DAY AND AGE

Well, I'm surprised. Frost did it. They randomly decided to make their first masterpiece out of nowhere, and one of the few neo-prog albums I would consider as such. I personally dislike neo-prog, with maybe a few exceptions like The Flower Kings. After all, grabbing a *progressive* music genre and *regressing* back to the 70s is something I don't really dig. It usually sounds very dull, like a worse version of everything you ever heard in the golden era. Frost was a band I never really cared much about. They were more of that typical neo-prog that I simply was never interested in, and a new album by them was something I didn't really care about at all.

However I did find it interesting that despite the low rating amount, it held the highest star rating of their entire discography, plus it had a cool album cover. So I decided to sit down and give it a listen, after all, 53 minutes isn't a very long runtime. So I must say that I was pleasantly surprised, this is seriously one of the most fun and enjoyable neo-prog albums I've heard. It's like Steven Wilson's The Future Bites but if it had redeemable content.

1. Day And Age (9/10): The album starts with the longest track (and the only one exceeding the ten minute mark) which is also the title track. It begins with a mean monologue, don't call me scum >:( followed by a fast paced 80s-sounding bassline, with an overall up-beat feel. The drumming is excellent, and the voice effect on the vocals are surprisingly good and help establish a trademark sound for the album. The song then enters a more calm section along a continuous drum base with sick fills and a slow build-up, only to restart again. Eventually, an empty atmospheric section with a remaining metal riff starts, accompanied with some female vocals. The song then enters the best section, an up-beat, happy section that closes the song with a reprise of the beginning.

2. Terrestrial (7/10): Starts with overlapped voices and a RadioHead-styled semi-fastpaced proggy section that works as the main chorus. A dark riff then enters the song, providing great contrast, keyboards then make a short and noticeable appearance in the song. The song ends with the chorus.

3. Waiting For The Lie (7/10): Begins with a raw piano accompanied with vocals, gives you an utopian feel. Some synthetic chords kick in, eventually the song goes back to a more packed version of the main verse. Pretty simple song, but it works well as a break or bridge for the album.

4. The Boy Who Stood Still (8/10): Keyboards give serious 80s vibes. The song starts with a considerably long monologue that lasts until minute 2:40, where vocals appear. The chorus is very trance-ish, and the monologue starts again very soon. The song enters an atmospheric section with synthetic chords and then goes back to the main chorus. The ending of the song is very rhythmic and features voice tracks all around the place, probably my favorite part from the song.

5. Island Life (7/10): A fast paced track that begins with the recurring "enjoy yourself" theme heard all along the album. A very up- beat track that features more acoustic elements. The keyboards then play a great melody that I really wished lasted longer. The song finished with vocals overlapping the main chorus and a Morse signal.

6. Skywards (8/10): I listened this album today and this song already feels very nostalgic. The chorus has an amazing and sweet melody. It's a shame that it isn't very long and that there wasn't some sort of solo to help power up the song even more. The song ends with the chorus as you would expect.

7. Kill The Orchestra (10/10): The juggernaut of the album, despite being the second longest. Starts with a very redemption-like mood, followed by a great guitar line and 80s sounding drums. The main verse continues until hitting the main chorus and a brutally heavy riff that made me go "holy sh*t!". The second iteration an awesome pre-chorus can be heard, followed by a trance-ish instrumental section where the vocals eventually are added. The song enters a Middle East styled section where the main chorus gets reprised. Near the end of the song, the same trance-ish keyboards can be heard, along with the main vocals and a voice reprising the "enjoy yourself" theme. The song ends with an atmospheric section and a very short guitar solo, colliding perfectly with the beginning of Repeat To Fade.

8. Repeat To Fade (8/10): Working as the closer, this track also reprises Kill The Orchestra. The 80s vibe heard all along the album is preset here as well, and the chorus is very powerful and hard-hitting, some indian female vocals can be heard at the back. The third chorus is received with a short a drum fill, and the vocals have more strength. At around minute 3:40, the singer sings with a voice box effect. Finally, the song ends with chorus and a static noise. In a very funny way, Repeat To Fade repeats the chorus a lot.

I really enjoyed this album and I personally think it's the best Frost album to date, recommended to neo-prog/crossover-prog fans. It's gotta be five stars for me!