Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Arena
Label: Verglas Records
Release: 2003
Running time: 23:31
Rating: 3.5/5
In 2003, Arena were riding one of the high points of their career, and that goes double for the version of the band with Rob Sowden on vocals. »Contagium« was the second promo EP released alongside their conceptual masterpiece »Contagion« (2003) and, much like »Contagious«, it featured a few tracks that didn’t find their way onto that album, even though they lack absolutely nothing in the quality department. The reason they didn’t make the cut for »Contagion« is that Arena wanted to put out this concept magnum opus as a single album. Chances are the band’s two chieftains and founding members, keyboard wizard Clive Nolan and original Marillion drummer Mick Pointer, worried that a double release would get them accused of being overly pretentious, especially since, for a number of reasons, they keep stubbornly shrugging off the ‘neo prog rock’ label.
Steeped in subtle acoustic guitar chords and symphonic embellishments, »On The Edge Of Despair« would have sat between »Painted Man« and »Vanishing Act« in the originally planned »Contagion« running order. It’s classic, textbook Arena: tense drama building up around a distinctly melancholic central motif, with complex improvisational bits thrown in along the way. »The March Of Time« was originally meant to be the link between »Skin« Game« and »Salamander«. Of the three ‘missing’ tracks on »Contagium«, it’s easily the most interesting, with its metal-tinged guitar passages, clever rhythmic nuances and lavish symphonic curtains. Mr. Sowden is once again superb with his theatrical vocal performance, full of the exceptional emotional fire needed to pull off the rather complex story of a virus carrier and its gradual spread across the whole world.
»Confrontation« is an epic instrumental packed with mighty keyboard-and-guitar harmonies. Maestro Nolan vehemently blends his electronic synth textures with Mitchell’s melancholic guitar variations and, together with the complex rhythmic backing, conjures up a truly majestic atmosphere that drops the listener straight back into the post-apocalyptic »Contagion« world, one Nolan surely built with certain parts of Stephen King in mind. The special electronic remix of the »Contagion« standard »Salamander«, with its kitschy dance beat, is a downright farce next to the original and a pretty needless experiment.
The remaining extras on »Contagium« are less exciting, since they belong to the multimedia section, which includes, among other things, a live video for the song »Painted Man««, Nolan’s sci-fi, post-apocalyptic story that gave birth to the »Contagion« concept, two special versions of songs with Mitchell as lead vocalist, live photos of the band and the lyrics to the pieces described above. Nobody would grieve much over these multimedia extras if the band had accidentally forgotten to put them on the disc, whereas the three tracks mentioned offer a nice glimpse of where Arena were artistically at the time and of how the excellent »Contagion« might have turned out in an even more ‘complete’ form.
»Contagium«, just like »Contagious«, is a must for all Arena devotees who want to round out the »Contagion« concept with the ‘missing’ tracks, while those less invested in the band and its work might wonder whether it’s really worth buying a little under 25 minutes of music, only three tracks of which deserve repeated listens.
Line-up
Rob Sowden – vocals
Clive Nolan – keyboards, backing vocals
John Mitchell – guitar
Ian Salmon – bass guitar
Mick Pointer – drums
Production
Clive Nolan
Track list
1. On the Edge of Despair (5:43)
2. The March of Time (7:30)
3. Confrontation (5:33)
4. Special Remix of Salamander (4:45)
