ENCHANT

I do not know whether the band intended The Great Divide to be a return to their glory days of the late 1990s, when they released their best albums (1998's Break and 2000's Juggling 9 or Dropping 10), but if so, it's hard to see the new LP as a resounding success. In fact, it is even difficult to find traces of Enchant's early sound in the new album. The new material is quite light-weighted and lacks many of the progressive rock and metal stylings that had once characterized Enchant's music. The album veers instead more decidedly towards AOR and light mainstream rock territory. These influences had always been present in Enchant's albums, but in earlier records they had been complemented with a generous coating of progressive complexity and metallic heaviness. This is hardly the case here. One remaining trace of "progginess" on The Great Divide is the songs' length, which frequently extends beyond the 7-minute mark. However, despite the duration, there is not a lot going on in the music in terms of intricate developments or structures. The songs are instead rooted in standard verse-chorus form with extended instrumental passages that showcase the band's playing ability (and the solos are indeed quite good!).

The arrangements are generally simple. The guitar is often limited to providing a light, chord-based rhythmic foundation as well as soft melodic leads. The keyboards occupy a much larger portion of the soundscape compared to previous albums and often take a key role in providing melodic counterpoints to Ted Leonard's vocal lines. These are generally weak, not because Ted is a bad singer (quite the contrary, his voice has always been a major strength for Enchant), but because they feel generic and are rarely memorable. Simply put, the songs are devoid of hooks that could elevate the already pared-down material above averageness.

Ultimately, this is how I would describe this album: neither very bad, nor very good, just simply average. Truth be told, this is also how I felt about Enchant's previous two records, Blink of an Eye and Tug of War. Those albums, however, had slightly more redeeming qualities than The Great Divide, thanks to more interesting arrangements and a handful of songs that stood out as particularly memorable. This is not the case here, if we exclude opening song "Circles", which is probably the most accomplished and impactful composition of the album. On that song, Ted Leonard sings "I need a new direction - I need a course correction", which is actually an apt description of what I wished The Great Divide would do at some point during its course, though it never did.

Unfortunately, Tug of War continues the downward trajectory of Enchant's previous album Blink of an Eye and it is a further step down compared to their best works, 1998's Break and 2000's Juggling 9 or Dropping 10. The new material is actually not terribly different from the songs included on those albums, but feels less inspired and less compelling. The album's core sonic identity is once again a simplified form of progressive rock, where AOR and mainstream pop/rock aesthetics are weaved together with the influences of classic and modern prog greats (Rush, Kansas, Marillion, Spock's Beard) and reinterpreted with a hint of metallic bite (Dream Theater). Doug Ott's guitar plays predominantly a soft rhythmic role, with light chords and arpeggios, letting Ed Platt steer the material into more metallic directions with his meaty bass licks. Meanwhile, new keyboard player Bill Jenkins adds minimal texture with sound effects and keyboard chords and drummer Sean Flanegan focuses more on groove than rhythmic extravaganza.

The end result is a layered but unobtrusive texture that leaves a lot of space to singer Ted Leonard's vocal melodies. Alas, these are not very compelling because they often tend to be slightly too convoluted and rarely have immediate appeal. Partly, this may be due to the songs' complex harmonic developments, which leave Ted struggling to find good melodies to bridge the unorthodox chord progressions. This has been an unfortunate constant throughout the band's career, with the exception of Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 which stands as their most accessible and accomplished record to date.

Overall, Tug of War is not a bad record, but it isn't strong either. It is well played and well arranged, but its greatest drawback is that it dabbles in mostly harmless and generic progressive rock. The listening experience is far from compelling. Very few tracks standout, and they are mostly concentrated at the start ("Sinking Sand", "Holding the Wind") or end of the record (the proggy instrumental "Progtology", "Comatose"), which makes the middle part of the album quite challenging to go through. Longtime fans may still find enough good material to enjoy Tug of War, but if you are new to Enchant, you'd be better served by digging into their earlier - and superior - releases.

The main problem with Doug's material for this album is that is too homogeneous and, for the most part, formulaic. The new record features the classy arrangements and top-notch musicianship that one can find in all Enchant's albums. However, the songwriting is slightly safer and less adventurous, with fewer contaminations with other styles. The key influence on Blink of an Eye seems to be Marillion circa 1990s, with a lot of focus on layered arrangements and mellow e-bow leads that create a dense but unobtrusive background allowing maximum space to Ted Leonard's voice. New drummer Sean Flanegan is perfect for this type of material, as he is a straighter drummer than Paul Craddick, more visceral and groovy, but also less imaginative and nuanced. Occasionally, Enchant unleash their proggy side and let loose in fun instrumental breaks that bring to mind Spock's Beard, but overall Blink of an Eye is considerably less prog-oriented than Break or Juggling 9 or Dropping 10, favouring texture and atmosphere over complexity and displays of technical proficiency.

The general toning down of progginess wouldn't be a problem per se, if Blink of an Eye could supply strong and memorable vocal melodies on top of its mellow soundscapes. Alas, the band's Achilles heel has always been their inability to write really catchy melodies, and Blink of an Eye is no exception. Most melodies are slightly convoluted and dull. No matter how many times I listen to the album, the songs are elusive and hard to memorize. Inevitably, a lot of the material flows away inconspicuously, blurring together. Only a handful of songs stand out. "Under Fire" may be the strongest of the lot in terms of accessibility and quality of the melodies. "Monday" is proggy and fun, dialling up the Spock's Beard influences. "Follow the Sun" veers into mainstream rock territory and features gorgeous vocal harmonies, while "Despicable" provides an energetic and engaging closure to the album.

Overall, Blink of an Eye is a step down compared to the beautiful Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 and it is probably slightly inferior to Break as well. Despite the continuity in terms of sound and style relative to those two albums, the material included here feels somewhat generic and uninspired. The dearth of truly compelling tunes makes the 54 minutes of the album somewhat a chore to sit through, but the quality of the playing and the class of the arrangements are undeniable and ultimately save the record from a lower score.

The album is proggier than Break, not so much in terms of the amount of technical extravaganza included in each song, but in the adventurousness of the songwriting. While the songs never get overly complex, their structure is dilated with numerous instrumental breaks and detours. These can get quite wild and exciting, such as the flamenco interjection in the middle of "Bite My Tongue". Elsewhere Doug Ott's jittery guitar riffs duel with melodic bass lines and keyboard leads, while Paul Craddick's drum patterns strike a perfect balance between groove and nuance. At times, dissonances and unusual harmonic developments are used, sparsely and with great effect. Some of the arrangements reminded me of Spock's Beard - with which Enchant had toured in the previous year -, but Enchant maintain a more accessible and streamlined approach than Spock's.

The accessibility and memorability of the compositions is where Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 makes big strides forward compared to Break. The quality of the melodies has improved a lot since the previous album. We are still not exactly in the domain of ear-worming hooks, as Ted Leonard's vocal lines generally follow more nuanced and elusive contours than what would quality as straight poppy ear-candy. But some of the hooks here are rather infectious, particularly in "Bite My Tongue", "Juggling Knives" and "What to Say", which is easily the best song Enchant have written throughout their career. What makes the song truly special is also the deep and highly emotional subject matter - about incurable illness and the awareness that the day you have to say goodbye to your loved ones is drawing nearer. Ted Leonard's interpretation is simply spellbinding and goosebumps are guaranteed by the time you reach the end of the track.

While "What to Say" is undoubtedly the high point of the record, both emotionally and sonically, several other songs leave a strong mark on the listener, making Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 the most consistent album of the band. There are no fillers or duds here, except perhaps "Elyse" which feels slightly bland in comparison to the other tracks. One may raise issues with the fact that many of the songs tend to feature similar tempos, structures and moods (with many exploring the same theme of illness). This is a characteristic that Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 share with many other Enchant's albums and it is probably one of the limits of the US band. A tad more variation in the songwriting could have probably elevated this and other albums even further.

Despite these minor issues, Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 is where everything fell perfectly into place for Enchant. Inspired songwriting, classy arrangements, top-notch musicianship and some of the best melodies written by the band make this album a must-have for any progressive rock or metal fan. The rest of the band's discography is also worth exploring, but Juggling 9 or Dropping 10 is the place to start if you are new to this band.

The album brims with the type of highly-proficient playing and glossy, sophisticated arrangements that you would expect to find on a prog rock record. All songs feature intricate but elegant interplays between guitars, keyboards and bass - the latter frequently also playing a prominent melodic role, which may draw parallels to Rush. The musicians' technical level is very high, but they never get carried away with excessive, showy noodling, but they instead always play to the song. The harmonic structures are complex, often veering towards jazz territory. Paul Craddick's drumming is classy and imaginative and at times reminiscent of Rush's drummer Neil Peart. The production is polished and airy, which allows to appreciate the nuances of the musicians' playing (though it may lack a bit of bite when things get sonically heated).

While the arrangements are complex and layered, structurally the songs are much more straightforward, generally following a standard verse-chorus format, with occasional digressions in the form of bridges or instrumental breaks. The linear structures are a nudge towards radio-friendly rock, which one can also find in the highly melodic vocal lines. Singer Ted Leonard interprets the vocal melodies soulfully with his pristine, powerful voice, at times reminiscent of Steve Walsh (Kansas). This balance between complex progginess and radio-friendly accessibility is a distinctive characteristics of Enchant's sound throughout their career, and it is the reason why sometimes they are described as a "soft progressive rock" band.

The melodies are however one of my main gripes with Break. They generally possess an elusive quality that rarely makes them overtly catchy - certainly nothing even remotely close to what one would call an "earworm". Generally, this may not be a bad thing, since staying clear of cheap ear-candy often improves the repeated listening value of an album. However, things start to get complicated if even after listening to the album several times, one cannot still remember a single vocal line from the record. I am perhaps exaggerating here, since songs like "King", "My Enemy", "The Lizard" and "My Gavel Hand" do leave a mark on the listener. The other songs, however, are much less accessible and memorable, and flow away almost unnoticed. This effect is accentuated by the fact that many songs are quite similar to one another in terms of structure, tempo and mood, so they tend to blend together somewhat, especially between "Defenseless" and "Silence".

All in all and despite the generally high quality of the material, many of the tracks included in this album fall short of making a big impact on the listener. I do not think it is by accident that only two songs from Break (the title-track and "My Enemy") will eventually be included in the double-disc live album Enchant will release a few years later. Having said that, Break remains a quality record, full of classy playing, intelligent arrangements and a handful of excellent song too ("My Enemy" is truly splendid).

When regarded as a proper full-length album, Time Lost disappoints because the heterogeneous material that the record is compiled of, does not make for a smooth, cohesive listening experience. The first 4 tracks follow the more accessible and heavier approach Enchant embraced on Wounded, with more focus on guitar riffs and hooks rather than on the technical complexity and intricate arrangements that are typical of progressive rock. In the remaining 3 songs, however, Enchant turn the tables and fully embrace their proggy side, with multipart structures, long instrumental sections, layered arrangements and guitar/keyboard solo pyrotechnics, in a style that is more reminiscent of the band's debut album A Blueprint of the World. The change in aesthetics between the two sets of songs is too conspicuous to go unnoticed, as it's almost like having two albums crammed in one single release.

However, if one takes the album in the spirit in which it was originally intended - as a compilation of "leftover" material - it's hard not to marvel at the quality of the songs included here. The four "Wounded" tracks are as good as, if not better than, the material that was actually included in Wounded, to the point that I do not quite understand why they did not make the final cut. "Blind Sided", in particular, is awesome and features excellent dynamic transitions from the moody verses to the rousing choruses, strong melodies, and really great atmospheres. It somewhat reminds me of "Pure" from Wounded, which may be the reason why the song was eventually excluded from that album's tracklist. "New Moon" and "Foundations" are also strong tracks, maybe a tad too fragmented in their development, which is probably due to their "rawer" form compared to the songs eventually included in Wounded ("Foundations", in particular, was the last song written during the Wounded recording sessions and so did not have a lot of time to "mature" into a fully-fledged Enchant track, as the album's liner notes explain). The three "early-days" songs are also very good and will especially appeal to those who consider A Blueprint of the World one of Enchant's best releases. These songs feature a mix of original recordings ("Mettle Men" even features Enchant's original bass player Brian Cline) and new recordings by Enchant's 1997 line-up. These songs are perhaps slightly meandering and overly complex, giving away the signs of the band's youthful exuberance at the time they were written, but they do contain some awesome sections nevertheless.

All this makes Time Lost an odd album to rate. It contains some of the best material Enchant have released through their discography, including some of their most sing-alongable tracks ever ("Blind Sided", "Foundations"). The fact that these songs did not make it on the final tracklists of the band's previous albums - A Blueprint of the World and Wounded - befuddles me. However, no matter how good these songs are, they just do not work well together as part of the same LP, as the stylistic gap between the first and second set of tracks is simply too vast. So here is the gist: Time Lost works great as a compilation/EP, but lacks the consistency I normally seek in a proper full-length record.

In many ways, Wounded is a unique-sounding album in Enchant's catalogue. It's their heaviest record by far, mainly thanks to guitarist Doug Ott's newfound approach, as he mostly abandons his signature light-touch, clean-tone, vaguely jazzy playing in favour of more distortion and riffing. This brings the songs closer to the typical prog metal sound, with the music's backbone mainly comprised of rhythmic but melodic guitar licks, often doubled by Ed Platt's bass. Drummer Paul Craddick complements the new approach well, with a punchier and groovier performance that considerably limits his usual complex and variegated playing. Even vocalist Ted Leonard adapts his singing to embrace the new direction, by injecting more power into his voice with a performance that is at times reminiscent of Dream Theater's James LaBrie.

This heavier direction is complemented by a general simplification of the arrangements and songwriting. The songs are now more chorus-focused, with a structure that consists of repeated verse-chorus sequences interrupted by instrumental sections that give Doug Ott and keyboard player Michael Geimer some room to engage in their usual duelling solos. The arrangements are also more straightforward, with fewer changes between songs' sections, making the music more accessible compared to the debut album. The song length, however, has not decreased much - and in fact all tracks go beyond the 6-minute mark. Given the more direct nature of the material, this is not exactly a good thing, as many songs tend to overstay their welcome with excessive repetitions that do not add much to the overall effect.

The main problem of this album, however, is that a lot of the songs are quite generic and average - lacking strong melodies or interesting arrangements that can fully engage the listener. In fact, Enchant seem to have spent their best ideas in the first three album's tracks, "Below Zero", "Fade 2 Grey" and "Pure". The opening track is absolutely phenomenal - one of Enchant's best songs tout court. Here the new heavy/direct approach really shines, in Doug Ott's crunchy riff and Ted Leonard's beautiful, gritty vocal approach. "Fade 2 Grey" is interesting because it features hints of the band's classic prog rock style, but mixed to the new heavier direction, while "Pure" stands out thanks to its beautiful dynamics and another excellent performance by Ted. The remaining six song, however, are nowhere near the quality level of the opening trio - perhaps with the exception of the gutsy "Look Away". There is nothing particularly wrong with these tracks, except that they sound terribly middle-of-the-road and very similar to one another, making the second half of the album quite difficult to sit through without losing focus. The slightly muddy and rough production does not help either - another step back compared to some of the excellent-sounding songs included in A Blueprint of the World.

All considered, it's hard not to see Wounded as a transitional record - and Enchant will in fact quickly change direction on their next (proper) full-length Break, after the interlocutory EP/LP Time Lost. Wounded is nevertheless an important stepping stone for Break and all the albums that will follow. While Enchant will by and large stay away from the heavy, riff-laden sound one can hear on this album, the simplified, more direct approach that they pioneered on Wounded will be a constant characteristic of the band's future sound. Thus, while not my favourite Enchant' album, Wounded has definitely a place in the band's discography as an essential bridge to their true sonic identity.

The style follows the aesthetics of neoprogressive rock music, with arrangements that are layered and complex, but at the same time light and pleasant to the ear. Guitars and keyboards provide most of the texture, often alternating in taking the lead at different moments of the songs. In either case, you'd be hard pressed to find anything "heavy" in the way Doug Ott and Michael Geimer are playing - as both guitars and keyboards favour clean tones, arpeggios and simple chords progressions over heavy and intense playing. Ed Platt's bass licks are perhaps the closest the album gets to "riffs", in the classic metal sense of the term of simple, repeated melodic figures that also provide a rhythmical pulse. Meanwhile, Paul Craddick's drumming dances around Ed's pulse, with a flurry of rhythmic activity and a touch that is beautifully light and clean.

There is a lot to unpack in each song, as the arrangements are fluid and keep changing from section to section, adding intricacies as the songs develop. However, the listener is almost never overburdened by the complexity, also thanks to structures that rarely get overly intricate and stick instead to a slightly elongated verse-chorus formula that roots the songs in a healthy dose of mainstream accessibility. Ted Leonard's beautiful voice is the other element that eases the listener in. Already from this first album, it was clear that Ted is one of the best singers in progressive rock, with a voice that is pristine and soulful, but at the same time packs incredible power. It is no coincidence that a few years after recording this debut with Enchant, Ted will become the frontman of Spock's Beard, one of the best progressive rock acts in the world.

However, one aspect of Ted's singing that is slightly disappointing is the lack of strong melodies that can truly burrow in the listener's head. This is something that will characterize most of Enchant's discography, for reasons I do not quite fully understand, but I suspect are due to both the songs' fairly complex harmonic progressions and to an intentional drive to eschew "easy" singalong melodies. To be fair, A Blueprint of the World does contain some excellent hooks, especially compared to other albums in Enchant's catalogue, such as "The Thirst", "Acquaintance", "At Death's Door" or "Nighttime Sky". But even these songs require multiple listens before the melodies truly "click", which may be a barrier for some listeners.

Another barrier - and weakness - of the album is the lack of consistency, both in the songwriting and production. Being a debut, it is quite understandable the band wanted to throw in as much of their material as possible, even if not everything would necessarily blend together well. However, at times this approach ruins the flow of the album. "Enchanted", for example, sticks out like a sore thumb, with its fantasy lyrics and epic atmospheres, when the rest of the album is very much grounded in reality. The alternation between Steve Rothery and Paul A. Schmidt as producers is also far from ideal. I can see why the band decided to ask Steve Rothery for help, as the tracks he produced are much better sounding than those produced by Paul A. Schmidt. However, the fact that these two sets of songs lie side by side on the same LP does not make for a smooth listening experience, and I cannot help but wonder whether Enchant would have been better off leaving the worse-produced tracks aside.

Despite these mishaps, A Blueprint of the World is a very good album, showcasing Enchant's great talent and potential. The album may not be everyone's cup of tea, as it is quite rooted in 1980s / early 1990s neoprogressive rock, more than metal. But fans of classic prog and more contemporary progressive rock/metal should not miss out on this band and album.

I wasn't so keen on the last two Enchant albums before the hiatus, and in both cases the issue largely stemmed from the departure of Paul Craddick from the band. As well as being the group's drummer, Craddick had made extensive contributions to the songwriting, and it was immediately apparent in his absence that the band's pool of creative ideas had become just a bit shallower as a result. (In particular, the Rush influence which kept creeping into their stuff disappeared, to its detriment.)

Under such circumstances, it's understandable that the band would want to step back a while and recharge their songwriting batteries before giving things another go-around. Unfortunately, in this case I don't think it quite worked. On the one hand, at least this isn't another re-run of Blink of an Eye; they're playing somewhat less heavy this time around, in a reversion back in a more art rock/melodic rock-with-prog-influences direction. Unfortunately, that isn't quite enough to invest the material with much in the way of personality. Once again, they play perfectly competently, but it's so generic that I can't retain any of it in my memory once the album stops playing.

If The Great Divide has failed to rekindle my enthusiasm for Enchant, it also seems to have failed to prompt the band themselves to spend more time, well, being Enchant. Take Ted Leonard, for example: in the intervening eight years or so since this released, he's fronted two Spock's Beard studio albums and three Pattern-Seeking Animals releases, as well as working live dates with all those projects, whereas Enchant has been inactive in the studio and, after the 2015 tour supporting this album wrapped up, seem to have only gotten together to play live at major prog festivals like Cruise To the Edge.

Might this be the end of Enchant? If that's the case, it's a bit of a lukewarm ending. On the one hand, it's not an embarrassingly poor album; on the other hand, the bonus disc on some editions which provides a potted "best of" their preceding career kinds of beats the pants off The Great Divide itself. I'm certainly more inclined to remember Enchant for albums like Blueprint of the World or Break than for unmemorable material like this.

Perhaps it was high time for a break; I'd thought the album prior to this, Blink of an Eye, was rather forgettable, in part because the departure of original drummer Paul Craddick meant that the band's pool of songwriters suddenly got shallower, with Douglas Ott and Ted Leonard taking on all the songwriting duties when previously they had been shared between more hands, leading to an album with a rather samey sound.

This time around, other hands contribute more - Ed Platt has some credits, as does new keyboardist Bill Jenkins - but Leonard and Ott still shoulder most of the burden, and it feels like the creative well is running dry here. Whilst it has a few more prog flourishes than Blink of an Eye did, this like that album is often painfully generic at some points, and once again I find myself missing the Rush influences which were more evident on their run of albums from Blueprint of the world to Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10.

Just as Blink of an Eye felt like a rehash of Juggling 9 Or Dropping 10, with just a bit less sonic diversity, so too does Tug of War feel like a rote rehash of Blink of an Eye - again, it's pleasant, but it's not memorable. Maybe the band's earlier works had their shakier aspects, but they at least had more personality than this. Taking a good long break to recharge those creative batteries might be just what the doctor ordered.