RADIATION

'Radiation' is often regarded as one of Marillion's worst albums. Personally, I wouldn't consider this one of the worst albums from the band, though I do understand why people might dislike this album. It's certainly not a great representation of Marillion and their sound. 'Radiation' was released during the late 90s, which was a transitional period in Marillion's history where the band were trying to take their sound in a new direction.

The album starts with a bluegrass piece entitled "Costa Del Slough" that is less than a minute in duration which bleeds into the first proper song, "Under the Sun." The first couple songs on this album, "Under the Sun" and "The Answering Machine" are the weakest songs on the album. Both are traditional rock songs, the former being Led Zeppelin-inspired and the latter existing more in the punk rock realm. The album significantly increases in quality once we reach "Three Minute Boy," which is structurally very similar to "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. If you listen closely, you can actually hear that song referenced towards the end of the track. Like "Hey Jude," "Three Minute Boy" begins as a simple piano-led pop song which gradually crescendos into a magnificent coda that is filled with sing-along vocal harmonies. I love the guitar riffing and honky-tonk piano that transitions into the coda. After the powerful ending of "Three Minute Boy," the music is brought back down with the beautiful acoustic number, "Now She'll Never Know." I love Steve Hogarth's breathy falsetto that augments the intimacy and melancholy of the song. "These Chains" was the single of the album. I like the metaphor presented in the lyrics and the way the song climaxes at the end.

"Born to Run" is a unique Marillion song as it sees the band attempting to write a piece of music in the style of 60s soul, evidenced by the church organ and blues guitar. "Cathedral Walls" is similarly unique, like "Born to Run," except that it sounds quite different. The vibe of the track is eerie, especially when listening to Hogarth's vocals. During the verse, his voice is no more than a whisper, but in the background, you can hear him screaming the same lyrics. Mark Kelly's synth brings the listener back into progressive territory, which can be lost on this album at points. The heaviness of this track reminds me of other heavy Marillion songs such as "King" off of 'Afraid of Sunlight.' The closing track, "A Few Words for the Dead" is without question the best song on 'Radiation' and one of my all-time favorite Marillion songs. Though the song is ten minutes in duration, it's really made up of two distinct parts. Both parts provide a beautiful juxtaposition not only musically, but also lyrically. The message of this song is simple; choose love.

In conclusion, I enjoyed revisiting this oftentimes forgotten Marillion album. While 'Radiation' doesn't quite stack up to the brilliance of previous masterpieces and the masterpieces the band would go on to make, it's still a good album. 'Radiation' is on the shorter side, and because of that, it doesn't overstay its welcome. 8/10