It may be hard to believe but there was a time when Progressive Rock was considered past its sell by date, the emergence of punk in the seventies had done its best to dismantle it but it was the era of the nineties music scene which seemed to finally kill off the behemoth. Thankfully you can never keep a good seven minute song down for too long and the genre was soon flourishing once more with the likes of Touchstone and The Reasoning.

A lot of the old guard though that formed around the time of the second demise have gone and only the strongest have survived, amongst them must be ArK. Led by the theatrical and powerful presence of vocalist Anthony Short the Midlands band have released their first album since 1992’s Spiritual Physics and have unearthed a treasure trove of exciting songs on the aptly named album Wild Untamed Imaginings.

The album kicks off in fine style with the evocative Boudicca’s Chariot and continues through its combination of powerful storytelling and sideways look at history with Coats of Red and the stand out track Flag Day.

The album epitomises all that is good about the world of Progressive Rock without tipping into old clichés that can inspire less talented bands to sneer at the genre. This must come down to the changing times that Prog finds itself in and the experiences that the band have lives through since they last recorded together.

What is not in doubt is how good the four original members still sound when locked in a tiny studio with nothing but guitar solos and interesting lyrics to feast upon. John Jowitt on bass in particular seems hungry once more after initially leaving the band after their first few albums. The addition of Tim Churchman on drums adds even more enthusiasm to the band.

For those with a sense of adventure and a love of the story, you could do worse than listen to ArK’s new offering and hopefully this time it won’t be the prelude to another ending.

Ian D. Hall