Issue 2024-077
Duo Review
Orion — The Lightbringers
This new album from Corby-based one man project Orion, The Lightbringers, sees multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ben Jones re-purpose his previous release the EP Passing Through, reviewed and highly recommended by my colleague Jan. The tracks from that EP form the first three on this new release and I won't re-review them here. See Jan's review for details and know that I wholeheartedly agree with his assessment of these tracks.
So what of the new material? Well it continues in the same vein, mashing up Rush's song focused melodies, circa Clockwork Angels, with Dream Theater crunchy grooves and Porcupine Tree heaviness with a sense of purpose all Orion's own. As Best We Can, the fourth track here, completes a Side A run of tracks along with The Tumult Of My Heart, The Ghosts Among Us and This Sickness. It is a song that opens in an acoustic guitar and sampled strings mode and offers a contrast to the three opening tracks. Detailed and building to a nice climax it fits in perfectly.
Orion then moves on to the second half of the album and the 25-minute epic, The Cycle Of Light, with its message of enduring hope. Commencing with the superb instrumental Spark, all heavy guitars, thumping drums and wedges of bass pushing a powerhouse melody while adding in subtle synths and wordless choral voices.
Then follows the songs. The Scattering Stars opens with piano, resonant cello, possibly trumpet, and orchestral strings that are blown away by prominent bass and fierce guitars. Orion's strong Geddy Lee invoking vocals step up even further on The Falling Heavens' bass heavy melody that develops into a guitar fest via a female voice and keys before weaving in a bluesy guitar solo.
Capped off with the ten-minute title track that provides a fitting conclusion to both the song cycle and the album. It moves from massed keyboards, ethereal choral voices into a satisfyingly complex prog-rocking romp.
Orion's The Lightbringers is a cracking collection of tunes, vibrant with shifting intricacies and super tunes. If you thought that Porcupine Tree's Songs From Down The Back Of The Sofa, sorry, Closure/Continuation was, as I did, somewhat underwhelming then try The Lightbringers and use it to warm your heavy prog core this winter.
Oh, and don't miss out on Hugh Syme's spectacular booklet art either.
This sophomore release, The Lightbringers, that follows his debut The End Of Suffering is making it tricky to not completely repeat some of my previous assessments I made on the preview EP Passing Through.
Unavoidable, actually. Apart from a few mixing differences, the first three songs on The Lightbringers are exactly the same songs as presented on the EP. It's therefore impossible to not mention that The Lightbringers, in comparison to The End Of Suffering, brings superior openness in production, expresses a wider palette of sounds, and showcases a strong convincing growth in emotively touching vocal performances by Jones.
Several aspects have changed though. The album's mentioned working title of Human Nature for instance has now forever changed into that of The Lightbringers. And I need to confess that the mighty excellent This Sickness, in Porcupine Tree and Rush style, to my joyful satisfaction, is no longer my favourite Orion song. Final aspect, the most important of all, is the album's artwork. Where this was still in the secure artistic hands of Thomas Ewerhard at time of Passing Through, it is now completely taken care of by renowned graphical designer Hugh Syme. A masterstroke decision if ever there was one. Because Syme's inspiring artwork ideally complements Orion's outstandingly well-written and formidably executed music.
This is superbly illustrated in As Best We Can, which opens atmospherically in an autumnal garden of intricate acoustic guitar and symphonies, with diversely voiced Edenic lyrical reflection. In perfect alignment with Syme's transient art, it levitates enchantingly through an earthy soundscape aglow with resonating grandiosity and palpable moments of serenity. The striking illustration accompanying The Falling Heavens, a contagiously impressive heavy prog composition is another excellent example that exhibits meaningful impact.
Concluding the album with four consecutive pieces of stunning music is the phenomenal suite The Cycle Of Life. Fully delivering on his promise to explore new musical territories this in Spark starts off with shadowy post-rock atmospheres that reminds me of Obrasqi. It energetically ignites into rockier surroundings empowered by rumbling bass and tribal rhythms. This excellent instrumental ultimately soars into environments of contagiously heavy symphonic prog and resonates with cinematic attraction in the finest Collapse Under The Empire tradition.
Highlighted by an outstanding vocal performance, The Scattering Stars follows this with a meticulous flowing light-show of melodies of elegant symphonies which on the one hand showcase songsmithery uniqueness, and on the other gently glimmer with Nektar and Rush. After the impressive infectious rush of the aforementioned The Falling Heavens, the album finally concludes with Orion's most brilliant composition to date: the amazing The Lightbringers.
This immaculate song is charged with radiant positivity and oozing a late-era Rush vibe beyond compare, and spotlights every single aspect of Orion's musical talent. In other words: I fall short in superlatives. This magnificently new Orion favourite simply has it all. Absolutely everything in this thrilling composition truly gels, rhythmically compels and musically overwhelms. Yielding in the end an astonishingly captivating song. Melodies of grandeur and graced by formidable vocal accomplishments, this endlessly pleases with an abundant flow of emotive guitar and symphonic bliss. It ultimately finalises in a breathtaking pinnacle of glamorous hymning melodies that gracefully burn with hopeful awareness. A prime example on how to impeccably round up one's exceptional work of thoughtful art.
Convinced that his debut The End Of Suffering wouldn't get noticed by many, which evidently it did, Jones in the album's booklet lets it slip that he never intended to make a second album. I am sure glad he so quickly did. If mightily impressive, entertaining, well-crafted and skilfully executed progressive rock aglow with a melodic galore of heavy prog, classic rock, and Rush are to your liking, I reckon you will be equally glad once you have secured a pristinely packaged copy of The Lightbringers on Orion's official pages.
I'm sincerely counting on it that these Bandcamp page visits will once more inspire Jones to write a third album. For let's face it: The Lightbringers is the second highly recommendable Orion masterpiece destined to end up high on my year-list. And all good things come in threes right? Right!
Duo Review
Weather Systems — Ocean Without A Shore
4 years ago, in 2020, saw the end of the group known as Anathema. Having started as one of the “Peaceville Three”, a term sometimes used to describe the trio of Anathema, Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. And now, from the ashes of Anathema, Danny Cavanagh (one of the two brothers forming the backbone of the group) has formed Weather Systems, alongside former bandmate John Douglas (drums and keys) with the name coming from the 2012 album by his former band. Described as a continuation of the legacy of Anathema — there is high expectations.
From the very start, the album means business. Synaesthesia open with an atmospheric, but intense passage before delving into some heavy riffs and melodies, from crunching bridges to the gentle outro. Following this, Do Angels Sing Like Rain comes in, sounding like a modern take on some of the groups earlier work (think A Natural Disaster era), full of mellow yet passionate leads and vocals. Untouchable Part 3 itself links back to the namesake of the project, namely Weather Systems (Anathema's 9th album) and has all the hallmarks of their trademark sound – atmospheric, harmonious, soaring and powerful vocals and walls of sound throughout.
Ghost in the Machine evokes more nostalgia, with a dark and foreboding sound rolling through it, but seamlessly melds it with prog tinges to showcase the maturing of the music and writing. Another direct sequel to earlier work comes in Are You There Part 2, which is a follow on from 2003's A Natural Disaster and serves as the “ballad” of the album with its emotionally driven vocals and music. Influences shine through heavily on Still Lake, which has a distinctly Pink Floyd sound to it before evolving into a crescendo that is the hallmark of Danny's writing.
Take Me With You presents another change in style as it enters into a more “dream pop” style with its harmonies and keys presenting a hopeful sound. The album's title track is another shift in style, this one more again to a video game with its electronic leads and synths coupled with the autotuned vocals. And so finally we have The Space Between Us, the album closer. Backed by a tribal-esque vocal chant that recalls thoughts of open space. This backdrop remains throughout as the music builds and grows to an emotional and stirring outro.
The album absolutely continues the legacy of Anathema, and seems to encompass every style the group went through, but combined in a workable and modern setting. It is a testament to Danny's skill as a writer to manage to combine it all successfully.
I'd recommend for fans of the Kscope label, and bands such as The Pineapple Thief, Alcest, Katatonia and similar.
At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, the popular UK band Anathema made the difficult choice to go on "indefinite hiatus". Founding member Daniel Cavanagh, along with drummer Daniel Cardoso, return with this debut album under the name of Weather Systems. Much of this material began compositionally with a new Anathema album in mind and it shows. That band's elements are all presented here, albeit in a slightly more direct, accessible style. As Cavanagh states, "Weather Systems is in the name of our best album and Ocean Without A Shore is like a sequel."
There is a heavier tone at times and guitar laded tracks such as, Synaesthesia, Do Angels Sing Like Rain and Still Lake, are reminiscent of Porcupine Tree. Cavanagh has a unique way of building a consistent melody and indelible chorus to a strong overall crescendo. That approach is put to effective use on the Anathema callbacks, Untouchable Part 3, and Are You There Part 2.
Other highlights include the upbeat Take Me With You, the exquisite title track and the Peter Gabriel-like album closer, The Space Between Us. Another carryover from Anathema is the vocals duets, which is utilized wonderfully throughout this excellent release.
Ultimately, this is the album that Anathema fans have been waiting for. In fact, it is as consistently strong as any release by that band. With a relatively tight runtime, filler tracks are non-existent, and the beginning to end album flow is potent. Ocean Without A Shore is superb and an easy prediction for top ten of the year status. Highly Recommended!