Artist: Metaphor
Label: Trope Audio
Release: 2007
Three years and one album (Entertaining Thanatos) later, American symphonic rockers Metaphor are back this year with The Sparrow, which tells Mary Doria Russell’s sci-fi story about a Jesuit expedition to a distant planet. With this record, Metaphor return to religious themes (more indirectly this time, through the story). And it’s not just the religious tales that are back, they’re also returning to the style of their cult debut Starfooted. I was eagerly waiting for this album myself, yet it went pretty much unnoticed in the prog world, which only proves that Metaphor are still an undeservedly obscure sideshow.
The story begins at the end (Inquisition), as a group of investigators looks into the circumstances of the Jesuit expedition to the planet Rakhat. Father Emilio Sandoz recalls the mission (Song from A Nearby Star), remembering the landing on the planet and the feeling of arriving in paradise (Stella Maris), since an enticing song can be heard on the planet all the time. Then Alan, a member of the crew, dies (Death in Eden), and the rest discover one of the planet’s races. These inhabitants were called the Runa. The members of the expedition find out that these are not the singers (Challalla Khaeri). Still, the Runa prove to be very friendly and hospitable, if not exactly the brightest. The Jesuits teach them how to grow fruit and vegetables (Garden Building), and Father Sandoz falls in love with Sophia, a member of the expedition (Sick for What The Heart Wants). Meanwhile, another member of the crew falls ill, so some of them have to go back to the spacecraft and find medicine (Sophia among them). Sophia returns and explains that they had an accident and didn’t bring any medicine, and that the spacecraft was destroyed (Stranded). Later, the expedition members meet the real singers, who turn out to be the leading civilization on the planet. They’re intelligent, civilized (unlike the Runa) and considerably bigger than humans. The Jesuits go off to see one of their cities, and when they come back to the Runa settlement, the Runa are gone, because they were out harvesting beyond the settlement (Flower Harvest). After the Jesuits showed them how to cultivate plants, the Runa population shot up, so the singers wiped them out. There were a lot more Runa, but they were no match for the singers’ powerful weapons (We Are Many And They Are Few) . Everyone in the expedition except Emilio Sandoz dies, and he becomes the singer king’s slave (Mother Night). Father Sandoz is utterly desperate, so he decides to kill the first person he sees. The first face he sees is that of Askama, who was like a daughter to him and was part of the rescue team from Earth (God Will Break Your Heart). Father Sandoz completely loses his faith in God and can’t believe that a just God would allow such horrors.
The lyrics are indeed based on Mary Doria Russell’s story, but as usual Marby adds his own typically metaphorical and humorous twists. This time, much like on Starfooted, he delivers lyrics that fit the music like a glove. Not for a second does anything feel forced or superfluous.
Musically, The Sparrow sort of heads back down the Starfooted path. There’s a lot more emphasis on aesthetically conceived lines, on both the instruments and the vocals. There’s a lot of choir and multi-part singing in general again, which was already thrilling on the debut. The avant-garde elements are still present, but there are noticeably fewer of them, and even those are better integrated into the new, majestic sound.
Once again, all the songs are played with just the right amount of enthusiasm, energy and virtuosity. The unofficial leader of the band and main songwriter Malcolm Smith is front and center again, and he’s still more than successfully sticking to a fluid style that reminds me of Steve Hackett. Marc Spooner leans even harder on classic keyboards like Hammond organ, piano and mellotron. His style isn’t too wild; what matters more to him is finesse and lovely arrangements, which, side by side with the guitarist, form the main musical backdrop. Singer John Mabry’s trump card is once again the superb lyrics, but he proves himself as a vocalist too. The rhythm section is solid again, and newcomer Greg Miller fit into the band’s work on drums very well.
With The Sparrow, Metaphor return to the path they laid out with Starfooted. Entertaining Thanatos was a slight departure from that recognizable style, but now the Americans are back to the style that made them famous (relatively speaking). As usual, the music is polished off with superb lyrics, which this time are based on an interesting sci-fi novel. Some fan of theirs may be wondering why it takes them so long to record a new album. Personally, I’d rather it take longer and the final product be that much better than have albums come out as if on an assembly line (like Flower Kings or Spock’s Beard) and end up being mostly just average. Even though The Sparrow doesn’t quite reach the greatness of Starfooted, it gets close, and there’s definitely no need to worry about this band’s future.
Lineup
Malcolm Smith – guitar
John Mabry – vocals
Marc Spooner – keyboards
Greg Miller – drums
Jim Anderson – bass
Production
Metaphor
Track list
1. Inquisition
2. Song From A Nearby Star
3. Deus Vult
4. Stella Maris
5. Death In Eden
6. Challallah Khaeri
7. Garden Building
8. Sick For What The Heart Wants
9. Stranded
10. Flower Harvest
11. We Are Many And They Are Few
12. Mother Night
13. God Will Break Your Heart
14. Afterture
