TRESPASS

4.65 Stars. A grandiose Prog album full of mythical stories...until The Knife Trespasses!

Trespass is the follow up album after their debut and as many reviewers have said it is VERY different from the first. The simple Chamber Pop/Rock is well and truly gone and a blend of Folk and Symphonic Prog has taken its place. The only thing to link the two albums is the nature of the lyrics which are even more impressive. They are the kind of lyrics that I'd expect from a village elder telling old stories and passing on his wisdom at the same time...not from people in their late teens/early 20s!

The album starts with "Looking For Someone" which is a real rollercoaster of a song! There are quiet, mainly vocal sections which can quickly change into a all-out blast of 70s Prog. This song is heavily dependent on Gabriel's vocals and he does a good job expressing the mood changes. Great start!

"White Mountain" sounds like a old folk-tale + folk music with a good injection of Prog. The song tells the story of a wolf who is hunted by his own kind for his crimes against the wolf monarchy. Its a good story so I won't provide spoilers!! The music matches the lyrics perfectly and there are some beautiful and haunting flute solos (I'm a sucker for flute solos!).

"Visions of Angels" is probably the weakest song here, but it is still far from poor. The lyrics tell of a person despairing of how his God has forsaken his world and now ignores the inhabitants. Musically its a fairly typical mid tempo Prog song that plods along nicely, but its easy to forget and maybe drags for too long.

"Stagnation" clocks in at a lengthy 8:48, but it is completely different from any other long song the band have ever done. This is a slow song for the most part and lyrically it is the strangest song present ( I believe its about a man who is the only human survivor talking to the ghosts of the departed), so it takes some getting use to. This song will test the patience of those who want traditional complex Prog but for me its a great song to immerse yourself and I recommend listening to it just before you are about to go to bed...

"Dusk" continues the subdued atmosphere and is a relatively simple but incredibly beautiful folk song. The lyrics are a throwback to the last album with its strongly biblical themes. I listen to this song more than anything else here just because of how touching it is.

At this point the album has been laidback, relatively tranquil and very similar to the undamaged album art. But now "The Knife" comes and like in the album art starts to rip this tranquillity to shreds! Unlike the other songs The Knife is fast paced, aggressive, particularly dark and completely different from anything the band had done up to this point. It quickly became a fan favourite in concerts and because of that the band would shift their focus into louder and harder hitting songs for future albums.

Now on to the rating. 4.5 stars is what this album deserves but I can't give it that rating. Trespass is my third favourite Genesis album and is underrated IMO so I will round it up to the full 5 stars. A very unique Genesis album and as long as you don't mind its slower nature there should be plenty to enjoy!