect. Since "The World", Pendragon produces the same type of music which involves brilliant guitar breaks, beautiful melodies and catchy songs. You'll get all these ingredients on this album.

Three very long songs build on the "suite" style will almost cover this (very) long album. But Pendragon is used to this already. So, again no surprise. It is true that this album is probably the most Genesis oriented (while they were four "Wind & Wuthering" and three "And There Were Three"). But not to such extent to call it plagiatory work.

One of my favourite song is "A Man of Nomadic Traits" as well as the suite "World's End". It holds all the Pendragon aspects that Pendragon fans love so much (and that his detactors hate so much...). A marvelously emotional Barrett on the vocals as well as on the guitar of course, not to forget the great job of Clive (but it is so obvious that it almost doesn't need to be mentioned).

Song structure is typical like of lots of Pendragon songs : easy listening, straight- forward, yet beautiful. Again, if you are looking to complex music with intricated lyrics, this album is not for you. But Pendragon will never produce such things.

There are two acoustic bonus tracks on this release (probably to annouce "Acoustically Challenged"). Although this excercise is not my favourite, I must say that Pendargon music is probably more favourable to such treatment as Arena's one for example (but they were already available on one compilation).

During the difficult nineties period, Pendragon stuck to their their melodic progressive music while most bands were heading other directions. This is to be mentioned before being criticized.

Of course, this album is not a masterpiece. Pendragon seemed to be a bit out of inspiration but it is as pleasant as 'The World" and "The Window Of Life". None of the tracks featured here is average, don't worry : this is really Pendragon as we like (or do not like). Therefore, I will aplly the same rating : four stars.

An often heard complaint about Pendragon (especially Pendragon of the nineties) is that all the successors of The World were more or less the same as The World. First I want to say I always thought that was nonsense because every album was different enough for my liking and second: even if that is the case, why bother ? I think the road Barrett and his men took in early nineties was the right one. I think what he did in the eighties was sometimes nice, but a lot of the songs sounded almost like plain pop music and I didn't like that stile.

I even want to go that far that I think Pendragon improved with each album after The World and to me that culminated in the ultimate highlight in their carreer: Not of this World. This is an absolutely outstanding album. Besides the great compositions, it also sounds really great, so that means superb production as well. I think in this album besides (as ever) Nick Barrett now also Clive Nolan reaches his absolute apogee in his performances with Pendragon. It mainly is evident in " A Man of nomadic traits" to me the very highlight of this album and probably the best Pendragon song ever and that's particularly because of the instrumental passage in the middle of the song where both Barrett and Nolan do an unbelievable job. Really magnificent !! Almost all the other songs are far more than average too, great title track and also the catchy Dance of the seven veils (very nice in live gigs) are good examples.

So hats off for this terrific effort by Pendragon. This album is in my heart and soul. I think my avatar says it all. I can only give this 5 stars.

Crushed between the two greatest band's studio releases, "The Masquerade Overture" and "Believe", this album looks like a kind of PENDRAGON's sabbatical. No, it's not a bad work; in fact, it's fairly audible and amusing even catchy but I'm quite sure to have expected a bit more from this fine band or maybe I should have listened to "Not Of This World" in the correct sequence which didn't happen and so not to sound biased I'll place myself within the correct space and time to review this album in a fair manner.

Maybe I didn't get totally the amount of cheesy songs and the fact that Barrett's voice, sharp and dauntless, fits better for rock-folk- prog acts but runs senseless when venturing through romantic-balladesque sceneries. Also, PENDRAGON looks like giving one or two steps backwards while playing dated neo-prog tunes much more suitable for the mid-80s than the turn of the century. Instrumentation, even righteous, seems a bit over creating at times a choking and artificial atmosphere.

Good parts are mainly inside the songs, especially 'A man of nomadic traits', the best and proggiest song here and the dual parts of 'Dance of seven veils', being the second superior than the first. Here and there we may pick interesting segments inside other tracks, more specifically in either parts of 'World's end'. Bonus tracks, which are acoustic versions of two songs from "The Masquerade Overture", add a different perfume to the album even being a little misplaced.

In the end, a fifty-fifty work but worth to receive a upgraded rating thanks to PENDRAGON's history and so "Not Of This World" is honestly a non-essential good album.

Somewhere in between the bombastic but engaging openers and the lovely olde Englishe sounding acoustic bonus material this album lapses into.....repetitive bombastic and less engaging material. The almost non stop accompanying wall of lead guitar and airy keyboards probably has something to do with it. The self absorbed solipsistic lyrics doubtless play a role. The incessant vocal and compositional references to 1970s Genesis don't help. So after the second "Dance of the Seven veils", pretty much everything is a repetition of what came before, either on the album or in prog history. If Pendragon has a leg up on some of their British neo compatriots, it is that they rarely try to infuse anything metallic into their mix, but some of the above shortcomings, and the fact that succinctness is largely left out of their playbook, largely negate this advantage.

As mentioned, out of the gate are several beautiful songs and suites that truly vary the tempo and rise above the fray, and the stripped down acoustic songs at the end are such a breath of fresh aire in contrast to the overly busy bulk of the disk. But by and large this is a pretty mediocre effort that is very much "of this world" of neo prog. 2.5 stars rounded down.

The best Pendragon album I've heard...

In my opinion, "Not of this World" clearly surpases the previous "The Masquerade Overture"... Maybe not in originality and sound. But in passion, lyrics and in feeling, Nick Barrett managed to surpase the previous and a bit overrated work.

The style is similar than the previous Pendragon albums form the 90's... Maybe it's more guitar oriented, having the Clive Nolan's keyboards less protagonism than "The Masquerade Overture". The album is also mellower than the previous one, offering a lot of slow passages, where Nick Barrett draws marvellous melodies with his electric and the now very habitual acoustic guitars, always with Nolan's keys in the background.

The albums open with an slow, dramatic and emotional piece called If I were the Wind, wich is not the best of the disc, but a good opening... After that, we have the Dance of the Seven Veils, a track that clearly represents the style of this album, more dinamic and with longer progressions (although they are not always appropiate...) than the previous band's efforths. Then Not of this World comes, wich is in my opinion the best long track Pendragon has ever made, with a lot of changes and intensity... After this jewel, comes A Man With Nomadic Trates, in a style similar than Dance of the Seven Veils, but even better, because here we have the best Clive Nolan's work in the album. At the end, World's End comes, wich repeat some melodies of the title track in a decadent and sad style, very appropiate to close the disc, in a similar way of the start of it.

So the scheme of the album, if you've read the last part of my review, is circular! Songs 1 and 5 are similar: a bit sad and dramatic, appropiate to open and close the work. Songs 2 and 4 are also equivalent, with a similar duration and style. The marvellous Song 3, the central piece of the album, it stands alone, being the more complex, complete and representative of "Not of this World".

After that, I have to say than the album is not perfect... Except 2 or maybe 3 songs, the rest of them has some flaws, with a pair of dull moments. I find interesting the slower and acoustic direction this album has, but sometimes I miss a bit more energy. Nevertheless, some slow pieces like Green Eyed Angel are just pefect, and for me, Nick Barrett's voice is more appropiated to sing this kind of songs, than the rockier ones.

Best Tracks: Dance of the Seven Veils, Not of this World and A Man of Nomadic Trates.

Conclusion: having not heard the last two Pendragon albums, "Not of this World" is my favourite from them. It's more inspired than their previous efforths, it has better lyrics in my opinion, and it's structure is ingenious and very catchy. It's a pity the pair of boring moments this album has, specially at the end of the last song, although they are not any impediment to enjoy this exccellent addition to any prog music collection.

My rating: ****

From The World to Not Of This World

Ever since The World album - that was released exactly ten years before Not Of This World - Pendragon have followed the same musical formula. When comparing the four albums that the band produced over these ten years (The World, The Window Of Life, The Masquerade Overture and the present one), it strikes me is how similar these albums are both in terms of style and quality. Still, it should be argued that the three previous albums were all better than their immediate predecessor and that The Masquerade Overture thus was the peak of this period in the band's career. In that sense, I would say that Not Of This World is more similar to The World and The Window Of Life in quality than to The Masquerade Overture, but all of these albums have approximately the very same typical Pendragon sound. The basis of this sound is Nick Barrett's distinctive vocals and guitar play plus the keyboards of the great Clive Nolan.

It took the band five years to come up with this album and it is clear that they worked hard on it. The production values are extremely high and the whole album is impressively sonically perfect. The compositions all have the same sound and they are mostly quite long. The standout for me is A Man With Nomadic Traits - possibly my favourite Pendragon song after Paintbox - but it is actually not very easy to distinguish between the different songs on this album as they are all quite similar and use some common musical themes. The album is best viewed as a whole.

Not Of This World is surely a good album, but it is not the best place to start. I would recommend the two albums that surround it first; The Masquerade Overture and (my personal favourite Pendragon album) Believe.

Sometimes, you hear something and know that's it's A class, the masterpiece and you're gonna give it 5 star rating, no matter the cost. And you'll defend this decision, until someone (with really good arguments, facts and big in size, strong in stubbornness) prove something that can change my mind. And I'm afraid that even after all this martyrdom, result will be that I'll still love Not of This World.

Wonderful cover art, in fact, this was first Pendragon album I get myself to, so I can't compare. Even now, this is everything I need (for now), no need to explore more, because on this album, there are Ideas, hidden thing which will appear after numerous listening, one after another. As I know now, these covers are typical for Pend. (isn't this name something from Arthur legend ? I'm not so skilled in it - yes, it is, father of King Arthur), but this one is somewhat important for me. My dear girlfriend was kissed by muse one night and drawn me and her in style of this picture, on a meadow like scenery, sitting and looking to the sun. Funny thing is that most of music I listen regularly is connected with certain game, during which I listen this music. When listening to NoTW, I imagine myself playing San Andreas (Las Venturas, hotel with pirate ship, trying to take down as much pedestrians as possible, while shooting on helicopters with M16. There is natural cover, something like fence from brick wall, which separates sidewalk from my position. Well, bullets and Pendragon, what a combination). Weird, but true (I mean strange, but true, as is sung in lyrics)

In my 130 reviews history, I had to admit few times for certain thing. That I was listening one track over and over again, until I was satisfied by it. And that would be All Over Now part. Even I am not used to like this kind of keyboards, Arena and Pendragon are exceptions, there I like it. Probably some kind of connection here. So let's start with If I Were the Wind. Sounds is typical for neo prog, I'm not afraid to call it archetypal for this genre, with one exception, acoustic guitar here. Vocals fits here perfectly, Nick Barrett is doing a lot and is giving a lot of emotions in it. And to this fantasy story is more then good suited, I can't imagine this music without him. Similar style of singing is even in Arena music, where singers changes regularly. Oh, when talking about Arena, I have to mention Clive Nolan. He's skilled keyboardist of modern age, I suppose he has his hands (four h's in a row) in a lot of Pendragon/Arena music.

5(+) for a work of true art, which is pleasure to listen, have all ingredients which I admire in this kind of prog and, which is the biggest surprise, everything works perfectly. And oh, of course, my girl. She felt instantly in love with this one, same as myself.

First Pendragon album I can listen. No, there are no new sounds or experimental rhythms, everything is safe and comfortable as usual. But there are some great melodies, good arrangements and I can hear that they can play music!

Compositions are long and almost catchy, with symphonic arrangements, but rich in guitar sound as well. Even bands weakest point-vocal sounds acceptable there. Music is a bit bombastic, but it is more style requirement than band's originality.

Songs are long, even too long in moments (sound a bit too repetitious in moments), but not too boring. "A Man Of Nomadic Traits" (11:43) is a great composition!

Even if it is almost impossible to find original sounds or ideas there ( as with almost any neo-prog band), at least this album is listenable and pleasant in moments.

A great album from a great band. Nothing more, and nothing less.

Pendragon are one of the most important bands to emerge from the UK prog revival in the 1980's, and this album, released in 2001, marked a return after a five year hiatus following the excellent The Masquerade Overture, and it continued many of the themes explored in that album.

Nick Barrett and Clive Nolan entered the new decade with a piece of work that absolutely oozes class, and drips with symphonic layers, and also nods to their neo beginnings.

Standout track, for me, is the epic All Over Now (Dance Of The Veils Part Two), but, to be honest, this another album released by the band that really must be appreciated as a whole work, rather than exploring mere individual tracks.

Barrett commands centre stage on this, with his guitar work absolutely singing, but also with lyrics and vocals dripping with bitterness. He exudes an almost punk like attitude in both the intent and delivery of the stories he tells, and therein lies a very important aspect of this, and other, works by the band. It should appeal not just to progheads such as myself, although we are, of course, deeply satisfied with strong neo tracks such as Not Of This World (Not Of This World Part One), with its swirling keyboards and scremaing guitars very reminiscent of the 80's revival itself, but also to a brand new generation of rock fans wholly without many of the prejudices inherent in the mainstream music press.

For all of its nods to glories past, this has the feel of a modern rock album, and gives us some very strong hints as to the direction the band would continue to explore in subsequent albums.

Clive Nolan is absolutely essential on this. Although you could argue that Barrett is at the centre of proceedings, it is Nolan's keyboards which provide a hugely important and symphonic backdrop to proceedings. I don't think personally he has ever played better. Witness his quite exceptional work on Green Eyed Angel (Not Of This World Part Three).

I should also here provide special praise to the marvellous rhythm section of Smith and Gee, the latter especially shining with some pounding bass work throughout.

Neo prog can sometimes be a bit of a misnomer. For this is a symphonic work of prog from start to finish, and one that also has some extremely knowing post rock and punk sensibilities. In other words, the perfect neo prog album!

Previous reviews for this album have veered between very high and very low ratings. Comparisons have abounded between this and the two albums it sandwiches, both of which are exceptional works.

However, this album deserves to be considered in its own right. You will very rarely hear a group of musicians play as tightly and as well as this, with some massive sounds pouring out of your speakers, but also with some extremely delicate interplay and vocals. For no better a combination of all, witness the epic track A Man Of Nomadic Traits. This also features some exquisite backing vocals by Tina Riley.

Four stars for this album, but really 4.5 stars. Highly recommended for all readers who lost track of this great band in the new decade, but also those neo prog fans who, like me, really enjoy hearing the great bands who started the sub genre off in the heady early 80's progress, and move onto more ambitious and greater things.

Pendragon were riding high in 1996. As well as releasing The Masquerade Overture, another very popular album in a similar vein to The World and The Window of Life, the band also recorded their best live album to date (Live In Krakow) in honour of the successful tour to support their Overture.

Then, however, things went awfully quiet, with only compilations and archival releases trickling out of the Pendragon camp - all in all, their longest period of inactivity since they founded their own Toff Records label. What had happened to cease the steady trickle of new studio and live recordings that the band had been issuing from 1991 onwards?

Sadly, it transpired that the band's activities had been disrupted due to Nick Barrett going through an emotionally devastating divorce - a process which was sufficiently messy and financially draining as to take up all his resources for some time. Eventually, however, the band got back together to produce Not Of This World, which I consider to be the last of a quartet of studio albums beginning with The World.

Part of the reason I look at it this way comes down to its musical style, which is still very much in the school established with The World - Floyd-influenced, highly emotional melodic neo-prog is the order of the day here. On top of that, the album has a particular atmosphere of looking back at past experiences - not in a nostalgic way, more as a sort of taking stock of where you've been and what you've endured and what survived the process and what got lost along the way.

Lyrically speaking, it's clear that Nick Barrett's divorce was high in his mind at the time - really, could anyone seriously expect that he'd be thinking of anything else? - but rather than merely wallowing in self-pity Barrett takes the chance to sift through his feelings, examine them, come to terms with them and, through the songs here, depict the process of moving on. There's a hint of the sense of hurt and betrayal that comes with divorce, of course, but there's also an acceptance that things weren't to be, and that it's best for both parties if they can move on to a new phase of their lives. It's tempting, on that basis, to suggest that this is neo-prog's answer to Peter Hammill's Over.

However, whilst the theme of Nick's personal loss keeps cropping up, his subject matter is somewhat broader than that. There's a healthy dose of self-examination here and there, as well as consideration of issues of loss and failed dreams in a more general sense. On the whole, in fact, I think this is one of Barrett's best works as a lyricist, and it helps craft the album into a sort of spiritual twin of The Window of Life, which in its own way was very taken with themes of bereavement and loss and looking to the future. (Perhaps that was Pendragon's reaction to the deaths of Twelfth Night's Geoff Mann and IQ's "Ledge"? After all, IQ's own Ever came out in the same year and also was stuffed with bereavement themes for those exact reasons.)

This is ultimately the fourth album Pendragon did in essentially the same style, and despite having the novelty of having a bit more of a downer focus to the lyrics it's the fourth album doesn't make much of a musical breakthrough. Some of the refrains will likely grate and annoy over time as well.

PENDRAGON were on quite the roll from 1991 to 2001 where they released four fantastic albums. Something about their sound brings out the emotions in me and of course that atmosphere and Gilmour-like guitar is part of that. And yes I do like Nick's vocals. This was the last of the four released in 2001 before they decided to change their sound.

"If I Were The Wind (And You Were The Rain)" opens with a spacey atmosphere as the guitar comes in. A beat 1 1/2 minutes in then the guitar starts to solo. Beautiful. Vocals 3 minutes in. I'm smiling 4 minutes in with that classic PENDRAGON sound. Piano only after 6 1/2 minutes then atmosphere and reserved vocals join in to end it. "Dance Of The Seven Veils Part 1- Faithless" features atmosphere, keys, sparse guitar and bass. Reserved vocals join in. It kicks into gear at 3 1/2 minutes with guitar and more. It blends into "Dance Of The Seven Veils Part 2 - All Over Now" where it picks up fairly quickly. It settles before 1 1/2 minutes and laid back vocals join in. Guitar after 3 minutes as it picks back up before settling again late. "Not Of This World Part 1- Not Of This World" hits the ground running and the guitar starts to solo over top. Nice bass after 2 minutes. Vocals 4 minutes in as it settles some. A calm after 6 minutes. It blends into "Not Of This World Part 2- Give It To Me" picks up fairly quickly.

"Not Of This World Part 3- Green Eyed Angel" is a laid back and atmospheric tune with reserved vocals. Nice guitar solo 4 1/2 minutes in. "A Man Of Nomadic Traits" opens with acoustic guitar and atmosphere. Bass and drums join in then laid back vocals. It picks up with synths and more passionate vocals. A calm 3 minutes in with acoustic guitar then we get a powerful instrumental section until around 10 1/2 minutes. "World's End Part 1- The Lost Children" opens with atmosphere and acoustic guitar as almost spoken vocals come in. Some passion 4 minutes in. It picks up with a beat and synths after 8 minutes then the vocals return. "World's End Part 2- And Finally..." opens with piano only but this closing track does build some.

Certainly an emotional album given the subject matter and i've heard it's helped others who have gone through a divorce.

Can it really be five years since 'The Masquerade Overture'? In the intervening time, Nick has suffered personally, and some of this is really brought home by the lyrics. There are some very bitter words at times, but the strongest message is probably on "If I Were The Wind (And You Were The Rain)" where Nick sings to his son. It is straight from the heart and I not only felt extremely moved when I read them for the first time, but also that almost I was intruding on a very private matter. Nick has bared his soul on this album, so that it is extremely personal and, hopefully for him, cathartic.

But what of the music? In many ways, this is an album that will appeal to followers of Floyd, Genesis and Camel, albeit with more majesty and grace. This line-up of Pendragon has been together now for about fifteen years, and although Clive has many projects of his own he enjoys playing with Nick as he bears no responsibility for song writing, and just has to play keyboards. Add Fudge Smith (now with short hair!!) and Peter Gee to the equation and there are four guys who have total faith and trust in each other. It also means that the fans know exactly what they are going to get as well. This may not be innovative prog, but it is music that can be bought with confidence.

To complete the package Nick has again retained the services of artist Simon Williams who works very closely with Nick to provide a visual interpretation of the lyrics. My whole family spent ages studying the booklet, long before we put it on to hear what it sounded like. Listen to the first part of the title cut to hear just how powerful and dramatic prog can be. Visit the web site at www.toffrecords.com, and get a solid example of the best in UK prog.

Originally appeared in Feedback #62, May 01

Wow! This album is so epic and so grand that I can barely put words together to describe it. As the first Pendragon release I've heard, I was startled by the incredibly profound themes and lyrics. I was also impressed by the beautiful artwork.

Pendragon have a great style of neo-prog, and acoustic guitar often dominates. That's okay because I really can't think of an album that features more complex or better played acoustic guitar. The guitarist has an amazing talent.

I know that multi-part songs as often called cliche around here, but I couldn't help but love each and every track. I honestly love multi-part songs, especially ones that feature vastly different styles between tracks, but still share a great overture of some sort. This album shows this style, and they really hit it out of the park. The vocalist purrs along at a masterful rate, while the synth binds the album together. This album is a well-constructed whole.

This album is, um, elegant. Sophisticated. Lofty. Magnificent. Eminent. Oh, I can't pick a word. Take all of them at once.

In 1997 another live album by Pendragon was released, ''Live in Kraków 96'', recorded in Poland (and later issued by Metal Mind in DVD format), which became one of the favorite destionations of the band.What followed though would have a huge impact on Pendragon's next studio release.Nick Barrett had to face the procedure of a long and painful divorce, a reality that influenced him on the writings of ''Not of this world''.Propably this sad experiene was the reason Pendragon would wait for a number of years to launch the album, which was released in 2001.

While the familiar Pendragon style dominates the album, let's get one thing clear: This is definitely one of the most emotionally loaded albums of the group, Nick Barrett's divorce being the main reason, serving as a somewhat autobiographical release.The huge display of sentimental vocals, the constant use of dreamy keyboard and piano parts and the obvious tendency towards atmospheric and melodious textures are the instant reflections of the fact.As a result they sound as close as it gets to GENESIS circa 76'-77' and mid-70's PINK FLOYD, offering extended, melodic pieces with smooth guitar plays and lovely synthesizer work by Nolan.On the other hand the choice of such a switch resulted to a reduced exhibition of symphonic arrangements and more complicated parts, the second being far from the band's priorities.The sound is less epic and more into melodic Neo Prog, but with such extended running times some more grandiose parts would be unavoidable.In pleasure of the band's thousands of fans worldwide the longer pieces still contain some powerful keyboard parts, some bombastic sections and some trully efficient guitar solos with the flawless touch of Nick Barrett.It is unbelievable that at this point Pendragon still sound like an 80's group, never giving up to the light symphonic aura and pure energy of the early Neo Prog movement, the atmosphere is great throughout and the melodies are mostly of first class.

Nice little treasure with GENESIS, PINK FLOYD and even some discreet CAMEL overtones.Among the most melodic albums of the British veterans, this would be a masterpiece if some of these melodies were left behind for a more symphonic approach, but this is still a strongly recommended and solid effort by the band...3.5 stars.

I've recently been acquiring modern (neo) prog-records on vinyl in order to elaborate on my love for albums like Arena's Contagion and IQ's Subterranea. Pendragon is one of neoprog's leading groups. At the heart of this band we find the songwriting, vocals and electric guitar of Nick Barret. The symphonic layering is provided by Clive Nolan (Arena). Within the neo-prog genre Pendragon is on the song-writing side of things with a sound that reminds me most of 'Misplace Childhood' era Marillion and 'Devision Bell' era Pink Floyd. Most songs revolve around relatively simple symphonic chord progressions with expressive vocals (though he sometimes over stretches the boundaries of his limited voice) of Barret and melodic guitar leads. At its strongest Pendragon writes epic melancholy songs that really hit base and set them apart from other groups. For fans of real progressive, diverse and and technically advanced rock the band might fall short - if compared to before mentioned bands like IQ and Arena. Sometimes this album reminds me of adult oriented rock (AOR) hits of the eighties and nineties.

My first impression of the Madfish 2lp is that it is wonderfully produced! A great, wide high-fi sound. The opening track 'If I Were the Wind' hits instant symphonic bliss with great emotional song-writing and a strong vocal performance by Barret. The opening lead guitar really sticks. With the second epic 'Dance Of The Seven Veils' the band fails to keep the parts challenging. To me it seems the adult-rock feel that focuses on the oh so deep personal revelations of white middle class males really falls short - as so often is the case with the neo-prog genre. On side two the 'Not of This World' epic opens very strongly with up-tempo synth leads, some great guitar solo's and great rhythmic interplay. On side three we find what is arguably the best track of the album, 'A Man of Nomadic Traits'. Here the acoustic songwriting of Barret and the succession of it's many parts really elevate the totality of it. On side four the 'Worlds End' suite also manages to keep the passion going and ends the album in a classic symphonic rock 'Euraka!-laden' fashion. Then again, these lyrics "They're flesh and blood / they were human beings" might not be as deep as the performers suggest.

In conclusion. I quickly gained a lot of connection with this album's stronger songs; mainly the opener and everything in the second halve. Yet - I wouldn't the describe it as a mixed bag per se. The double vinyl looks and sounds amazing and as a lover of high-fi the sheer quality of the recording keeps me content throughout. I might occasionally just pull out the second disc though. Surely recommended for listeners of modern song-based progressive.

Review Nº 631

"Not Of This World" is the sixth studio album of Pendragon that was released in 2001. After five years of inactivity, in terms of studio albums, Pendragon released this studio album in the same vein of their last three studio albums. While some may say that the band, especially at the time, never really progressed and that each album was a continuation of the last, the band still puts out well produced and expertly played albums. And "Not Of This World" is no exception too.

The line up on the album is the same of their four previous studio albums "Kowtow" of 1988, "The World" of 1991, "The Window Of Life" of 1993, and "The Masquerade Overture" of 1996, their second, third, fourth and fifth studio albums, respectively. So, the line up on "Not Of This World" is Nick Barrett (vocals and guitars), Clive Nolan (keyboards), Peter Gee (bass) and Fudge Smith (drums). The album has also the participation on the backing vocals of Tina Riley.

"Not Of This World" has five tracks. All tracks were written by Nick Barrett. The first track "If I Were The Wind (And You Were The Rain)" shows an initial very Floydian instrumental part, which makes clear that Nick Barrett remains loyal to one of his main sources of musical inspiration. The song sets the tone for the album with long and great instrumental musical passages, very emotional lyrics and a fantastic symphonic musical composition. The music of this track could hardly be more majestic and warm that it is, and it has also fine backing vocals by Tina Riley. This is the song that opens the album with a spacey musical atmosphere and excellent musical performances by all band's members, turning it on a true classic Pendragon's song. The second track "Dance Of The Seven Veils" is divided into two different parts, "Faithless" and "All Over Now". It's really a gorgeous song divided into two musical parts. The gentle tinkling tones of the part one brings to my mind "Paintbox" from their previous fifth studio album "The Masquerade Overture". Indeed, this song would have fitted perfectly well on that album too. It features a spacey musical atmosphere with great keyboards, sparse guitar work and a nice bass line. The second part has a very nice and captivating choral work and a lovely acoustic middle musical part. This is, without any doubt, a great piece of music, one of my personal favourites of the album. The third track "Not Of This World" is divided into three different parts "Not Of This World", "Give It To Me" and "Green Eyed Angel". However, despite be presented as a three part song, the long instrumental introduction might be counted as a separated part itself. It kicks in with four minutes of lovely keyboard solos and fantastic guitar playing. This is a very typical neo-prog song that shows the musical transition from up tempo music to delicate and sorrowful composition, with some Spanish guitar in the latter musical segment. It flows very naturally to the second part of the song that culminates on the third part, a much slower part with a typical romantic musical atmosphere that delights me. The fourth track "A Man Of Nomadic Traits" is a song with an acoustic musical introduction with some nice vocals, build in the same vein of those typical Pendragon's choruses. It opens with an acoustic guitar musical atmosphere where bass and drums then joined to the backing vocals. This is another great song with a nice keyboard work and a passionate vocal performance. The long instrumental section, driven by acoustic and electric guitar, sounds quite good to me, especially the keyboard solo by Clive Nolan, which is very tasteful, followed by another of those excellent guitar solos, so typical of Nick Barrett. The fifth track "World's End" is divided into two different parts "The Lost Children" and "And Finally?". It's another very atmospheric and spacey lengthy song with another two part track that opens with acoustic guitar. It starts as a very sensitive track with a lovely electric guitar on top of it. After some time, the full band bursts out majestic, with keyboards taking over the guitar theme. In the second part Nick Barrett sings accompanied by piano. This provides a very emotional and intense musical moment until the grand finale that features a very long guitar solo by him. This track closes perfectly this incredible and fantastic album without any kind of musical weaknesses.

My version has two bonus tracks "Paintbox" and "King Of The Castle". Both are featured here as acoustic versions.

Conclusion: "Not Of This World" is perhaps my favourite Pendragon's studio album. It concludes brilliantly the quartet of studio albums "The World", "The Window Of Life", "The Masquerade Overture" and "Not Of This World". I know that, in general, "The Masquerade Overture" is considered their best and most fine studio work. However, I haven't the same opinion. In my opinion, "Not Of This World" is more cohesive and well balanced than "The Masquerade Overture" is. By the other hand, it hasn't any weak points, such as "The Pursuit Of Excellence" of "The Masquerade Overture". Possibly with "The Masquerade Overture" and "Not Of This World" Pendragon reached the highest point on their musical career. In reality, it will happen with all the bands sooner or later. But, not all of them will be able to produce two great masterpieces throughout their career, as Pendragon did. So, "Not Of This World" is an album not to be missed, really.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

PENDRAGON had a slow start releasing some of the worst neo-prog albums the 80s had to offer but then almost like magic was propelled into the top ranks of the subgenre with 1991's "The World" in pretty much every way. Led by the indefatigable Clive Nolan who was juggling two top tier neo-prog bands in the 90s with Arena being his other baby, PENDRAGON delivered a trilogy of amazingly exquisite albums that started with "The World" and then was followed by "The Masquerade Overture." The third installment was NOT OF THIS WORLD which features one of my all time favorite fantasy album covers of any genre and delivered all the symphonic prog bombast you could possibly hope for in a space rock influenced neo-prog style.

This would be the last album the band would release before jumping into heavy borderline metal material but at this point NOT OF THIS WORLD was all about layers of sizzling synthesizers with oscillating arpeggios, dreamy atmospheres and droning sustain keeping the band high in the clouds for the 67 minute duration that includes three parts, two of which were multi-track suites. The opening "If I Were The Wind (and Your Were The Rain) opens with an outa this world synthesizer run that makes you think you've died and gone to synthesizer paradise with wind sounds and chimes slowly ratcheting up the tension much like classic Pink Floyd along with reverberating guitar riffs that slowly drift away from the Floydian connections and take you into the world of PENDRAGON.

Beautiful guitar sweeps dance in the breezy synthesizer party and the bass slowly grooves along. The intro is just magical and then one of my favorite singers in the world of neo-prog jumps in: Nick Barrett commences to sing a song written to his son and his fatherly advice in navigating the world at hand. The instrumentation is so lush and produced to the perfection made all the better by the divine backing vocals of Tina Riley simulating the female backing sounds of Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon." True the band has no shame in wearing its influences on its sleeves and the album has rightfully been criticized for a lack of originality but NOT OF THIS WORLD delivers a magical journey into a synthesized soul soothing world of neo-prog like no other except of course the band's previous two releases that this one follows.

A fairly laid back and slower tempo album, this one is a true mellow out type of musical experience that takes you through a never-ending series of arpeggiated guitar parts, beautiful piano rolls, bass grooves and a million and one ways to create an orchestral effect out of spacey synthesizer sounds. The tracks pretty much run together seamlessly and although it takes a while for the album to really jump into any real rock aspects by the time "Dance Of The Seven Veils Part 2" kicks in, the music becomes a guitar-driven rocker with thumping bass and hefty percussive drive. Of course PENDRAGON excels in alternating heavier passages with lush acoustic guitar moments with all those atmospheric excesses but that's what makes them so unique and even more dreamy and atmospheric than bands like Arena and IQ.

Add to the dreamy musical processions that never wear me out in the over hour's experience, Nick Barrett is a gifted poet whose precise and clearly enunciated lyrical deliveries offers the perfect prose for the musical accompaniment and it all comes together so well with alternating segments that range from dreamy to fast tempo rock at key moments but not quite into metal yet at this stage of their career. As always this band crafts the most sensual and addictive melodies on NOT OF THIS WORLD with captivating emotive guitar sweeps and a contrasting bass groove that work perfectly in tandem and of course all those layers of synth sounds that frost this cake a thousand times over making it ever sweeter! The diversity of the tracks really keeps this one from stagnating. Each one ratchets up the tension a little bit more with clever creative subtitles seeping into the recurring themes.

This was one of those growers that kept drawing me back in. While it started out as a strong 4 star album in my world, the recurring visits have made this one of my all time favorite neo-prog albums and on par with the band's previous "The Masquerade Overature." Sure it can sound a little cheesy at times as can a lot of neo-prog but if you're in the mood for this kind of melodic synthesizer overload then there's nothing like it. Something you just want to soothe your soul with over-the-top melodic constructs that offer a gazillion variations. There are even moments of amazing virtuosity such as the guitar and keyboard works on "Not Of This World Part 1." When investigated further this album will reveal an amazing detail that matches the outstanding cover art. It's bright, colorful and bursting with life. Definitely one of the band's best and although they would continue to deliver some interesting albums, this particular trilogy is one of the highlights of the neo-prog branch of the world prog. True it's not the most original album ever released but the delivery is so impeccable i am the fish that got hooked!