SONGS FROM THE LIONS CAGE

In the middle-nineties this album was a fresh breeze for everyone who missed the Marillion of the eighties. Even when the Marillion of Hogarth has got great albums, the sound of Fish has gone after his last participation with the band. Well, Arena is the project of Mick Pointer, the first drummer of Marillion who joined Clive Nolan (the keyboard player of Pendragon). This album sounds like restarting Marillion one more time, even the singer reminds Fish to us a lot. However, there are some important differences between Marillion and Arena. The sound of the band is more rocker in some way, and the guitar arrangements are much closer to David Gilmour than Steve Rothery or Steve Hackett. Also Clive Nolan is a keyboard player of the school of Rick Wakeman, not Tony Banks. All this makes an interesting cocktail, and the album sounds like an explosion of great melodies, good arrangements and powerful bases. The songs (titles and words) are related to the Bible (specially the Old Testament), but everything is used like metaphors inspired by the figures of Solomon, Midas or the city of Jericho. Out of this, there are four pieces (and just the last one has got words) called Crying for Help (I,II, III y IV). These songs are part of a great album that Arena had in mind for those years, but they finally appared in this way: four in this album, four in the second. There is an atmosphere of desperation along the tracks of the album, perfectly illustrated with the phone that rings and no one answers. Yes, I know some of you could say "The Wall", but even when the influence is there, the telephone is the perfect symbol for the modern society: no one will help you when you´ll call someone. "Solomon" is a wonderful epic that is the best song of the album, with variations of rhythm, "gilmourian" solos and instrumental explosions. Well, if you are on of those who use to say: "oh, no, neo prog again", you will probably miss a great album just coz a prejudice. If you have open ears, try at least to hear it.