My first observation on this album is to compliment the artwork and packaging. Of course this doesn’t tell us that it’s a great album. The packaging is also a question of money as well as creativity, although this is self-released so special credit is due to these guys there. I was immediately impressed by the care and attention that had gone into it. The track titles cover mountains, trees, clouds and water and on the face of it, this looks like a progressive work … maybe like another band with Tree in their name? They do mention Opeth, Dream Theater and fleetingly Haken, who themselves have “The Mountain” as an album to their name, but it’s not about paying homage to other bands. Guerilla Tree is a band who go back to 2010 and whose first album “Mental Leaps” was released 10 years ago.
The album starts in an expansive style, which is so typical of the prog that I so often hear at ProgPower Europe. That’s a compliment, by the way. “Misbelief” rides atop a wave, has a nice melody, a bit of keyboard and both depth and darkness. Yes I hear Dream Theater and I’m also hearing Day Six in this. This is rather cool and not at all pretentious as prog bands can be. The instrumental end section has an air of Opeth about it. So too does the start of “A Cloud” but now it’s “Damnation” instead of “Deliverance”. “A Cloud” is another sophisticated chunky piece. The singer has a pleasant voice, with a nice degree but not over effusive degree of emotion and vulnerability. It’s clear that these songs have a great deal of depth but Guerilla Tree deserve great credit for not overwhelming us in complexity in spite of the subtle patterns. In fact it’s light and airy, and sometimes it clouds over.
“Fertile Water” starts off in the dark zone with its strong rhythm. It’s a powerful, deliberate song with a pumping drum beat and strong instrumentals, and intriguing lyrics which I’ve read several times without being able to reach a conclusion. “Before U Die” doesn’t sound so joyous but musically this like a colourful festival of prog, with calming drums and vocals, and both melodic and rock-inspired guitar work. Hard rock is very much behind “Spiral Tendrils of Dust”, an essentially dreamy affair. Dreams and hard rock do mix. Again the structure and flow sweep us along. It leads nicely into the soft and sublime instrumental rhythm of “Inhuman”. This is foil for a dark and disturbing lyrical output, but it seems to be in Guerilla Tree’s DNA to provide colour, however dark the subject matter. While “creeping death” surrounds us, the sombre song is rich and vibrant with musical and melodic splendour.
“Inhuman” is a very powerful song. “Hear the black side of your soul, it shall be as white as snow” is not only the opening lyric of “Black Snow”, but captures the constant spirit of light and dark and many shades in between. This is a collection of edgy pieces. This now actually reminds me strongly of the gothic style rock-metal bands like Sentenced and Poisonblack. It is more The Old Dead Tree than Porcupine Tree. More dark menace is in the air of “Mountain Reflection”. It transforms into mystery, drama and reflection, supported by melodic and strident instrumental work from the guitar department. Menace is at the centre of “Form of Life”, but the song expands into an imposingly dark rhythmic charge. This album had threatened heaviness. Now it is upon us. It is strong, and leads into the mobile and dramatic rhythm of “The Life History of a Tree”, the final piece. Keyboards mix with the perennial pungent rhythm and dark edginess that prevails across this album. A soft guitar section flows through the mid-section. I sense a change towards a more optimistic mood as we return to the strong and colourful melody, before a sampled narrative and then finally it fades away mysteriously.
Progressive this is, but “Mountain’s View” is far from conventional. There are light, dark, melodic, even gothic elements. There wasn’t a single moment when there wasn’t something going on musically, as Guerilla Tree demonstrate that they not only know to handle musical styles but also varying moods. In spite of “Mountain’s View” being largely a prog work in much of its presentation and lyrical themes, it is for this genre uncharacteristically unpretentious. It’s certainly enjoyable and kept me absorbed for the whole of its 57-minute duration.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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