Bad Dog Promotions keep ‘em coming. Thanks to AC for sending me the latest from Clive Nolan – The Mortal Light.
Now, I must admit that I know little of Clive’s solo work bar the Tales by Gaslight he did with Oliver Wakeman.
I am a bit more familiar with his work with Pendragon having a couple of their albums (Pure and Passion) both of which I like very much.
Thus, I didn’t know what to expect from The Mortal Light.
That said, I was encouraged in reading the media blurb setting out this was a big prog rock concept epic and the continuance of Clive’s Alchemy series which chronicles the ongoing journey of King and his friends as they navigate the dangers and challenges of this colourful Steampunk Victorian Universe.
I do enjoy a good prog rock concept album and immediately thought to myself that The Mortal Light might be something along the lines of say Ayreon or similar.
Spread out over two “acts” with a combined running time approaching two and a half hours it’s a bit of a stretch. If you go for the physical product version, in addition to the two acts CDs, you get a disc of vocalisations and a disc of instrumentations.
So what of the music?
I do not find this an easy or enjoyable listen. Quite the contrary. It goes on for far too long.
Sure, the composition and performance is excellent. However not only is it, in my opinion, far too long, one paced, too slow, repetitive and generally lightweight.
It feels stilted and does not flow well. The vocal parts and the narrations feel contrived and disconnected.
I’ve delayed this review to give it more listens and a fair crack first – although The Mortal Light completely misses the mark for me.
I’d suggest it’d have been better cut down in length and done as two separate single disc releases.
Fair play to Clive for having the vision to continue the concept. Thought it’s a swing and a miss for my ears.
Here’s Demigod:
If you think The Mortal Light might be for you, the four disc digital version and also digital version available from Clive’s BandCamp page:
https://clivenolan.bandcamp.com/album/the-mortal-light
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