GUILT MACHINE

Guilt Machine is the latest musical venture of ubiquitous Dutch musician Arjen Lucassen, a man famed throughout the prog scene for his epic rock opera releases under the Ayreon name. Here he has a somewhat stripped down involvement of musicians compared to his other projects, with Arid's Jasper Steverlinck on vocals, ex-Porcupine Tree/Blackfield drummer Chris Maitland; and guitarist Lori Linstruth who previously played with Lucassen in Stream of Passion (also his personal manager and partner, and lyricist for the album). The result is a more succinctly refined exercise in prog, and we're mainly talking 'progressive' as a genre here more so than anything that is genuinely progressive. Darkly atmospheric, melancholically sublime, amidst passages of more uplifting music, 'On This Perfect Day' is a multifarious beast that will no doubt hold your attention from start to finish (it did mine) which is a sign of great compositional skills when four of the six tracks on offer exceed the ten minute mark. Retro-pastiche sees elements of Pink Floyd, early Porcupine Tree (Maitland's influence?), and Queen (Steverlinck occasionally sounds reminiscent of Freddie Mercury, such as on 'Over'), but interwoven within a heavier, more contemporary sound. There is also a scattering of multi-lingual spoken messages throughout, originally submitted by fans who were invited to do so on any subject although thematically linked to the album's intended ideas of guilt, regret, life, death and human nature (think Pain of Salvation's 'Be' and the messages fans left on "God's answering machine" - a similar aesthetic here, and it works well). Each of the musicians involved give their all to realise Lucassen's latest vision of prog genius, although I'm particulalry impressed with Linstruth's contribution as both guitarist and lyricist. Her soloing and general lead work oozes emotion and is full of affective stylings, while the lyrics remain a provocative expression of the album's existential philosophy. Another winner from Lucassen. Recommended.

LABEL:

FORMAT:

Mascot Records

Album

ON THIS PERFECT DAY

Review by Mark Holmes

RUNNING TIME:

57:39

RELEASE DATE:

31st Aug 2009

TRACK LISTING

1) Twisted Coil
2) Leland Street
3) Green and Cream
0) Season of Denial
5) Over
6) Perfection?

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:

Netherlands

"Darkly atmospheric, melancholically sublime, amidst passages of more uplifting music, 'On This Perfect Day' is a multifarious beast..."