Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Headspace
Label: Inside Out Records
Release: 2016
Duration: 72:51
Rating: 4/5
»All That You Fear Is Gone« is the second studio album from prog rockers/prog metallers Headspace, who got together in 2006 at the initiative of vocal great Damian Wilson (Threshold) and keyboard wizard Adam Wakeman (Ozzy Osbourne). Their band also features the excellent guitarist Pete Rinaldi (Hot Leg), the versatile bassist Lee Pomeroy (It Bites) and drummer Adam Falkner, who replaced Richard Brook in 2015. Wilson and Wakeman, both highly esteemed names in the prog rock/prog metal world for many years now, put out a joint album in early 2016, »Weir’s Keeper Tale«, which, with its acoustic nature and overly ‘sleepy’ atmosphere, didn’t exactly blow anyone away. Maybe that lukewarm response was precisely what ‘was to blame’ for the two deciding, four years after the concept-flavored Headspace debut »I Am Anonymus« (2012), to go for a ‘team’ effort again and make »All That You Fear Is Gone«, a prog rock/prog metal hybrid with mighty arrangements and plenty of smart messages, the kind we’re used to from most works that carry Wilson’s stamp.
It was much the same on the pretty ambitious concept debut, where Wilson and Wakeman, contrary to the original plans, gave Rinaldi a ton of room to flex his guitar ‘muscles’. Still, on »All That You Fear Is Gone« the guitar virtuoso doesn’t overdo the drawn-out soloing, so he doesn’t wreck the head-to-tail structure of the individual compositions. Unlike his famous father Rick and his older brother Oliver, Adam can be said not to demand a ‘starlet’ role in his musical projects, and he doesn’t ‘whine’ if he happens to get little room. His keyboard mastery on »All That You Fear Is Gone« only comes into its own a handful of times, since the spotlight mostly falls on Rinaldi’s guitar artistry and Wilson’s vocal acrobatics. The lyrics are pretty smart and socially provocative, and they often reach into the territory of human psychoanalysis.
»All That You Fear Is Gone« is, for most of its running time, nicely balanced between progressive metal and progressive rock, with hard-hitting moments of fast tempos and beefy guitar passages regularly trading places with calmer stretches built around acoustic arrangements. In the rare ‘still life’ moments on the album, Rinaldi picks up an acoustic guitar while Adam accompanies him on piano. So there are a few acoustic, piano-driven moments on the album too, but with the possible exception of the ballad »Borders and Days«, they’re not among its most inspired stuff and they’re a bit reminiscent of the »Weir’s Keeper Tale« project. Still, they provide a welcome contrast to the predominantly dark, metal-leaning compositions with their uncompromising guitar variations and wild drum marches.
The centerpiece of the album is undoubtedly the ambitious thirteen-minute epic »The Science Within Us«, with Damian at the peak of his singing powers, Adam’s most varied keyboard performance, killer drum transitions and mighty guitar variations. »All That You Fear Is Gone« closes with a spectacular ten-minute stylistic carousel called »Secular Soul«, where the many instrumental virtues of these seasoned musicians shine in all their glory, while Damian’s mighty, melodramatic vocals play the lion’s share in creating an exceptional atmosphere. It’s precisely his singing that mainly keeps the harder-hitting moments from coming off as ‘cranky’, as they could have with a less talented, less experienced singer with an unsuitable timbre behind the mic.
Fans of a harder-hitting approach to prog rock will get their money’s worth with »All That You Fear Is Gone«, since Headspace’s latest studio effort has excellent production and top-notch technical execution, plus a string of intensely dark moments with plenty of deep messages, and it matches their ambitious 2012 debut in quality. It’s an album that won’t shake up the modern prog scene in any way, as it has no compositional breakthroughs, but it’s still good enough to deserve at least a mention in any rundown of the most interesting prog rock records of 2016. Most likely, though, »All That You Fear Is Gone« will go down best with fans of prog bands with a darker stamp, such as Wilson’s own Threshold, Haken and Pain of Salvation, who love to walk the thin line between progressive metal and progressive rock.
Lineup
Damian Wilson – vocals
Pete Rinaldi – guitar, backing vocals
Adam Wakeman – keyboards, piano, backing vocals
Lee Pomeroy – bass guitar, chapman stick, bass pedals
Adam Falkner – drums
Production
Headspace
Track List
1. Road to Supremacy (4:56)
2. Your Life Will Change (6:41)
3. Polluted Alcohol (6:10)
4. Kill You With Kindness (8:17)
5. The Element (1:50)
6. The Science Within Us (13:14)
7. Semaphore (5:39)
8. The Death Bell (1:49)
9. The Day You Return (3:24)
10. All That You Fear Is Gone (4:59)
11. Borders and Days (5:23)
12. Secular Soul (10:35)
