If you have a member from each of Threshold, Within Temptation, Darkwater and the Devin Townsend Band, as Oblivion Protocol do, then it’s fair to regard this band as a supergroup. There’s even Threshold’s stellar guitarist Karl Groom on here. Unsurprising this is a prog project with the values that one would associate with that genre to be found here. It’s interesting to note that the Threshold representative, keyboard player and vocalist Richard West visualised this album as a sequel to the concept behind that band’s 2017 album “Legends of the Shires”, and brought in the others to collaborate with him.
The song titles are apocalyptic: The Fall, This is Not a Test, Storm Warning and so on. As soon as I heard the opener “The Fall (Part 1)”, I knew I was going to like this. It’s very Steven Wilson in its calm style, the acoustic rhythm, the echoing but soft voice telling the tale almost mystically. “We have a problem … you are not ready for launch”, announces a dispassionate voice. “Tormented” begins. It’s a catchy and smoothly delivered song whose magic is in the background with the dark and suggestive sound and the driving Threshold-sounding guitar work. The net result is something much bigger than the parts. “Public Safety Broadcast” follows. The announcement signals a warning. Singer Richard’s vocals are pure and clear, and are full of light-hearted irony and threat. The message is that the state is doing people a favour by telling people what to do. Quite apart from the dystopian lyrics, it’s a lovely, vibrant song. Porcupine Tree come into my head again, as do Pattern-Seeking Animals in the delivery style and Pink Floyd in the overall ambiance. It sounds as if the world is in state of crisis with the samples at the start of “This is Not a Test”. “Fear is the new religion, doubters are left outside”, we hear. Again it’s an upbeat song with a dark message about the dark forces around us. The song descends into the dark chasm of the nerve centre where we imagine scientific process going on and people being manipulated. At the same time the keyboard and guitar work combine to delight us. It’s a rich mix.
“Go to line 100” speaks the voice. “Storm Warning” is yet another powerful song. On the face of it, it’s simple and almost childlike in its delivery, but the inherent message is once again strong and clear. Richard asks questions but this is not a lecture. The song has pathos and plenty of it. Musically it develops into another wondrous world of guitar and keyboard, resulting in a tangible atmosphere of tension and menace. Birds tweet, contrasting with the emission of ominous messages from a lab or control room. The instrumentalists follow the plot with a slow and sinister heartbeat. The lyrics of “Vertigo” are desperately sad and emotional, and spoken from the viewpoint of someone is lost and has no trust or self-confidence. The song may be simple in structure, but the build-up is intense and shattering. “It’s too late to turn back now … you have four seconds to clear the area”, announces the man in the control room. The song sets off in an upbeat manner with a forward-driving melodic rhythm. Singer-narrator Richard tells the story – “we were darkened by the first wave, the second took us down”. Cue the return of the pungent rhythm and a keyboard solo. It is all so fluid. I almost expected to hear “Ground Control to Major Tom” as I listened to “The Fall (Part 2)”. Once again Richard takes us through a monstrously sad and impactful tale. The instrumentals are as ever impeccable: an acoustic heartbeat, the steady sound of the drum and a soulful electric guitar. Maintaining the high quality of musicianship and song structure and concept, this is incredibly beautiful.
This is a wonderful album which hit me strongly. The songs are pure and develop in a prog style which fills our head with a musically magical combination without ever being pretentious or aloof as prog can sometimes be. At the same times the songs have a simplicity which makes the listening easy, but also support the delivery of the dystopian message. The strength is in the superficial simplicity, while the songs, which are born of Threshold, Porcupine Tree and Pink Floyd, are fluid and sophisticated. But this is a creation of Oblivion Protocol, and one which deserves attention. At all times when listening to “The Fall of the Shires” I was in the moment. Every song brought me in willingly and is a joy to listen to.
(9/10 Andrew Doherty)
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