Reading that it was 'John Mitchell' ('Arena', 'Frost *', 'Kino', 'Lonely Robot') that produced 'The Importance of Mr Bedlam' (see his last releases here and here), I thought that, knowing this artist, this first album of the English of 'The Paradox Twin' deserved a little listening. And indeed, I was not disappointed : this project of 'Danny Sorrell' who is the author and composer of the band takes us into the well-known neo-progressive universe and we feel influences from bands like 'Pink- Floyd', 'Arena', 'Porpucine Tree' or 'Blackfield'. The theme of this first opus, Danny explains, is related to « conspiracy theories and the idea that humans on Earth are controlled by extra-terrestrial beings ». Overall, the style mixes progressive and atmospheric with beautiful melodies that take place peacefully and successions of tension and relaxation as in the eponym title of the album which, after a first crescendo, pauses to leave in a quieter instrumental part and the final goes up a notch to finish with a very nice guitar solo. We can also mention 'Cycles' which deploys a kind of 'quiet force' full of serenity which is the qualifier that I would use globally for the album or 'Moonblood' in which the voice of Danny marries very well with this a disturbing atmosphere that expresses the theme very well and, moreover, the guests 'Kim Savior', on vocals, and 'John Mitchell', on guitar, bring their stone to the building to make it a typical progressive song. In summary, for a first album, the Englishs of 'The Paradox Twin' set the bar already very high and this 'The Importance of Mr Bedlam' is still a very nice surprise 2018 for all lovers of progressive music... | |
