GRACE FOR DROWNING

Wow, is all I can say! After a hiatus following the release of the Incident and the Blackfield tour, Steven has graced us with his most auspicious and challenging work to date. I must say that I am in awe with every listen. The warm sounds of this album washes over me like a tide of fresh water, ebbing over my head, trying to pull me under. This is music!

The album, like all SW albums, has a concept, although this one is not as straightforward as others. The album title refers to the peace one feels after a long struggle to keep from going under. What else in life is like this? Well SW explores those areas on each gem, building up to a crescendo that slowly spirals back to earth like a drifting leaf.

The songs alternate between calm and chaos, not only between each other but also within some. Take the title track: a calm choral vocal and piano followed by Sectarian, which is chaotic in comparison using many different instruments. And thus it goes for the rest of this musical journey, til we land at Raider II, a tumultuous nightmare of a tune clocking in at over 20mins. This one sports it all: dark lyrics, menacing moog, creepy chorals, jazz riffs, explosive guitars, harmonious flutes, bombastic bass, and some really strange time signatures that alternate like the wind. Oh yeah,and also some quiet, achingly beautiful parts. This dark tune is followed again by the rather soothing, Like Dust I Have Cleared from My Eye with its ambient outro to close the album.

This is a fine prog-rock masterpiece, only added to by the media that accompanies it. I got the Deluxe edition, with a 120 page book of photos and lyrics that follow along with this odyssey. Also, the Blu-ray is not to be missed, and is quite honestly the best way to experience this journey. It offers 5.1 surround sound mix of the entire album plus short films, photo galleries, lyrics, bonus tracks, and demos. I cannot think of anyone else out there who has done something this auspicious and fully delivered. I cannot recommend this work of art enough!