PASSION

If you take a leap from the light-hearted 'Not of This World' (2001) album and listen to 'Passion' for the first time, its actually quite astonishing. Whereas the first is a recognizable early Marillion-inspired melodic neo-prog album, the latter is much darker - filled with dissonance and harsh & personal vocals. Passion means a "strong and barely controllable emotion" (says google anyway) and this describes the feel of this album pretty well. Pendragon has always sounded like a band formed around guitarist & vocalist Nick Barrett, but here his presence is all over the place. I personally don't mind, most of my favorite records have a stand-out performer. I usually listen to the Madfish 2LP edition (which has great artwork by the way!) in the living room, but I must say this album sounds way more psychedelic and confronting with headphones on. Nick Barrett is however not a natural 'Peter Hammill' type performer and some of his vocals might come of as a bit bold and overdone. Yet, he at least tries something different, which is very welcome. The band has also embraces the (then) modern production techniques, which also sets it apart from its nineties records.

The opener 'Passion' sets the tone for the this darker Pendragon universe. 'Empathy' is however a stronger track in which the band really builds up to some climactic moments. The opening of the song (in which the mix/mastering has done little tribute to the low end) has this great dissonant shrieking guitar riff you'd never have expected from Pendragon. Later in the song Nick Barrett's rapping (like in hip-hop yes) really works well. His anger about political issues is genuine, whereas some bands sound like they just don't know what to write about (Galahad comes to mind). To bad the song ends with a Super Nintendo style symphonic part, which totally brings us back to the clumsy opening of 'The Masquerade Overture'. On side two 'Feeding Frenzy' is an up-tempo song that perhaps sounds a bit like the up-tempo songs of Arena. Of course the bands share keyboard player Clive Nolan. 'This Green and Pleasant Land' will undoubtedly satisfy Pendragon fans that love a song like 'Man of Normadic Traits'. It's the least dark song on the album and is therefore fully able to shine with its indeed pleasant symphonic layering and poppy/catchy refrains. On side three 'It's a Matter of Not Getting Caught' is a nice surprise with its gloomy sounds and strong atmospheres. 'Skara Brae' expands on the overall atmosphere of the album without standing out, whereas the final song 'Your Black Heart' impresses with its dark and spiteful performances. Not every-ones cup of tea I guess.

Conclusion. Perhaps not Pendragon's most celebrated album, but it does have its own feel with its rather dark & brooding succession of tracks. I'd rate it 3.5 stars and time will tell how that will translate to a PA rating. Because of the great packaging and the guts to change direction with such a neo-prog institution I'll rate it four stars for now.