Customer Reviews

Visitor

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When Fish left Marillion, there were two paths they could have gone by. One was to get a lead singer that would be brave enough to follow in his footsteps and endure constant comparisons, and the other was to get someone totally different that was willing to endure constant comparisons. There was really no way to win. In the end, Marillion chose the latter. They got Steve Hogarth and eventually gravitated towards psudeo-alternative prog-pop with some bones thrown towards the old fans in the form of the occasional long song, and usually it works in its own way. Yet there are some of us that secretly wonder what would have happened if they had chosen the former. What would they, or could they, have done to satisfy fans that were accustomed to such fantastic albums?

Well, if you were (or are) one of these people, I highly suggest you pick up The Visitor. Arena's sound here is "more Marillion than Marillion", if you will. Sometimes it's a little heavier, and in this way accommodates the prog-metal sound that emerged in the late '80s. It's the path Marillion COULD have taken after Script for a Jester's Tear. Paul Wrightson has obviously been coached towards the wide range of vocal expression that Fish had, and drummer Mick Pointer was a founding member of Marillion. His low-technique high-concept style is unmistakable with Arena.

Other members of the band do not fit into the Marillion-ish mold quite as snugly, though, and this helps to set Arena apart. I knew keyboardist Clive Nolan's resume reads like a who's who of '90's symphonic rock, but I was only familiar with him through Pendragon, who I am not particularly fond of. Here I find his playing to be both bold and tasteful. He knows when to lay down a pad of strings for support and when to play really aggressively with that Rick Wakeman-esque moog solo sound that I am such a chump for. Another consistently impressive player with Arena is guitarist John Mitchell, who plays acoustic like Steve Hackett and solos with the intensity of David Gilmour with slightly metallic chops. The instrumental "Elea", which is a guitar feature, is an emotional point of the album, and it speaks very loudly without the support of lyrics. I would also be remiss if I did not mention the great bass playing of John Jowitt, who can be most closely compared with Chris Squire's post-90125 work.

The Visitor is a concept album, perhaps even a rock opera, that seems to be about a near-death experience. The man character realizes he has died and travels to purgatory where he interacts with characters that tempt him with lies, fears, greed, and self-doubt. He is snatched from his own demise by The Visitor, and is left a better person for the experience.

This concept may not be as tangible as the themes of lost childhood and alcoholism that pervade Marillion's early work, but it is compelling nonetheless. There are a few hokey lines from time to time, but overall the lyrics present themselves in a convincing manner. ....

Because The Visitor is best seen as a whole, it is difficult to suggest a definitive track, but I think that "Elea" segueing into "The Hanging Tree" can give the listener a fair picture. The last two tracks, "Running from Damascus" and "The Visitor" also show considerable compositional strength by bringing back previous musical themes that give the listener an idea of what the character is thinking and experiencing beyond what the lyrics imply. In short, Arena reminds one of the great classic symphonic rock outfits in the same manner as the Flower Kings and Spock's Beard does, but their influences differ. Here I hear shades of Marillion, Genesis, Pink Floyd, and Queensrhyche (only occasionally). They have made other recordings, but the Visitor is a fantastic place to start. It is at once both familiar and distinctive. I listened to it incessantly when I first got it, and it has proven to withstand months of subsequent listenings. It has fantastic playing, intelligent writing, and a great concept - quite possibly a classic album.

In 1988, Marillion gave us a great double live album called "La Gazza Ladra", but their fans did not know that it will be their last release with Fish as their (powerful)leader, (really great)singer and (inspired) composer.

During the next ten years, the Marillion fans have to buy less quality Marillion albums (pop influenced music and not so deep lyrics), or a few good progressive rock albums as Roger Waters'"Amused To Death" or greatest albums of Rush, Pendragon or IQ.

In 1998, Arena gave us "The Visitor", a concept album with: - Great lyrics (an history of a close death experience) - Great music ( Fine progressive rock with a little "Hard" touch) - Great and powerful vocals (you will remember Fish at his best) - and great art work from Hugh Syme (the designer of RUSH album covers and work art)

This is a must for all Progresive rock fans.

I've had this album for several years now, and it has always been one of my top favorites.

There are so many different kinds of prog these days that striking up comparisons is difficult. If "The Flower Kings" are the light side of prog rock, "Arena" is the dark side. The music here is filled with beautifully composed melodies. At times it sounds like the glory days of Pink Floyd.

While most of the songs have vocals, the two people I find at the forefront of Arena's music are Clive Nolan (keyboards) and John Mitchell (guitar). Let me say that, typically speaking, I don't like keyboards. I like piano, but that is different. I tolerate the keyboards in other prog-related bands like Dream Theater. In the case of Arena, I find myself actually liking the keyboards. Whatever Clive Nolan is doing differently, I hope he sticks with it. As for John Mitchell, this guy is a juggernaut of a guitarist. Frequently (The Hanging Tree, Serenity, The Visitor) he evokes the same magic that Pink Floyd's David Gilmour produces. He can play fast, but rarely does so because he recognizes that fast is not always the right thing to do.

I give this album 9.2/10, or 5 stars. This album is nothing short of a masterpiece. No one should claim to like progressive rock if they haven't heard this album.

I am a huge fan of 70s prog. bands (Pink Floyd, Yes, EL&P, Genesis, Jethro, Latte e Miele, etc), and recently started a quest to find new progressive music that would have the same emotion, complexity, and virtuosity found in classic prog. I am thrilled to say I have found it with ARENA. I have tried many of the "new" prog bands (Flower kings, Pendragon, IQ, etc) and while those were OK, Arena exceeded ALL my expectations and is clearly at the top of my list. I see Arena as influenced by "classic" Marillion primarily but they are by no means a copy (if you like Script for a Jester's tear or Fugazi, you will LOVE this record). They have their own style and energy and very dynamic song patterns which keep surprising you and capturing your ear every time you hear them. The entire CD is a gem and the most amazing thing is that, while very complex, it is a pleasure and a trip from the very first time you hear it. If you are in a similar quest to mine, here is the answer (separately, I have also enjoyed Spock's beard but more on that later).

As other reviewers have commented, the brilliance of this album may not be immediately apparent, but brilliant it is! The comparisons to early Marillion or Genesis are fair - Paul Wrightson's voice sounds very much like Fish, who sounds a lot like Peter Gabriel. In fact, comparisons to other bands abound on this album. Some of John Mitchells' guitar passages will make you swear you are listening to David Gilmour. Some of the keyboard passages sound like Fred Schendal of Glass Hammer, others are very reminiscent of ELP. Even the packageing is in the style of those great old LP covers produced for Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons and others by the Hypnosis art studio way back in the 70's.

Don't get me wrong, this band is unique and talented. The music gets under your skin and before you are even aware of it, you're listening to it for the third or fourth time in one day.

Highly recommended for fans of Marillion, Glass Hammer, Genesis, and progressive rock fans in general.

_The Visitor_, a concept album with a concept I haven't yet begun to understand, is an extraordinary release. It walks a fine line between hard rock and metal while offering beautiful, powerful, and memorable melody throughout. Nothing is overdone, nothing is underdone. For instance, the album contains three instrumentals, however they are all under 3 minutes in length and are used solely as a medium of expressing feeling, not as an opportunity to show off (not to say the musicians' immense talent isn't demonstrated ... it is). The atmospheric moments are confined enough to not fall into the trap of inciting boredom, and the energy found in the album is controlled enough as to not appear over zealous. It really is a perfectly balanced album. This is also true in the instrumentation. The highlighting of the guitar, vocals, and keyboards is very effectively spread out. I would consider it an emotional album, but it doesn't use emotion as a crutch, it lets the music and individual songs speak for itself. One might argue that the songs have a somewhat "commercial" tendency, yet while there are a lot of relatively short tracks, the songs are remarkably diverse -- catchy perhaps, but there aren't exactly that many well-emphasized, repeated choruses on the album. The album does have its weaker moments (I always seem to lose attention a little in the album's mid-section), but on the whole it has A LOT to offer. Just a handful of my favorite tracks include "Pins and Needles", "The Hanging Tree", "Tears in the Rain", and "Enemy Without". For the time being, at least, I'm considering this album to be one of the prog-rock essentials.

Don't get me wrong, I like this, like it a lot, and will be buying more by these guys but, come on, it's 3 stars, maybe 4 stars at best!! In fact I was leaning towards 3 stars before deciding it really does deserve 4 when compared to some of the garbage that's out there masquerading as Prog Rock. I particularly like Elea, Don't Forget to Breath, Enemy Without and the title track.

My point is, if you honesty think this is 5 stars then what do you give Pink Floyd's Dark Side or the Wall? What do you give Rush 2112? Porcupine Tree's best? Dream Theater's best? Marillion's best? Yes? King Crimson? On and on and on, etc, etc, etc? And that's just in this genre! Get the point yet?

Besides, this reminds me an awful lot of what Alan Parsons was doing 30 YEARS AGO (especially Tales of Mystery and Imagination)!!! And NOTHING that sounds like something 30 years old deserves 5 stars!!

The widespread abuse of the 5 star rating is my biggest gripe about customer ratings. So, just because you love something, or even if it's the best album by a particular band....that DOESN'T mean it's worthy of 5 stars!!

Bottom line....if you like "old school" Progressive Rock then buy this, you won't be disappointed and, like me, will probably want more by these guys. But...fair warning...it'll sound familiar because there's absolutely nothing new here. (Get Frost* and Kino as well)

And, a note to all you people who complain that Arena are just a Marillion clone - GET OVER YOURSELVES!!

EVERYBODY sounds like someone else, especially since 1970 or so. And you all must be too young to remember that, in the beginning, Marillion received a LOT of criticism over being "nothing more than a Genesis clone" and many people, to this day, think Kayleigh WAS Genesis.

Bottom line - talent is talent and these guys ARE talented!

My favorite Arena album to date.

I haven't heard their newest releases, but this one knocked me compared to the other albums I've heard. It's a nice piece of progressive rock, some kind of equivalent to what "metropolis part 2" is to Dream Theater, but of course, Arena' style and sound. I will review some of my favorites tracks because if I review the whole tracklist then this would get huge.

1)A crack in the ice.
Great track, fast electric rythm guitar, amazing guitar solos, storm-like drums, powerful bass line, very dramatic clima that changes states suddenly, as progressive tracks usually does. This track alone made me think the album deserved a full listen. I've got a surprise then...

2)Pins and needles
Nice slow little tune, somewhat simple but very beautiful, the guitar at the chorus is my favorite. Reminds me to Dream Theater's "solitary shell".

3)Double vision
Strange but strong track in the album, actually the one I listened the most. Loved the melodic keyboard arping followed with the guitar solos, sounds quite original to me, like if it were experimental. Vocals changed the style compared to previous tracks... "We've played this game before", "YES",

4)Eloa
absolutly celestial instrumental track, full of pads and acoustic guitar sounds that takes you to heaven, and during the travel the guitar solo a-la-steve-vai knocks anyone out. A worth listen.

8)In the blink of an Eye.
Absolutly loved the keyboard and guitar solos in the middle of the song, enough to make me listen to it, sounds somewhat to Yes' "Relayer" album because of its frenetism in the melodies. And the song itself is very good to my liking.

14)The visitor
Really nice song, the acoustic guitar with the vocals at the beginning are my favorite... but hoe at 3:10 comes what I really like, a very powerful guitar solo with pads and everything at the background, in a farewell-tone, like if the album was saying good bye... very mesmerizing... god, when the track ended I didn't want it to!

Enough said, go and get this album!

Prog rock can't get any better than this. Musicianship is top notch as are the arrangements. These guys are so good, that chords that shouldn't work together do and that my friends is what makes this truly a wonderful listen. Hanging tree is just awesome as is the guitar solo in the instrumental Elea. A sweet sounding cd that takes you on a journey that is absolutely wonderful.

Texture, texture, texture best describes this effort!!!!!

Perhaps the best example of Arena's musical range is the piece, "The Hanging Tree," from this album, "The Visitor." It begins sounding like something that would have been at home on an early Strawbs album like "From the Witchwood" before it morphs nearly seamlessly into something that would have fit right into Pink Floyd's "The Wall."
The music is compelling and the story riveting, even if you don't buy into the near-death experience concept. That's really just a vehicle the writer uses to convey some more universal concepts. The songs stand on their own individually, yet recurring themes add a cohesiveness to the overall album and story.
I only discovered Arena in 2004. This CD gets a lot of play.