DARKNESS BEFORE DAWN

The members of the British prog band Mentaur have been passionately dedicated to their music. We're talking about the period from '89-'94, a spirited time during which no less than five cassette albums were released featuring their dark, sometimes intense neo-prog. Initially, the band was called Mordrydd, named after a character from the King Arthur legend, but within a year, the name was changed to Mentaur. What the band's music clearly showcases is a combination of passion and virtuosity. There are plenty of tempo and mood changes, as well as solos. The music aligns with the style of Saga, Arena, Aragon, Asgard, Threshold, World Trade, and Dream Theater. You can listen to it on "Darkness Before Dawn," a retrospective compilation released by Cyclops in '96.

Although the music has been somewhat remixed, unfortunately, we have to settle for mediocre sound quality. Honestly, I don't see this as a problem; the budget to finance the recordings at the time wasn't any larger. Enough about that; there are many things to be positive about.

Fortunately, this compilation includes the two epics that can be considered highlights of the band's career: Day Of Wrath, which clocks in at fifteen minutes, and The Last Battle, which runs over 22 minutes. Both pieces are bursting with ambition and showcase the compositional and technical skills of everyone involved. A lot is happening.

The opener Day Of Wrath contains delightful bombast, and at times the drums crackle in an unadulterated metal style. The comparison with Asgard is hard to avoid here. We hear the same kind of theatricality in Dan Hart's vocals, and the harmonies that keyboardist Tim Ridley brings in beg for a powerful melody. With the closing track The Last Battle, the band truly makes itself immortal; more on this later. First, some attention to a few intermediate songs.

Imperiatrix comes from the band's early days and features singer Steve Cochrane. He was actually the first singer of Mentaur after taking over the vocal duties from bassist Jim Gross during the Mordrydd era. His voice is well highlighted against the organ sounds of the track. When the tempo picks up, it heads towards a Bach-like finale with a lot of soloing.

It's also fortunate that the piano-driven Rainscape is a fine AOR ballad with excellent vocals from Carlton Evans and a searing solo by guitarist Robin Barter. It's a barrel full of good choices.

What I don't quite understand is why the drum machine-driven Chasing Time ended up on this CD. The last part is decent, but the rest of the music is overly highfalutin. I won't be losing sleep over it.

The four-part The Last Battle is so good that it's worth buying this album for it alone. The epic is held together by a strong vocal line that regularly recurs in the song. Not only does this create a lot of cohesion, but it also provides a frame for various musical interpretations. After a dark intro starts the piece, the band brings in the vocal theme. In the second part, the tempo picks up significantly, and for several minutes we are treated to the considerable solo skills of Tim Ridley and Robin Barter. The vocals then lead us into part three, where percussive keyboards and spoken word set the mood. The section with piano and lyrical guitar is particularly beautiful. Finally, the band works towards a majestic finale in the fourth part, with the famous vocal block at the forefront. The band has really got their act together with this piece. What a closer.

In my opinion, "Darkness Before Dawn" is 80% a great album. As a fan of '90s prog, I say: Well done.

Orginally posted on www.progenrock.com