Hmm. To get all classical, a tritone strictly speaking in musical terms is an interval composed of three adjacent whole tones, sometimes know as “The Devil’s Tritone”, and well used by classical composers and Iron Maiden alike to invoke a dark atmosphere. So, surely, invoking this hellish sound as they do, Tritonus must be a hoard of Devil’s acolytes plying the blackest of metal! Erm, no.
I’ve never heard of this band, but the blurb combined with a quick internet search indicates they are a prog band that has taken almost a quarter of a century to go from musical idea to an internationally available CD laden with respected session players. So, with 20 plus years of honing their skills, the band must be awesome beyond belief, right, and as a fan of Jethro Tull, Yes, and the ilk I must be the ideal examiner of this concentrated essence of progressive metal? Maybe not, so read on.
Straight away, the band lays their musical cards on the table with title track ‘Prison of Light’; I’d like to review it note for note, intricate chord for chord, and epically written verse for verse, but I honestly cannot work out where one track ends and the next commences. One overwhelming exercise in technical proficiency melds seamlessly into a whirl of guitar wizardry with the next, with no break or change of direction, the sole intent of the album to seemingly demonstrate the technical ability of all the musicians, be they Tony Banks worshipping keyboard players or what I imagine to be the earnest and stern faced 8 string guitar slingers. Rather then an exercise in the joy of music, the album sounds like a demonstration piece for technical excellence. As it is, come track four, ‘Blindfolded’, there is a constantly repeated cry of “higher education”, as surely this in an exercise in technical ability as opposed to an enjoyment of music.
In writing this review, I might sound like some thrash addled extreme metal mosher, but let me tell you, I’m far more likely to be caught playing Yes, Hackett era Genesis or classic Jethro Tull then I am to be banging away to the latest Megadeth. However, every note of this album screamed of technical proficiency rather then musical drive. I’ve no doubt that if Tritonus could produce this sound live they’d go down a storm at HRH Prog or any Prog Power festival, but to me, the whole album washed over me like a technical exercise rather then a celebration of the joy of music.
If you regularly wear a Marillion t-shirt and like standing stock still at a concert with at most a merest nod in appreciation of a particularly complex paradiddle; your prayers have been answered. If you want feelings and passion as opposed to note perfect proficiency, look elsewhere.
(6/10 Spenny)
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