Tag: fairy tale

Album Review – Fairy Tale’s “That Is The Question”

On By Bryan MoreyIn Ambient, art rock, Atmospheric rock, progressive rockLeave a comment

a0043426731_10Fairy Tale, That Is The Question, 2021
Tracks: Wasting The Sound 1 (1:36), That Is The Question (3:48), Time Heals Nothing (4:37), Wasting The Sound 2 (1:42), Wake Up (4:13), Girl Of The Opera (3:24), Wise Men Keep Silent (5:00), Wasting The Sound 3 (1:14), Sophie (11:19), Dot (0:24)

While Slovakia’s Fairy Tale may be a new band to Progarchy, the group has a long history making music dating back to the mid 1990s. The longtime project of Peter Kravec has seen a couple iterations, but the current version was created in 2003 when Kravec met singer Barbora Koláriková. They have since made five albums, including this one, released at the end of October 2021. Kravec plays guitars and produced the record, and Koláriková plays bass guitar in addition to handling all the vocals. They are joined by drummer L’ubomír Pavelka, and Marek Škvarenin and Adam Lukáč play keyboards on various tracks. 

The album ranges in tone from ambient and electronic sounds to a harder progressive rock edge. The band describes themselves as art rock and prog with elements of ambient. At under forty minutes, it’s a short record, which means the disparate sounds of ambient music with heavier rock sometimes clash, although I don’t think the album is necessarily meant to be a concept album. 

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The heavier parts of this record, such as the title track, have a very upbeat tempo, which contrasts with the more ambient elements. With that said, even the title track has a deeper moment with heavy bass and an overlay of Fripp-Like guitar. This smoothly blends into “Time Heals Nothing,” which opens with quieter keyboards and clean electric guitar. 

The strongest part of the record comes in the second half of “Time Heals Nothing,” which features a seriousness and an intensity in the music and the lyrical delivery that is more pronounced than on other songs. The song gradually builds towards the end into a wonderful “wall of sound” effect, which blends the ambient with the rock in a seamless way. I also think this song also has the best lyrics of the album. It deals with themes of joy and suffering, forgiveness and grace. There is an element of nihilism in the second half of the song, which can be gleaned from the title. For example:

Souls are burning
And we are boring
Time heals nothing

Souls are burning
Knowledge is boring
Time heals nothing

The electric guitar opening to “Wise Men Keep Silent” has a soothing atmospheric quality that reflects the shorter instrumental tracks, although these more ambient qualities are not tied in throughout as well as they could be. “Wise Men Keep Silent” demonstrates what Fairy Tale does best: ambient and atmospheric music sprinkled with rock influences. The instrumental track includes Barbora using her voice as an instrument, which adds a calming sensation. As I’ve been listening to Devin Townsend’s late 2021 ambient record, Snuggles (which I really should review at some point) recently, I’ll add that I hear similar elements in this song, as well as in other parts of That Is The Question.

At just over eleven minutes in length, “Sophie” is the epic of the album. It has a more electronic influence to it, and it allows the varying musical influences to dance with each other more so than on many of the other songs. There are moments where it feels disjointed, particularly in the transitions, but overall it works well. 

If the artwork looks familiar, that’s because it’s by the great Hugh Syme, who is perhaps most well known for his work with Rush. The artwork throughout the CD digipack is characteristic of his work, and it is quite good. It adds an extra layer of professionalism to the overall packaging. 

While the individual musical elements on the album are all quite good, I think the album could use a bit more focus, or a longer running time with extended songs that tie the various musical elements together better. The shorter songs help serve that purpose, but I’m not entirely convinced that their style of upbeat rock works with more melancholic ambient tones, apart from the ending of “Time Heals Nothing,” which addresses this concern very well. My concerns may be a matter of taste, however, and you should be the judge of that for yourself. Overall I still say the music is very good and worth checking out.

https://fairytaleartrock.bandcamp.com/album/that-is-the-question
https://fairytale.peterkravec.com
https://www.instagram.com/fairytale_artrock/
https://twitter.com/FairyT_artrock

Astonished: Dream Theater’s Complex Audacity

On By bradbirzerIn progressive rock2 Comments

Dream Theater, The Astonishing (Roadrunner, 2016).  Double CD, too many tracks to list!

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Dream Theater, THE ASTONISHING.  More theater than prog.

Has there been a progressive rock or metal release more divisive over the last several years than Dream Theater’s most recent, THE ASTONISHING?

If so, I can’t think of it.

As I look over the internet, I see lots and lots of ripping of the new DT album.  The most common complaint is that DT has no business trying to write such a story, presumably—at least as I’m reading the arguments—because it’s akin to a young adult dystopian novel so prominently displayed in your local Barnes and Noble.

Well, I have no such problem with the album.

In fact, I think that for attempt and audacity alone, Petrucci and Rudess deserve immense accolades.  The scope of the album is simply astounding.  And, well . . . astonishing.  This is the first concept album DT has attempted since 1999’s METROPOLIS: SCENES FROM A MEMORY.  In form, however, it has far more in common with the recent work of Arjen Anthony Lucassen (Aryeon) than it it does with anyone else in the music world right now.

This isn’t just prog, this is theater.

I will rather openly admit that the first listening to the album made me dizzy.  I don’t mean this in any metaphorical or symbolic way.  I was actually—physically—dizzy and disoriented after listening to disk one.  I had to put THE UNDERFALL YARD on to calm me down and get my bearings.  No exaggeration.

In a private note to the editors of progarchy, progarchist editor Chris Morrissey admitted to having had the exact same reaction to THE ASTONISHING, though he had no way of knowing of my reaction.  He, too, put on some Big Big Train to calm himself down.

How weird is this!?!?!  I guess Chris and I really are brothers, though we’ve never actually met in person.

Without putting words into the mouths of the guys in Dream Theater, let me just state: this is NOT a young adult dystopian story as much as it is a (mostly-Christian) fairy tale.  The names of the characters—Nefaryous, Gabriel, and Faythe—following fairy tale convention, allow the participant and listener to know immediately who is good and who is evil.  Unlike in most fairy tales, however, Petrucci and Rudess’s story takes place in the not-too-distant future in the northeastern part of what is now the United States.  One of the characters is Evangeline, and the illustration of her reveals a wholesome young woman holding—rather explicitly—a Christian cross.  Regardless, the future of this part of America involves both medieval cultural conventions and extremely advanced technology.

I won’t retell the whole story, as it’s a crucial part of the enjoyment of THE ASTONISHING.  I know Petrucci and Rudess have asked listeners to take in the whole album in one listening, but, frankly, as much as I enjoy the album, I find this impossible to do.  There is simply too much going on in THE ASTONISHING for me to take it all in in one sitting.

It will be fascinating to see what the band does on tour and what the future holds in store for this story of THE ASTONISHING.  Much like 2112 and CLOCKWORK ANGELS, THE ASTONISHING’s potential for novels, comics, movies, a tv-series, and video games coming out is unlimited.

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A Manichaen choice.  Empire or Rebellion?  Well, this libertarian definitely chooses rebellion.

And, since progarchy.com is a website devoted to the beauty of music, let me just state, every member of Dream Theater plays his heart out on this album.  The musicianship is, as always, simply impeccable and breathtaking.  No one, however, impresses me as much on this album (in terms of performance, not writing) as James LaBrie.  I’ve always thoroughly enjoyed his vocals, but on THE ASTONISHING he reveals exactly why he’s one of the best voices in rock.

How many times will I go back to THE ASTONISHING?  It depends.  A lot rests on what the band does with the album as mentioned above, especially in terms of spreading into other media.  When I’m in a DT mood, I probably will still pop on OCTAVARIUM before I put on THE ASTONISHING.  Not because I think one is better than the other, but because it’s more digestible.  At least for now.

Regardless, I do know this–Dream Theater has, after a quarter of a century, finally and truly lived up to its name.