NOT OF THIS WORLD

So a 67-minute album might seem ambitious at first, but this is Pendragon we're talking about. Their last album was an exercise in cementing a singular signature sound they can take with them. Chances are they attempted to stretch that out over the 67 minutes, meaning the "ambition" could amount to no more than going for a long runtime. I was certain this would be a downgrade from the last two almost equally good predecessors: The Window of Life and The Masquerade Overture. Did Pendragon curse themselves into repeating their style until neo-prog died out?

There are some notable differentiations that are more than welcome in a 67-minute neo-prog album. The extra energy present on track 4, "Not of This World, Pt. 1," is the same kind of energy you'd likely find in power metal. As well, the opener is largely made up of a slow and spacey intro with extra Floydian vibes, which is perfect because they made a point of Pink Floyd influence before, and like I've said before, we probably need more of that in a Genesis-infused genre. But the general style they fully developed on The Masquerade Overture is the real driving force here. There aren't very many differences between the two, and I would say that these melodies are pretty good, but nothing compared to what we got before. To be fair, Not of This World Pt. 3 got kinda boring. But as far as satisfying fans of the last couple albums, this does in fact suffice. The melodies and complex compositions mostly satisfy. They still easily summon that special Pendragon magic that takes your subconscious right into sci-fi versions of Arthurian myths with ease. This is the kind of thing Pendragon fans pay for. In fact, the signature sound is the one thing the band's the best at.

So Pendragon fans should be MORE than satisfied with this album, although I wouldn't consider myself a fan. I've gone through bad discographies as well as good ones, and while I can say I'm happy for the band for finding a sound that works very well, I would still like them to try something new after this. I'd say this is slightly better than The World.

Social review comments

Review related links

• Send comments to Rexorcist
• Report this review (#3157706)
• Buy PENDRAGON music online with PA partners
• Show all PENDRAGON MP3/Stream
• Go to PENDRAGON page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Not of This World page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for PENDRAGON related discussions