'Age of Distraction' is a new British formation which evolves between rock and progressive metal and which was created by the guitarist 'John Cook' (among others 'This Winter Machine') and who took with him artists from other progressive groups with 'Charlie Bramald' on vocals (who plays as a flutist with 'Nova Cascade' and 'Ghost Of The Machine'), 'Mark Gatland' on bass ('Hats Off Gentlemen It's Adequate') and 'Dom Benison' on drums and keyboards ('Last Motion Picture', ex-'This Winter Machine'). Given everyone's pedigree, we are not surprised to be able to put ourselves between the ears of the very good progressive which takes us back to the second wave of this style of formations which saw the light of day in the 80s/90s like 'Arena' , 'Marillion', 'Pendragon' or even 'Threshold'. On the menu for this opus, a dozen titles for just over 50 minutes of listening, in fairly short formats for progressive, the longest title still close to 8 minutes.
We are welcomed by the short instrumental 'The Uninvited' which whets our appetite for the rest and which highlights the guest 'Ruby Jones' on the piano on a slow tempo repeating the same musical phrase in crescendo (me reminiscent of the melodic lines of the slow and relaxing part of 'The Bonding' from Edenbridge'), then, 'Break My Bones' starts with energetic riffs showing the metal side of the group and continues by alternating different intensities and rhythms, 'Charlie Bramald' showing all his very expressive vocal talent in this progressive maze on a catchy melody. It's off to a good start and 'Compromised' immediately highlights the rhythm section of 'Mark Gatland' and 'Dom Benison' in a powerful track in which a feeling of urgency emerges, the fiery vocals of 'Charlie Bramald' adding to this atmosphere brimming with passion. In contrast, 'Protect Me' presents a much calmer face on a slow tempo while maintaining a significant emotional intensity, the short final guitar solo of 'John Cook' ending this title in a very beautiful way, then, 'The Plea' is a short instrumental that moves slowly with very beautiful electric guitar accompaniment. Follows 'Take Me Down' which has a less progressive construction and is a gentle ballad in which guest 'Philip Stuckey' ('Stuckfish') brings a delicate song well in tune with the peaceful atmosphere of this very beautiful title, then, a change of scenery with 'A Game of Whispers' which hardens the tone for a composition between rock and metal in a stormy atmosphere, the vocals of 'Charlie Bramald' becoming rougher and the change of tempo slower in the chorus bringing a feeling of power with the deep bass of 'Mark Gatland' . 'Point Of No Return' is an instrumental in the continuity of the previous title and once again highlights the unbridled rhythm section on which the guitar of 'John Cook' comes to pose very beautiful guitar solos, then, 'Oceans' calms the ardor in the first acoustic part and continues with the entry of the deep bass which brings a beautiful quiet force in opposition to the calm singing of 'Charlie Bramald' which evolves over the course of the title to become much more intense. After the short instrumental 'The Left Unsaid' on which the guitar arpeggios of 'John Cook' are of beautiful delicacy, 'Sneak Attack' takes us, after a peaceful introduction made up of layers of keyboards, into a mixture of rock and of sought-after progressive metal with the climax, a powerful chorus offering a beautiful dynamic which quickly gets stuck in the head, the guitar solo in the second part being a model of the genre (thank you Mr. 'John Cook'!) and the album ends on a moving note with the short 'My Peace' which is an atmospheric instrumental on which we abandon ourselves to the sounds of flute then violin which delicately caress our senses.
In summary, the British from 'Age of Distraction' are releasing a very promising first album which adds to the very good progressive releases of this year thanks to talented artists (special mention for 'Charlie Bramald' who for my part is placed at the top of the basket of the best singers of this style) and 'A Game of Whispers' should, without a doubt, take a good place in the ideal discotheque of any fan of modern progressive rock and metal... | |
