Line-up
D.C. Cooper - Vocals (Silent Force, ex-Royal Hunt)
Gary Wehrkamp - Guitars, Keyboards, Vocals (
Shadow Gallery)
Nick D'Virgillo - Drums (Spock's Beard)
Kurt Barabas - Bass (Under the sun)
Amaran's Plight is a new project with Gary Wehrkamp, known for his outstanding work in
Shadow Gallery, as the main songwriter. The music is pretty close to
Shadow Gallery in some ways but different enough to stand apart. Progressive Metal with a lot of feelings, beautiful vocal melodies and songs ranging from passionate ballads to complex 10+ minute epics of technical wizardry can be found here. Mostly the album stays in a comfortable mid-tempo pace. The album impresses at first, but only really opens up after about a dozen spins.
DC Cooper excels as the main vocalist. He brings the needed emotion to the sometimes hard to sing lyrics. At first some vocal lines, especially in the first couple of songs, sound off, but with repeated listens the melodies evolve and work very well. A few memorable Cooper highlights include the way the words
"on my own" are sung in
Shattered Dreams as well as
"my setting sun will turn the page" in
Revelation.
The album starts out happy and positive but takes a darker path halfway through. Novelist John W. Crawford has translated his novel "Voice in the light" into a prose poetry middle course and while some lyrics have a very "narrative" or "literary", for lack of a better word, feel to them, in the end the story works because the musicians imbue the whole package with touching emotion.
Musically the album is melodic, ear catching and suitably complex at the same time. Some amazing musicians inhabit the album, meaning that close listening is rewarded.
Mellow tracks, straight ahead tracks and complex tracks in almost equal amounts make the album feel varied but also give it a somewhat uneven flow. It is as if it never really peaks completely.
A few highlights:
Coming of Age and
Turning Point are more or less straight ahead heavy songs that are instantly memorable. Both have captivating choruses and strong harmonies.
Coming of Age switches from alluring piano-led verses to heavy and powerful chorus sections while
Turning point includes a brilliant guitar solo that leads perfectly to the last chorus
DC Cooper is a highlight of
Reflections Pt. 1, a song filled with wonderful harmonies and a very distinct sadness while
I Promise You is dreamingly positive with lyrics that speak volumes.
DC Cooper gave a short but memorable performance on the classic
Shadow Gallery album Tyranny. On
Tragedy in Truth that same dark, sinister atmosphere is captured, making it a final transition for the album into a not so sunny grove.
The complex 10+ minute tracks grow on repeated listens and each is a highlight on the album in its own right. Only
Shattered Dreams feels a bit too long with an extended instrumental section.
Incident at Haldeman's Lake stands out as a superbly written song
Revelation ends the story on a fittingly epic note. I love the main melody and the way it seems to tie everything together.
All in all Voice in the Light is a highly enjoyable album and a great addition to a year already filled with high quality releases.
Only one question remains: What happened to the song
Reflections Part II? It is listed in the booklet including lyrics, but is nowhere to be found on the actual CD. It is a Mystery...
Written by
Steen Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Show all reviews by SteenRatingsSteen: 7.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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