Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Saracen
Label: Escape Music
Released: 09/30/2014
Length: 68:54
Rating: 4.5/5
Studio releases from British greats Saracen aren’t exactly a regular occurrence, but when one does land, every album is a guarantee of top-notch musical artistry. Three years ago Saracen put out their most ambitious work, a concept album about Marilyn Monroe, simply titled »Marilyn«. Easily the most complex record of their career, it counted as one of the most interesting releases of 2011, even though, to fit the concept, Saracen occasionally softened their sound quite a bit, polished it up and drifted somewhat from what you’d expect. »Redemption« is a return to the roots. The crew has woven together new material that sensibly picks up the distinctive guitar phrasing of the classic »Heroes, Saints And Fools« (1981), while of course enriching it with their post-millennium songwriting maturity, experience and the evolutionary reach musically defined by the albums »Red SKy« (2003) and its successor »Vox in Excelso« (2006).
»Redemption« also goes back thematically to the realm of mysticism swirling around the Crusader epics, something the band has always been drawn to, as the very name of the group hints. Rocamadour is a famous monastery built into the rock face of a cliff above a canyon of France’s Dordogne river. Built, of course, during the Crusades, sometime in the mid-11th century, it’s surrounded by plenty of mystery, and the band found inspiration in that to create the excellent opener Rocamadour, which immediately puts things in their place when it comes to the question of how the new Saracen sound. The song is so good it “whets the appetite” for the rest of the album. The album is Saracen-esque from head to toe, and you can’t get more Saracen than this. Classic heavy metal (let’s not forget Saracen emerged from the NWOBHM invasion) with the bombastic arrangement style of AOR added on top works in Saracen’s hands in a way that’s unique and one of a kind. Also with the new album.
Distinctive guitar riffs, backed by atmospheric synth curtains (the typical sonic contours of the eighties), are seasoned throughout with the lived-in theatricality of Steve Bettney’s vocals. This album full of mysticism is also spiced up with a gloomier “tribute” to the action thriller Reacher, starring Tom Cruise. The song is further seasoned with extra audio inserts from the film; the dark verse passes through a pre-verse and then into a bombastic, melodically instantly catchy chorus. The red thread of medieval mystery on the new album is carried by mini symphonic epics that run around seven minutes and also count as the compositional highlights of the record. Atmospheric and creative! The opener Rocamadour can immediately be joined by Catch the Wave and the title track Redemption. Also in this group are Crusader and Ready to Fly, old classics and band favorites. For both, band boss Rob Bendelow felt that, with a serious upgrade of the arrangements, it made sense to use them once more. On the new album. Bendelow once again came out a big winner here, reworking the originals of both songs so cleverly that they sound as if they’d been written within the past three years.
Swords of Damascus flirts with arabesques in the lead motifs, bringing a bold dynamic swerve to the album. In the intro of Catch the Wave the keyboards take on a dominant role as they “break away” into an excellent solo with a sound lifted straight from the character of neo-prog rock bands, led by what Clive Nolan builds into the sound of Pendragon and Arena. More than Missing You could easily have come out as a single; it has a solemn atmosphere and an optimistic chorus which, in all its pomp, once again grabs you instantly on the first listen. It works as a continuation of Geraldine from the first half of the record. Both songs also flirt more with AOR.
»Redemption« is more than just an excellent new studio album from Saracen, and it was well worth the three-year wait! It has everything the band has spoiled us with in the past. Outstanding production that convincingly brings the chosen theme and the message of the songs to life. Images of the eternal mysteries of the Middle Ages and of battles in the Far East for the supremacy of the cross over the crescent will line up before you with ease. An album of grand, solemn chants full of bombastic catchiness, constant dynamic turns in the stringing together of moods, excellent and finely honed arrangements, and the high theatrical value of the vocal delivery of the fantastic Steve Bettney. Top-notch!
Lineup
Steve Bettney – vocals
Paul Bradder – keyboards
Rob Bendelow – guitar
Simon Roberts – guitar
Paul Highfield – bass
Tris Alsbury – drums
Production
Rob Bendelow
Tracklist
1. Rocamadour
2. Reacher
3. Give Me A Sign
4. Geraldine
5. Swords Of Damascus
6. Road To Yesterday
7. Crusader
8. Catch The Wave
9. More Than Missing You
10. Redemption (on the 6th day)
11. You & I
12. Let Me See Your Hands
13. Ready to Fly
