RETURN OF THE ARTISAN

Final Conflict were formed in 1985, and since then have strived to make much of an impact if any within the neo-prog field. Their albums haven't received much in the way of attention aside from a few rather mixed reviews here and there, and consequently I haven't found myself compelled to track them down at all until I started hearing the buzz on ProgArchives about this latest one of theirs, Return of the Artisan.

On this album, the band provide a comprehensive update of their sound, suggesting they'd been paying attention to other neo-prog acts who'd gone from second-stringers to more celebrated exponents of the field in recent years (such as Galahad). It's theatrical neo-prog of a sort fans will have heard plenty of before, but the delivery is at least fairly passionate; Andy Lawton and Brian Donkin combine to deliver dramatic vocals and even more expressive guitar performances, with influences ranging from classic Pink Floyd to the latest trends in the heavier side of neo-prog (including some almost metal-like riffing on The Mechanic). Keyboardist Steve Lipiec, meanwhile, proves adept at pulling off the same trick as Galahad's Dean Baker when it comes to incorporating modern electronic sounds into the prog keyboardist's repertoire as well as pulling out some passages reminiscent of Mark Kelly circa Script for a Jester's Tear.

In fact, when it comes to composition the band show a real mastery of a wide range of prog modes, from material reminiscent of the golden age of the 1970s to much more modern fare, and in particular they show a knack for mingling the styles in interesting ways to add a touch of novelty to proceedings, though ultimately I found on repeated listens that the novelty eventually wore off, revealing a fairly well-worn neo-prog scaffolding under the more modern facade.

The same also applies to their lyrical themes; on initially listening I realised that the album was thematic concept affair ruminating on the state of artistry in the world today and contrasting the approach of the Mechanic - who likes to grind out things according to a neat pattern for the sake of mass market appeal - and the Artisan, who would prefer to win the passionate devotion of a few instead of the mild approval of the many. Cool, fine - but on repeated listens the lyrical thrust is so obvious and heavy-handed as to become annoying.