Voice in the Light

Amaran's Plight | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 8, 2010)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: PROGROCK
• ASIN: B000QEILG0
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #252,382 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambitious concept album by super prog group, September 21, 2007

By 

Murat Batmaz (Istanbul, Turkey) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voice in the Light (Audio CD)

ProgRock Records' new super group Amaran's Plight consists of some of progressive music's most noteworthy faces: Gary Wehrkamp of Shadow Gallery and DC Cooper of Royal Hunt and Silent Force. Ever since Shadow Gallery fans heard DC Cooper's guest performance on their masterpiece Tyranny, they have been expecting the duo to collaborate in one form or another again -- and Voice in the Light finally brings them together after nearly a decade.

They are joined by a solid rhythm section, Spock's Beard drummer Nick D'Virgillio and US prog rockers Under The Sun's bassist Kurt Barabas. Both of them do a fine job on the CD, but since most songs were written by Gary Wehrkamp with some vocal melody and lyric contributions by DC Cooper, the album predominantly recalls Shadow Gallery with DC's more progressive style of singing. The rhythm parts do chime in on some songs though, such as the beautifully arranged "Incident at Haldeman's Lake", an ambitious three-part suite that begins with a slightly folky synth patch and wonderful acoustic guitar playing by Jim Roberti, one of the many guests on the CD. From cascading guitar voicings to multiple vocal harmonies and a pronounced bass part together with powerful drumming, this mammoth piece is among the album's best songs. DC Cooper's vocals are emotive and the synth-laden passages lend themselves to quite an atmospheric composition.

At almost 80 minutes, it could be argued that the album never really gains much pace, remaining in a comfortable ballad-and-mid-tempo song range, given the over-abundance of the slow acoustic and piano numbers. Actually "Reflections Pt.1" is a great ballad, mostly because it evokes DC Cooper during his Paradox-era Royal Hunt days, while "I Promise You" sees him swapping lead vocals with female vocalist Trishia O'Keefe whose angelic voice brings in extra dimension to the song. There do exist some heavier passages on the CD, but they are always outnumbered by the more melodic vocals and hard rock-based instrumental parts. "Coming of Age", for instance, stands out for its heavy drum attacks and DC's theatrical vocals, but they are balanced out with Gary Wehrkamp's sweet-toned melodic warmth in the guitar and synth arrangements.

On the heavier front, the band make an interesting statement in the form of "Viper", a song which also features a synth solo by label owner Shawn Gordon. The drumming on this song is solid, but not really something we'd expect of Nick D'Virgillio. However, the singing and consonant guitar and bass back-up somewhat render it out-of-place on the album -- it sounds too happy and straightforward compared to the rest of the disc. "Turning Point" is in a similar mould, with heavier guitar runs and big, happy hard rock choruses.

In the album's centre lies the amazing instrumental "Consummation Opus", a very moody and intense cut laden with excellent bass playing and dense synth colouring. The song has a very epic vibe to it, and could be Amaran's Plight's finest work from a songwriting point. Saga's Michael Sadler makes a guest appearance on the final song "Revelation", one of the three ten-plus-minute monsters. There are different kind of vocals on the album with majestic piano sections and heavier soloing. If you expect lots of flashy guitar playing on the CD, then "Shattered Dreams" deserves a listen, particularly for its very fusiony instrumental break that makes up more than half of its thirteen minutes. There are plenty of guitar and synth trade-offs happening here.

This is a concept album based on the novel by John W. Crawford, and thus contains some dialogues, spoken parts, and other background noises, but thankfully they are either in the intros or the outros of the songs and do not break the flow of the compositions.

Unfortunately the packaging is quite misleading. Apart from various spelling mistakes, the booklet lists an unexisting song titled "Reflections Pt.2" which apparently only exists on the Japanese import. Also the track titles on the back of the CD and booklet vary (I own an initial pressing; I heard they've corrected these mistakes on the new ones). I assume the song is actually called "Truth in Tragedy", but it's listed as "Truth and Tragedy" on the back.

There is absolutely nothing new on this album, but it still manages to reach Shadow Gallery's last album Room V at times, a similarity I feel like pointing out due to the resemblance in production. Also, it is certainly great to see DC Cooper moving away from his straightforward band Silent Force to a more Royal Hunt-like style, which works perfectly on this album.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Listening Is No Plight, March 15, 2008

By 

Dave_42 "Dave_42" (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Voice in Light (Audio CD)

"Voice In The Light" is an album by a group which calls themselves Amaran's Plight. It isn't clear if this is a project for these artists, or if this is intended to be the start of a new group. The band is made up of members of other well known progressive groups such as DC Cooper (Silent Force), Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery), Kurt Barabas (Under the Sun), and Nick D'Virgilio (Spock's Beard). Gary Wehrkamp and DC Cooper are the lead creative forces on this album as they wrote the music, while the lyrics were more of a partnership with John W. Crawford. Regardless of whether this is a one-time effort or the start of a new group, this album is a strong effort which reaches out and grabs the listener right from the start.

This is a concept album, and the style, for the most part, is progressive metal. The concept is based on the novel "Voice in the Light" by John W. Crawford who also worked closely with the group on developing the album. The story is about John, a man who lost his parents to cancer when he was very young and who developed a special friendship with Rachel, the girl next door and the story develops from there into one of love, tragedy, competition and jealousy.

The album opens with "Room 316" a short but effective instrumental which grabs the listener's ear. It then moves into "Friends Forever" which covers the nature of the relationship between John and Rachel. "Coming of Age" is another very solid song and is followed by "Incident At Haldeman's Lake" which is my personal favorite from the first half of the album. "Reflections Part I" has very strong lyrics, but I found the simple acoustic guitar melody to be a slight let down from the intriguing sound of the earlier pieces. The following song "I Promise You" is the low point of the album, with its sickeningly sweet lyrics and pop melody. That is not to say that the subject matter doesn't fit with the album, just that I would have expected a better song from this group, especially when one compares it to the rest of the album. Trishia O'Keefe's vocals are the high-point of this piece, but they don't do enough to save it for me.

The second half of the album opens with another instrumental, "Consummation Opus" and it really brings the album alive again after the weak finish to the first half of the album. "Tragedy In Truth" confirms that the album has returned to the high-quality of the first part of the album. The song deals with the telling of a painful truth to a loved one. "Shattered Dreams" is probably my favorite song on the entire album and speaks to being truthful to oneself and has some great instrumental work in it. "Viper" is the heaviest piece on the album, but for me it failed to deliver to the same level of most of the rest of the album. It almost gets lost between the excellent "Shattered Dreams" and "Betrayed by Love". "Reflections Part II" is a bonus track on the Japanese release of the album, and it revives the melody from "Reflections Part I", but in an electrified version which adds some complexity and layers with additional instrumentation. The lyrics are also quite different, and yet still very important to the story and effective in their presentation. The next piece is "Turning Point" which is a solid work which leads well into "Revelation" which is a strong closing piece which raps up the story both lyrically and musically very well.

This album has numerous solos and wonderful instrumental sections to go along with the lyrics. Though there are a few weaker sections, this is a work of very good to excellent quality, and at nearly 80 minutes it gives the listener a lot of enjoyment. I would certainly recommend seeking out the Japanese version with the bonus track, as it adds positively to the overall album. This one is certainly recommended to those who love progressive heavy rock and concept albums. Parts of this album remind me of Pink Floyd's "The Wall", though overall this album is significantly different than that one. This album deserves around 4 ½ stars, though I will round down due to the unevenness of quality with a couple of the tracks.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unknown Prog-Metal Masterpiece, May 24, 2009

By 

M. Centanni - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Voice in the Light (Audio CD)

I have always been a fan of concept albums. What started out as an album I only liked a song or two off of, it ended up one of my favorite albums of all time. This 80 minute opus gives something fresh and unique to the metal world. The album is based off of a novel by John W. Crawford. D.C. Cooper from Royal Hunt sings on this album. He's got a very distinctive voice which makes me think of Ray Adler with the emotional intensity of Geoff Tate. Well, lets go through the songs one by one to get an idea of what you are getting

Room 316 - A rocking guitar riff + insane solo starts of the album. Relatively short and ends in a little bit dialogue that helps set the mood for the next song and story 10/10

Friends Forever - It starts of with a keyboard ballad, a touching solo and transforms into a mid-paceded song. D.C. Cooper sings his heart out on this song, very catchy and moody 10/10

Coming Of Age - A heavy, melodic, and fast song. One of the fastest songs on the album. Lots of variety with an excellent keyboard bridge. This will more than likely be the first song that will stick in your head 10/10

Incident at Haldeman's Lake - Probably my least favorite track, but that doesn't mean it's bad! D.C. Cooper isn't alone singing in this 11 minute song. Trishia O'Keefe lends her voice for some backing vocals. The instrumental is something you'd expect from Shadow Gallery and Dream theater. Excellent playing but the song isn't quite up to par with the other amazing tracks 8/10

Reflections Part 1 - A unique and emotional Ballad sung by D.C Cooper. Cooper is very powerful and sounds a bit country-music-ish Very catchy and melodic. 10/10

I Promise You - Sounds like a pop-song turned prog metal. Trishia O'Keefe performs stunningly here. The duet between her and Cooper is amazing. The song is about marriage and love and doesn't come off too sappy surprisingly. 10/10

Consummation Opus - A interlude featuring all kinds of instruments and sounds. The song to me represents moving on in the story to the next scene like when a curtain drops in a play. Very enjoyable but I only listen to it if I listen to the full album the whole way through. 8/10

Tragedy In Truth - Quite possibly the best song on the album. There is no real chorus here which makes this different and fun to listen to. Get the lyric book out though, D.C. isn't easy to understand as he belts out the emotional lyrics. It's a mid-paced song with vocals being deeply layered. The soaring vocal melodies are what make this song. You will not get this song in one listen. 10/10

Shattered Dreams - I feel this is the meat of the album. It combines everything you've heard into a climatic epic 13 minute song. The guitar work is exceptionally done, it has an amazing instrumental break that changes pace and builds and builds till you get to the final chorus. By then, you'll be blown away from how intense the music is. I have no idea how many vocal tracks are on the last chorus but the depth of the music will sound stretch your ears.

Viper - The hardest and fastest song on the album, easily one of the more commercial songs on the album. A very fun keyboard solo here 9/10

Betrayed By Love - A love, hate song depending on your tastes. Personally I love it. Running at 7 minutes it's filled with an extremely tasteful 3 part solo running over some interesting dialogue snip-its to make the song that much more meaningful. Reminds me of the solo from Dream Theater's "Good Night Kiss", not a typical song by any means. D.C. sings his head off here. The chorus is BEAUTIFUL! An Excellent emotional prog metal song. I'd pay the price for the album for this song. 10/10

Turning Point - Does Queensryche's Mindcrime ring a bell? Think of Breaking the silence but done by this monster prog metal super group. Although sounding like that song, it's definitely not a copy. Very unique and fun. The most Melodic song on the album.

10/10

Revelation - The album ends off on 13 minute epic opus. Amaran's plight uses every inch of the time left on the album and delivers an epic song in all areas. Keyboard solos, guitar solos, insane drums fills, and very catchy melodies. It features excellent lyrics. It's very surreal at times. The layers of music will force you to crank the song or put on some headphones. This is how you end an album! 10/10

This album will take a few listens and it will grow on you. Take your time with it, it's a complex albums with tons of layers. You can listen to a song 50 times and hear something new each time. All people seeking something different musically should pick this CD up.