Revel in Time, the third album from prog/metal mastermind Arjen Lucassen’s Star One project is a complete belter make no mistake. A glorious hour or so of bombastic, progressive heaviness so well done it’s ridiculous.
As usual with Star One, Lucassen bases the songs around a sci-fi theme with each one about a particular film or TV series.
Part of the fun of listening is figuring out which he’s writing about. I’m not the biggest sci-fi fan though think I’ve figured out a few such as the Terminator, Bill and Ted, Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, The Philadelphia Experiment and if I’m not mistaken Sapphire and Steel which was a rather “cult” TV series here in the UK from the late 1970s to the early 1980s.
And also as usual, Arjen has recruited a remarkable cast of musicians to play on the album. This time we have the hardy perennials such as Floor Jansen, Ed Warby, Joost Van Den Broek, Marcela Bovio and Damien Wilson.
Then a jaw-dropping cast of names with a different vocalist and guitarist on each song. Check out who this involves……Brittney Slayes, Jeff Scott Soto, Russell Allen, Joe Lynn Turner, Jaycee Cuipers and others.
The guitarists each with a blazing solo on the song they perform on include Timo Somers, Ron Thal, Michael Romeo, Adrian Vendenberg, Joel Hoekstra and Steve Vai. What a cast list eh?
Musically it’s all top class all the way. It’s heavy, progressive, glorious, sweeping and melodic in typical Lucassen style. Brutal yet measured riffs, excellent synths, keys and Hammond organ swirls and the guitar solos – well, look at the names above.
The opener – Fate of Man – being a prime example. Synth-based intro then it blasts off in to a blazing progressive heavyweight of a song with quite remarkable vocals from Brittney Slayes and a neo-classical shred-fest from Michael Romeo. Check it out:
The ten tracks which follow all breath taking in scope, style, construction and performance that the sixty odd minute running time flashes by. It’s all so enjoyable and can’t be faulted anywhere.
Arjen likes to over-deliver and Revel in Time is no exception. In addition to the eleven blockbusters on the CD, there’s a second CD with alternative versions of the songs performed by different vocalists.
Yet again Lucassen comes up with a masterpiece. Nobody does this sort of stuff better.