Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Progressive Rock in all its glory, all its different shades of colour and often praise worthy offerings, is thankfully still able to command an interest of immense proportions, the old guard with their lyrical genius, of the use of the English language and their seemingly inexhaustible supply of random time signatures, they never truly went away. They were joined when the music world needed them most, by the new breed, the conquerors of the new century and in all honesty the Time has just swept by in an orgy of Progressive Heaven.
In the Nth Ascension’s latest album, the phenomenally impressive In Fine Initium, Progressive, mindful of its past, its history and the deference it is due for giving those with long attention spans the means to express themselves fully, takes on a different level and finds the view exhilarating. It is a view that the genre could well take on with increasing, rapid tension and the large scale of victory over the next few months as others from the field release their latest contributions to the mass enjoyment of the fans.
That level, one that the true classics of the genre reached under the guises of for example, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, The Wall, Animals, Thick As Brick and Script For A Jester’s Tear, is always spurring on the future, the words of the prophets always urging the bands on and in this drama filled beauty, that future is on hand, it is squeezable, it is in touching distance of being proclaimed as a much loved descendent of albums that still hold court today.
For the band, this is a magnus opus, a terrific album built of fine production, on animated lyrics and dramatic tension; it is the feast at Heorot before Beowulf brings the entertainment of the slaying of the insipid and repetitive nonsensical pop to its conclusion and it is one in which the mead must flow in celebration of.
From start to finish, In Fine Initium is the album in which you want to play at a time when your neighbours are home so you can spread the joy, the heroics and ask them to show you anything that is better as they grind their souls to television’s magnetic lure. Not just songs, not whispers of a tune, these are calls to battle and rage, of truth and righteousness, from Kingdom Keys, End of Days to In Search of Rider and When The Rain Falls, Nth Ascension have covered all the bases and there is nobody on last base to stop them being lauded and praised for the perfect Progressive home run.
An album of simple quality, of dedication to the craft; In Fine Initium is the complete master in charge of your evening’s sanity and it is best to just go with the flow.
Ian D. Hall