Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Pallas
Label: Inside Out Records
Released: 2001
Runtime: 63:36
Rating: 4.5/5
Scottish neo-prog champions Pallas followed up »Beat The Drum« (1998), which mostly deservedly got a warm reception and gave the band back its drive to keep going, by confidently heading into the studio, with the same lineup, to record its more ambitious successor, »The Cross & The Crucible«. First off, they brought back the classic Pallas logo, designed by the renowned graphic artist Patrick Woodroffe, who they’d last worked with on the conceptual masterpiece »The Sentinel« (1984). For the first time in their career they also brought in guest backing singers, who contribute choir-style vocal harmonies here and there. Those harmonies end up playing a much bigger role on the album than you might expect.
With »The Cross & The Crucible«, the guys wanted to get back to the level of their best work, headed by »The Sentinel«, and the generous helping of pompous arrangements, led by three epic pieces, proves it. On top of that, the album has a conceptual stamp: most of the lyrics deal with various historical examples of the abuse of science (the Crucible) and faith (the Cross). Unlike the previous three Pallas studio albums, which you could get into relatively quickly, »The Cross & The Crucible« is rhythmically more complex and demands a bit more time before the individual arrangements and choruses lodge themselves in your ears, but that patience is richly rewarded.
The song structures are rhythmically more complex than before, since the rhythm section, bassist/backing vocalist Graeme Murray and drummer Colin Fraser, really worked at full steam this time and pulled off some downright fascinating maneuvers. Fraser also didn’t skimp on electronic percussion, which gives the traditional Pallas sound a significant modern update, while keyboardist Ronnie Brown hadn’t delivered this many rich orchestral arrangements since the days of »The Sentinel«.
The key instrumental ‘engine’ of the band is still the excellent guitarist Niall Mathewson, who never shied away from hard rock passages that blend beautifully with the mostly pompous synth textures. Singer Alan Reed, with his distinctive, melancholy-tinged voice, has always been one of neo prog’s better vocalists and gives Pallas a good measure of recognizability, so it’s no surprise that on several »The Cross & The Crucible« tracks he delivers a string of stirring emotional moments.
The opener »The Big Bang«, which kicks off with dissonant swells and flowing keyboard curtains, is an unusually avant-garde experiment that only picks up the familiar Pallas melodic dimensions once Reed’s vocals come in. It’s basically a warm-up for the epic title track, one of the album’s three peaks.
A sacred-sounding opening with organ variations and a punchy guitar riff lays the groundwork for an energetic and fairly complex instrumental section, marked by rattling bass lines, furious guitar passages, fiery drum fills and choir harmonies. The central arrangement was inspired by the classic »Requiem« by the legendary Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Once it slides into a subtle section tied together by Reed’s melancholy singing, the epic atmosphere reaches its climax, while the deep lyrics about the historical misuse of science and faith for vile ends hit you right in the conscience. The sacred choir harmonies further widen the gloom of the dark Middle Ages. Mathewson has always been one of those criminally overlooked guitar masters who keep reminding us at every opportunity that they’re getting a raw deal, and this time is no different, as he closes things out with a monumental guitar solo.
»For The Greater Glory« hits harder: with its uncompromising guitar passages and warlike drums, it’s almost on the border of progressive metal and will surely appeal to every Arena fan too. The subtle in-between moments, where Reed’s singing shines, ease off the dark, combative mood a bit, while the epic chorus is one of the album’s highlights. The orchestral sections and the odd drum march effectively feed the melodramatic mood, while the unexpected addition of ‘tribal’ percussion halfway through is a hugely entertaining ambient twist. »Who’s To Blame?« opens with a shorter, folk-rock intro ruled by gentle acoustic guitar chords, delicate piano and Reed’s very subtle singing. Suddenly there’s a dramatic shift into an epic, multi-voiced chorus backed by a mighty symphonic arrangement, which is the main appeal of this splendid track.
»The Blinding Darkness«, the composition Pallas named their next live album after, is among the most ambitious moments on »The Cross & The Crucible«. The instrumental intro, with its spacious ambient curtains, gives way to a tempo shift into hard-hitting territory, with combative guitar passages, spirited drum fills and pompous keyboard arrangements. Reed’s melodramatic voice once again feels right at home when it’s time for a subtler section, where the band effectively builds a tense atmosphere. The climax of this Pallas classic is the epic chorus, in the middle of which Reed asks what the price of unbridled scientific progress is. Mathewson shines again with a dramatic, passionate guitar improvisation that deepens the majestic mood even further.
»Towers Of Babble«, another peak of the album, opens with a pastoral overture on acoustic guitar, followed by a shift into a fiery instrumental section built around fierce guitar passages, enigmatic symphonic textures and sacred-sounding choir harmonies that successfully conjure an archaic atmosphere. Brown’s baroque-flavored organ passages deepen it further, while his stormy minimoog solo is a chapter all its own. The love ballad »Generations« opens with a subtle pastoral-orchestral melody, tied together in a crucial way by Reed’s touching vocals. It’s one of the rare but successful examples of love lyrics in Pallas history.
That’s followed by the eleven-minute epic »Midas Touch«, yet another key moment on the album and one of the best things the Scottish neo-prog champions have ever done. A dramatic intro with philosophical narration, in which the ancient Greek god Dionysus warns King Midas about his greedy wish for the golden touch, gives way to a spirited section with pompous arrangements and Reed at the peak of his vocal melodrama. The epic chorus is far from the only strength of this ambitious piece, which has no shortage of crafty tempo changes, dramatic choir harmonies and varied instrumental sections. »Celebration!« is a pompous closer to the album in true Pallas style. Murray’s thick bass lines nicely support the epic arrangements and the soaring melody, while Reed’s vocals play a key role in spreading the positive atmosphere. Every instrumentalist gets enough room to show off their virtuoso chops, though this time keyboardist Brown could be declared the ‘star’ of this brilliant track.
»The Cross & The Crucible« was one of the best things Pallas had done up to that point, so it’s fair to call it a neo-prog classic, one that helped cement their cult status. After such a long absence from the scene, Pallas had a lot of lost time to make up for if they wanted to keep pace with their equally ambitious eighties neo prog peers, and surprisingly well, they managed that in the new century too. The fact that they didn’t churn out albums ‘on an assembly line’ only worked in their favor and allowed them to keep growing artistically, since every Pallas album after their return to the scene was a chapter all its own.
Line-up
Alan Reed – vocals, acoustic guitar
Niall Mathewson – acoustic and electric guitar, tambourine
Ronnie Brown – keyboards
Graeme Murray – electric bass, fretless bass, backing vocals
Colin Fraser – drums, acoustic and electronic percussion
GUEST SINGERS:
Gill Main – backing vocals
Claire Bleadsdale – backing vocals
Laura Sinclair – backing vocals
Trevor Gray – backing vocals
Alastair Taylor – backing vocals
Laura Harrow – backing vocals
Production
Niall Mathewson and Graeme Murray
Track list
1. The Big Bang (3:08)
2. The Cross & the Crucible (9:17)
3. For the Greater Glory” – 7:37
4. Who’s to Blame? (4:45)
5. The Blinding Darkness (6:41)
6. Towers of Babble (8:11)
7. Generations (5:21)
8. Midas Touch (11:16)
9. Celebration! (7:24)
