Marillion - Cover My Eyes

Mystery - Is This How The Story Ends?

"Intrigue", a box set curated by the one and only Steven Wilson!

Very interesting.

A Bing AI generated answer to 'What are the themes of the albums by the British band IQ?'

The song in this post is from Subterranea.

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IQ is a British neo-prog band that was founded in981 by Mike Holmes and Martin Orford.

The band has built up a loyal following over the years and is still active as of 2022.

The themes of their albums are diverse and range from science fiction to social commentary. Here is a list of their albums and their themes:

Tales from the Lush Attic (1983): The album is a concept album that tells the story of a man who is searching for the meaning of life.

The Wake (1985): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of death and rebirth.

Nomzamo (1987): The album is a concept album that deals with the themes of apartheid and social injustice.

Are You Sitting Comfortably? (1989): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of love, loss, and the human condition.

Ever (1993): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of time and the human experience.

Subterranea (1997): The album is a concept album that tells the story of a man who is trapped in a subterranean world.

Seven Stories into '98 (1998): The album is a compilation album that features live recordings of the band’s performances.

The Seventh House (2000): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of the human psyche and the search for meaning.

Dark Matter (2004): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of the universe, the human condition, and the search for knowledge.

Frequency (2009): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of the human mind and the search for truth.

The Road of Bones (2014): The album is a concept album that explores the themes of war, conflict, and the human condition.

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Seems like a cerebral band...

#186 - Script For A Jester’s Tear - Marillion (1983)

I intended to review this album on its 40th anniversary, March 14th, however I was sick and thus didn’t quite have the energy to review it, but better late than never right?

Unlike most, I think the 80s weren’t all too bad on prog. I mean, King Crimson reunited with a cool new yet still proggy sound, Kate Bush released a plethora of great prog pop albums, Rush was still going mighty strong, and avant-prog bands like Cardiacs and Univers Zero got quite popular in the threshold. It was also the decade when we got introduced to neo-prog, which then was a synth driven progressive rock movement that combined elements of new wave, punk, and prog pop into prog rock, creating this fun and inventive ideal for bands to take. Obviously, it goes without saying the genre’s start can be pointed to Marillion’s Script For A Jester’s Tear.

Released in the same year as Metallica’s debut album, Iron Maiden’s Piece of Mind, and Talking Heads’ Remain In Light, I feel like Script For A Jester’s Tear is quite the album for the 80s, and one that with time, I fell in love with.

This was created in the wake of many life changing melodies the then frontman, Dereck Dick, or Fish, held within his life. Break up, drug abuse, and his encounters with the rich and war, all can be found within the album’s longevity of music and what he had experienced within his life. Whilst these more personal, and more outwardly touchy subjects aren’t new for prog rock, hell bands like Pink Floyd and King Crimson had talked about them for quite some time, I feel like what Fish crafts here is truly his own, and in retrospect, paints a beautiful, yet very depressing picture. I think it really makes Script For A Jester’s Tear a very special album in my eyes, as I feel like it takes the best elements of more punk ideals and merges them with the fun exploration of progressive rock. To me, this feels like if Genesis or any symphonic prog band decided to make their own interpretation of Animals by Pink Floyd.

Musically speaking, this album is quite some of the best prog rock you can get. Many passages on here have this overwhelming charm to it. While on first listens the Genesis inspiration is quite apparent, I feel like that inspiration goes away pretty quickly and merges within this more unique quality the band takes on. Tracks like the title track, The Web, Garden Party, and Forgotten Sons does such a charming job in my opinion within the entire beauty it all holds, and while you can definitely hear some form of inspiration within the sounds and qualities to bands from the 70s, I do not think it makes the sound any less than so, and in fact I feel like it is truly progressive, using the sounds and stylizations of bands from the past and coating them in a new coat of paint and adding a new edge to the whole is a great showcasing of progressive rock and why I really love it. I mean, it is pretty telling of this fact with the album cover. The back depicts albums from the past, on the floor, relatively hidden away in the darkness; the past is still there, but the future, the jester, is now. I think this musicality represents the entire scope of prog rock, as it looks and reflects on the past, like how Fish does within the lyrics, but it is shrouded and foggy in the wake of new things. The more I think about it, the more ingenious this whole album becomes as a metaphor for not only Fish’s life, but for prog rock as a whole.

It is without saying, or denying that this album is a masterpiece. Every track on here is a masterclass of prog rock standards, and while it isn’t my favorite Marillion album, nor my favorite Fish era album (that title goes to Misplaced Childhood), Script For A Jester’s Tear is still a boundless and quite an amazing record, taking what was and turning it into something new. It is no better time than now to see and hear this album as it is one of those prog rock classics that I feel needs more recognition. This is an ingenious, beautiful, edgy, and quite charming record if I do say so myself.

5/5

Haze - The Snake

From The Album: Back To The Bones (2020)

[Prog Rock, Neo-Prog]

Again, the obsession has gone too far... so here- more CDs came yesterday

Tracklist:

Eden On The Air • Eat It Up Worms Hero • Dog Like Sparky • Fiery Gun Hand • Insect Hoofs On Lassie • Fairy Mary Mag • Bellyeye • A Horses Tail • Manhoo • Wireless • Dirty Boy • Billion • Odd Even • Bell Stinks • Bell Clinks • Flap Off You Beak • Quiet As A Mouse • Angleworm Angel • Red Fire Coming Out From His Gills • No Gold • Nurses Whispering Verses • Foundling

Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

St. Vincent’s All Born Screaming

... Fish ...

" So here I am once more in the playground of the broken hearts ..."

Invisible Club 2

28.02.2024

Hello. Trevor here. It’s time to enter the Invisible Club. 16 tracks from 16 artists for how ever long it takes.

The musical keys for this week are D minor, C# minor and D # minor the BPM range is 122-130.

Invisible Club comes out every Wednsday and is a compiment to Invisible Waves with less talk and more action.

This weeks artists are, in order of appearance Ekoplekz, Tommaso Nudo, Baldocaster, Prog Mountain, Erell Ranson, Arkajo, Claude Lavender, Speedy J, Thought Bubble, Moskva-Kassiopeya, Patrick Cowley, Solipsism, Brian Bennett, TFSL, Birds ov Paradise, Wojciech Golczewski and Isfjord. Let’s gooo…

Intro 00:00

Ekoplekz-Brass Tackz 00:33

Tommaso Nudo-Wood Vibrations 04:37

Baldocaster, Prog Mountain-Sudden Departure 11:30

Erell Ranson-Fragments Of Moments 14:17

Arkajo-Rymdkollo 19:49

Claude Lavender-Going Up 27:10

Speedy J-Beam Me Up! - Remastered 2021 29:38

Thought Bubble-Now Boarding 34:56

Moskva-Kassiopeya-Stellarfall 39:12

Patrick Cowley-Love Me Hot 44:42

Solipsism-Human 2.0 49:49

Brian Bennett-Pendulum Force - 7' Edit 54:20

TFSL-The Tale For The Tales 58:21

Birds ov Paradise-Luftiga Ljud 1:08:16

Wojciech Golczewski-Reality Check 1:13:51

Isfjord-Drekktu mig 1:15:38

Outro 1:19:08

Voodoo by King Diamond Massacre 1998 Heavy Metal / Progressive Metal / Horror Rock / Neo-Classical Metal

#183 - This Strange Engine - Marillion (1997)

Out of all the releases Marillion had made over their 40+ years of music, I am quite surprised that This Strange Engine is so underrated and ill-appreciated within the sheer volume the band has crafted, especially in their current H-era. I want to hopefully get more people to see how good this album really is. I cannot say it is a perfect album the band has made, but I think the hate it gets is undeserving.

I think the biggest complaint I have seen within this album is that it is too poppy, or a bit more mainstream, and I can definitely see why people might have quite the stinge for that type of stuff within prog rock, but I feel like Marillion has always been a little more poppy and accessible. Look at songs like Kayleigh or The Great Escape, which are rather big pop hits for a prog rock band, and while you could argue The Great Escape is a lot more prog than pop, Kayleigh cannot be denied from it being it’s very pop status, so I feel like This Strange Engine more or less just continues the more pop nature Marillion naturally already have, and I personally think it sells this more prog pop aspect really well. Songs like 80 Days, Estonia, and Hope For The Future are all excellent songs that feel very vibrant and lively, but contain Hogarth’s signature moody poetry that creates a divergent boundary in mood and feelings that pay off really well.

I also feel like the critique of this being a lot more acoustic and not filled with enough complexities never quite made sense to me. I feel like even more acoustic albums can be quite complex, I mean look at some folk bands out there like Current 93 and Harmonium, which are groups that create very endearing and rather long songs that contain quite the bit more spice needed to keep things interesting. The complexities, to me, are pretty front and center, and even if they are not the main focus, I think the music as a whole makes up for it, especially on the 15 minute long title track, which I think in of itself is a very strong prog rock epic. I actually feel like the focus on Hogarth’s singing and lyrics work in favor to this album, and while I do think not every lyric hits hard, I think at the end of the day this is some of the best Hogarth vocals on an album; definitely comparable to some legendary scores on Brave and Marbles.

Now, personally, really truly justly personal, I think this is a very great album. I never feel dissatisfied with these songs, and what is on here is really stellar in the grand scheme of things. However, I think it is a very front loaded album, with the exception of This Strange Engine. Unlike most Marillion releases which have a very good handful and mixture of songs that are spread out meticulously, the first half kinda has the better songs in my mind compared to the second half. While I do enjoy moments from An Accidental Man and Memory of Water, I do not think they compare to stuff like A Man Of A Thousand Faces or 80 Days that have some brilliant elements that truly make H-era Marillion my favorite era the band is held in. The exception is This Strange Engine, which I think holds some stellar, almost Ocean Cloud rivaling scores that keep me wanting more. Truly one of Marillion’s best songs.

If you might be a new or old Marillion fan, I think you should really check this album out, or revisit it. I think a lot of people need to relisten to this one, as it is where we get some of the best Hogarth moments, some of the best–more moody songs the band has made, and one of the band’s best prog epics. Do not turn down this album, it really is a special gemstone, and an underrated one at that.

4.5/5