Label: Insideout Music
Release date: 10. 9. 2021
Production: Steve Hackett
Album length: 57.41 min
Genre: Progressive Rock
Rating: 9.5/10
Legendary guitar virtuoso Steve Hackett hit a major milestone in an already incredibly rich career in 2021. For the first time ever, he released two studio albums as a solo artist in a single year. Early in the year came the instrumental classical-acoustic album “Under a Mediterranean Sky” (RockLine review), which longtime fans and classical music lovers welcomed with open arms. Then, on September 10, again via Inside Out Music, he dropped a more rock-oriented effort called “Surrender of Silence”. It continues his ‘noble’ run of superb symphonic prog rock studio albums with strong world music influences. With them, the former Genesis guitar maestro has been wowing and spoiling good-music lovers for an enviable number of years, and there’s no sign of him running out of steam anytime soon.
Once again, the maestro wrote the music and lyrics together with his wife Jo and longtime keyboardist Roger King. King rejoined the rest of Steve’s backing band in the studio: saxophonist Rob Townsend, bassist Jonas Reingold, singer Nad Sylvan and drummer Craig Blundell. Blundell was joined by two special guests, Phil Ehart (Kansas) and Nick D’Virgilio (Big Big Train, ex-Spock’s Beard). Together they form an enviable drumming ‘triumvirate’ on “Surrender of Silence”. Ehart first worked with Steve on the album “Please Don’t Touch” (1978), so his return was warmly welcomed by all of Hackett’s fans. Like its predecessor, this album was made in lockdown because of the current covid situation.
“Surrender of Silence” is a wonderful musical journey across different parts of the world. After the short but dramatic instrumental opener “The Obliterati”, where Hackett’s fiery guitar soloing stands out, it kicks off in Russia. “Natalia” is a pompous number about an ordinary Russian girl, Natalia, forced to live under repressive regimes. It’s by far Hackett’s most Slavic-flavored creation to date, packed with symphonic arrangements inspired by Russian classical music and mighty choral harmonies that even a modern-day Russian tsar wouldn’t be ashamed of while watching a military parade on Red Square.
“Relaxation Music for Sharks (Featuring Feeding Frenzy)” is an eclectic and aggressive instrumental. It’s an ambient plunge into the depths of the ocean, and its title reflects the English black humor Mr. Hackett has sprung on us from time to time on past solo albums. This prog-metal-leaning composition gets more aggressive with every second, and besides the ferocious guitar passages and dramatic orchestral arrangements, the brutal rhythm section comes into its own, with the hard graft of all three drummers on full display. “Wingbeats”, where the maestro heads to the savanna of central Africa, is an interesting experiment crossing elements of traditional sub-Saharan African music with symphonic prog, at times sounding like a close encounter between Genesis and the Ghanaian band Osibisa.
The gothic masterpiece “The Devil’s Cathedral” grabs you right from the opening, with the gloomy sounds of King’s organs and Townsend’s saxophone antics, while Nad Sylvan, who takes over lead vocals from Steve this time, delivers his recognizable, theatrical performance and makes sure this dark symphonic prog treat is stylistically the closest to Genesis, or rather to those classic Hackett symphonic prog pieces that have no world music influences.
On “Held in the Shadows” you can once again revel in the phenomenal work of a killer rhythm section and mighty guitar passages that mark the dramatic instrumental sections. At just the right moment, these intelligently step aside for ethereal vocal harmonies. “Shanghai to Samarkand” is an epic, melodramatic musical journey through the cities of the Far East and Central Asia, packed with world music elements, especially traditional Chinese music, which Mr. Hackett first wowed us with on the cult album “Spectral Mornings” (1979). The most fun part is the gradual transformation of the arrangements inspired by traditional Chinese music into ones closer to the music of Central Asia, which makes this musical journey very convincing.
According to Steve, “Fox’s Tango” is a protest song, inspired by widespread injustice and the frightening social inequalities of modern capitalist society. Hackett’s anger comes through in his aggressive electric guitar playing and unusually passionate singing, backed by an equally bristling and sprawling rhythm line. It’s worth noting that the maestro’s singing has improved a lot over the years, and you could say “Surrender of Silence” is his most convincing vocal achievement to date. On “Days of the Dead”, Mr. Hackett invites us to Central America to celebrate the traditional Mexican holiday, the Day of the Dead. Fittingly, the track is marked by a dark, mysterious atmosphere and mighty vocal harmonies.
“Scorched Earth” is not a cover of the Van der Graaf Generator classic of the same name, but one of the best pieces on “Surrender of Silence”. Here Steve convincingly combines his vocal talent with guitarist/singer and longtime collaborator Amanda Lehmann, who is also the sister of his wife Jo. Neither of them is a classically trained vocalist with a technically enviable range, but their vocal duet, set between melancholy symphonic arrangements and ‘weeping’ guitar passages, works very well. A sad mood marks this piece, as its lyrics warn of ecological catastrophe and the widespread dying of nature that defines our times. It’s a crisis that covid suddenly shoved onto the ‘sidelines’, even though it’s without doubt the biggest crisis of modern turbo-capitalist society. “Esperanza” is a short closing instrumental that, with the help of lovely acoustic guitar passages, wraps up “Surrender of Silence” on an ambient, positive note, and it could just as well have fit on the previous album.
With “Surrender of Silence”, Mr. Hackett has made yet another superb album that all prog rock gourmets will enjoy, and the news that the guitar grandmaster has created a new masterpiece won’t surprise any of them in the slightest. Steve’s remarkably consistent and high-quality solo path, which got a rebirth about twelve years ago when he started working with Jo and the members of his longtime backing band, led by Roger King, who again contributed to the excellent production of this fine solo effort, carries on. On the one hand, the guitar grandmaster follows his recognizable, wildly successful sonic formula; on the other, during his musical (and actual) journeys around the world, he always surprises with something new.
Author: Peter “Dr. ProgRock” Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. The Obliterati
2. Natalia
3. Relaxation Music For Sharks (Featuring Feeding Frenzy)
4. Wingbeats
5. The Devil’s Cathedral
6. Held In The Shadows
7. Shanghai To Samarkand
8. Fox’s Tango
9. Day Of The Dead
10. Scorched Earth
11. Esperanza
Lineup:
Steve Hackett – electric guitar, classical guitar, acoustic guitar, 12-string acoustic guitar, oud, charango, sitar, harmonica, vocals
Additional musicians:
Roger King – keyboards, programming, orchestral arrangements
Rob Townsend – saxophone, clarinet
Jonas Reingold – bass guitar
Nad Sylvan – vocals
Craig Blundell – drums
Special guests:
Phil Ehart – drums
Nick D’Virgilio – drums
Amanda Lehmann – vocals
Durga – vocals
Lorelei McBroom – vocals
Christine Townsend – violin, viola
Malik Mansurov – tar
Sodirkhon Ubaidulloev – dutar
