CONTAGION

The constant discovery of new bands ( new to me at least) that possess talent and mastery of great composition is probably the most satisfying part of being an open-minded progressive music fan. My tastes do largely focus on guitar based music and I struggle to deal with the more avant-garde end of things but that all means that I was destined to get something from Arena's Contagion. When I first heard this album I must have been going through a tough time in life generally (I really was) because I pretty much wrote this off as one of those great prog albums that was too harsh for me to like. Looking back and after dusting down my copy I realize that my life troubles were not the only reason for that assessment - in fact that assessment was heavily derived from the fact that I was listening to the highly polished Road Of Bones from IQ at the time and I have to say that the difference in sound is quite marked but with renewed open-minded listening I recognize how good Contagion really is.

There is nothing stellar about Arena but there are also no obvious weaknesses. Everyone is more than competent with their instruments and even Sowden's vocals fit that same description. He never drifts out of range and never fails to deliver a performance that is both credible and meaningful but at the same time is never overly impressive. Like the rest of the band: better than adequate but not world beating. Put the performance together with great compositional talent and a firm concept and you arrive at Contagion, an album that demands a full listen and which leaves you with indelible imprints on the brain for many days afterwards. I will say that those imprints are largely vocal hooks which in some ways is a little disappointing but in the end this is great entertainment.

There are highs and lows as Arena drive us through the emotions attached to the narrative and do a great job of leading us through the story without any real need to study the lyrics. As said the production is very slightly murkier than the highly polished IQ albums of the 2010s and I think that is well suited to the theme because it adds a layer of distress that further enhances the narrative which would easily be undermined by over-sanitization. There is a little too much repetition in the lyrics for my liking because it is those chorus sections that stick in the mind and tarnish the album's credibility as a prog classic. It is a prog classic but this is one of those minor issues that knock it back a touch. I will also say that there is slight imbalance between vocals and the rest of the music and I think this is typical of the more theatrical endeavours of the neo-prog genre. We are not talking about the vocal excess that comes with Ayreon's worst moments but I do think I could live with a little less vocal and a bit more guitar and keyboards leading the way.

If you take the album as a whole and many of the individual tracks then a progressive signature is stamped across pretty much everything although a couple of tracks would lend themselves to individual release as singles; although I don't know that anything ever was. Quite right too, this is a concept album and it needs all the constituent parts to remain relevant. With the strongly melodic composition and edgy but considerate style this album does have a level of general appeal that could easily see the band gain some recognition beyond team prog but in the modern world of near limitless musical availability it seems unlikely but also a real pity. For those that look down on neo prog, this one will not surprise you but for those that enjoy it then this one should be in your collection and dare I say you should sample a few more from this band. I know I will.

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