SONGS FROM THE LIONS CAGE

It makes me disheartened to see Arena get so much praise for their later albums like The Visitor and Contagion while I see the ratings for their two beginning albums, Songs from the Lion's Cage and Pride dwindle and fall yet lower in rating. It is a shame that these albums are neglected so much because I consider them to be Arena's most accomplished albums. And I believe one must own both Songs from the Lion's Cage and Pride to fully appreciate Arena. The metal aspects of Arena's later years are visible here, but are blended with a Pendragon-esque style of Neo-Prog which--to my liking--overshadows the metal influences somewhat, but not to the point where they can't be heard.

Songs is one of my favorite and most listened to Neo-Prog albums, but it is not without its flaws. The main and distinguished songs are separated by interludes increasing in length which carry on a basic theme of desperation, mostly without lyrics. Herein lies the main problem with the album, as these interludes I find mostly boring. The album would be better without them. Now, the only other weak part of the album is "Midas Vision," a rather average rock song which doesn't do much to further the momentum of the album. The rest of the Songs from the Lion's Cage is pure gold and nearly makes up for those missteps.

"Out of the Wilderness" and "Valley of the Kings" are two mid-length epics that pack an immense punch in what seems like a short time. They both have chord changes and nuances that give them both a suitably "epic" feel, which is something that occurs more throughout the album and continuing on Pride. "Jericho" begins as a reflective ballad, but toward the end, it rears its head to recall the bombast of the two earlier songs. The true glory of Songs from the Lion's Cage is the closer, "Solomon." This track goes through so many movements, all of which just yearn to be remembered for years. Of all the epic-length tracks (13-14+ minutes) that Neo-Prog has provided us, this one is high up on my list, perhaps at #1 if I were to rank them.

While I don't feel right giving a perfect score to an album with several perceivable flaws, I enjoy so much of Songs from the Lion's Cage that I would be dishonest to give it anything less than 4 stars. For those who see little of value in Neo- Prog, I don't see this album changing your mind at all, but for fans of the genre, Songs is a must have. And for those of you enamored with Arena's later albums, I compel you to give Songs a try!

4.5/5