CONTAGION

Structurally this album is far more similar to their 1998 album The Visitor than 2000's Immortal? This album is made up of a large number of shorter songs (even more so then The Visitor) that gel together in such a way that if you don't look at the track numbers you would think you were listening to 7 or 8 extremely diverse songs. This is quite refreshing; as other concept albums of a similar format that I have listened to usually contain a lot of dull "filler" material. This is not so with Contagion.

Another thing I noticed while listening to this album for the first few times, is that, for a neo-prog release, it is surprisingly challenging to get into. However, my perseverance was greatly rewarded, as, when I finally began to "get" this album, IO realised how great this album really is. It's stuffed full of stunning melodic hooks, from Rob Sowden's inspiring choruses to John Mitchell's haunting yet technically proficient guitar fills and Clive Nolan's majestic keyboard backing and solos.

The album kicks off with the heavy metal-like, Witch Hunt. The keyboards are very much in the background on this track, with Mitchell's violent riffing and Mick Pointer's solid drumming taking the fore. This track serves to launch the listener head first into the album, pulling out all the stops from the get go. 7/10

This song gives way to a minute long transition track, made up of a relaxed vocal performance from Sowden backed up by Nolan on the piano. 7/10

This leads into what; in my opinion is one of the best tracks on this album, Painted Man. A rather bombastic intro quietens down for the first chorus and then gets progressively louder leading into a solo trade-off between Nolan and Mitchell. This song sees Sowden on top form as he delivers heart-felt vocal melody after heart-felt vocal melody. 10/10

A great little instrumental follows, driven on by savage delay/reverb soaked guitar chords. This leads into a stunning guitar solo, with some dynamic bass work in the background provided by Ian Salmon and of course Nolan ever-present keyboards. 9/10

Spectre at the Feast, the longest track on this album, kicks off with keyboards that sound very much like the tunes that you get in musical boxes. This track is quite laid back for the first couple of minutes, until Pointer's drums and Mitchell's distortion soaked guitar kick in. This track contains by favourite vocal performance from Rob Sowden, particularly the vocal melody on the line "Are you so pure?" Simply breath-taking. 10/10

Never Ending Night is another strong track, which truly shows Mitchell's skill on the guitar, giving us one of the best guitar solos on the album. 7/10

Skin Game is another heavy track with an abrupt beginning, in stark contrast with the outro of the previous song. It's strong vocals are well supported by Nolan's powerful keyboards and, during the outro, nice gentle acoustic guitar. 8/10

Salamander, yet another favourite of mine, has the best chorus on the album. This track contains some excellent keyboarding by Nolan, both in the gothic sounding backing and his fantastic, if short, solo. 9/10

On the Box is another accomplished instrumental, again displaying the skill of Nolan and Mitchell, with two back-to-back solos. 8/10

Tsunami is a track that brings Ian Salmon's bass to the forefront, dominating the track with the exception of a brief instrumental break where Nolan provides another splendid gothic keyboard solo 7/10

Fallow ground is a very inspiring track with an extremely positive chorus, both musically and lyrically "But you'll never bring my spirit down." 8/10

The city of Lanterns is a haunting track with eerie keyboard and vocals, distinct from both the preceding and following tracks. 7/10

Riding the Tide is an extremely energetic song with skilful and sublime keyboard work. It is very difficult not to feel energised by this track. 9/10

The last three tracks, Mea Culpa, Cutting the Cards and Ascension provide an excellent closer to an excellent album.

Mea Culpa starts with relaxed vocals supported by organ and later piano. This is probably the most restrained track on the album, with only Sowden and Nolan performing on this song. 8/10

Cutting the Cards is a rather upbeat track with frantic acoustic guitar, which becomes much heavier when Mitchell switches to electric guitar and plays a stunning relentless guitar riff, with occasional skilful lick thrown in. Again all the band members are on top form on this track. 10/10

Ascension is simply stunning. Sowden's vocals are fantastic during the chorus. Personally I think this track is one of the best album closers ever. A truly epic sounding song, despite only lasting just four and a half minutes. 10/10

The only real problem this album has is that it occasionally dips in quality. It does not maintain the excellence of tracks like Ascension and Spectre at the feast throughout. I also realise that, as with most neo-prog, it can be quite simplistic in some places compared to more traditional progressive rock. As a result it might not be to everyone's taste. For this reason I decided to give this album 4 stars, an excellent addition to any prog music collection.