ARENA — The Unquiet Sky

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ARENA - The Unquiet Sky cover
3.80 | 9 ratings | 3 reviews
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Album · 2015

Filed under Metal Related
By ARENA

Tracklist

1. The Demon Strikes (5:37)
2. How Did it Come to This? (4:30)
3. The Bishop of Lufford (5:24)
4. Oblivious to the Night (2:47)
5. No Chance Encounter (4:30)
6. Markings on a Parchment (2:19)
7. The Unquiet Sky (5:29)
8. What Happened Before (4:55)
9. Time Runs Out (4:39)
10. Returning the Curse (3:48)
11. Unexpected Dawn (3:52)
12. Traveller Beware (7:40)

Total time 55:30

Line-up/Musicians

- Clive Nolan / Keyboards
- Mick Pointer / Drums
- John Mitchell / Guitars
- Kylan Amos / Bass
- Paul Manzi / Vocals

About this release

Release date: April 27, 2015

Thanks to Unitron for the addition and adg211288 for the updates

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ARENA THE UNQUIET SKY reviews

Specialists/collaborators reviews

Warthur
A concept album based on the classic M.R. James ghost story Casting the Runes, Arena's The Unquiet Sky might have a uniquely terrible album cover - seriously, it looks like something out of that era in the 2000s when bands kept trying to do CGI album covers but cheaped out on the rendering - but it's a rather grand little album, perhaps the group's best outing since Contagion or The Visitor. It's certainly prioritising the theatrical over the experimental, but there's always been a strand of prog that's done that - especially in the neo-prog subgenre - and it's certainly a stirringly emotive set of tunes which lean a bit harder into the heavier side of the band's sound.
siLLy puPPy
After the six year gap between 2005’s “Pepper Ghost” and the 2011 return with “The Seventh Degree Of Separation,” ARENA debuted a new lead vocalist in the form of Paul Manzi after the departure of long time frontman Rob Sowden. Also rejoining the cast was bassist Jon Jowitt who had left the band way back after 1998’s “The Visitor.” While ARENA enjoyed a brief period of stability around the turn of the millennium, the band’s eighth album THE UNQUIET SKY found yet another lineup change. While band founders Clive Nolan (keyboards) and Mick Pointer (drums) were still at the helm directing the band’s every move as well as long time guitarist John Mitchell, THE UNQUIET SKY found yet another bassist with Kylan Amos after Jon Jowitt left the band once again. While the band didn’t take six years to release a new album, they were in no hurry either and THE UNQUIET SKY wouldn’t emerge for a full four years after the predecessor.

THE UNQUIET SKY pretty much continues the exact format as “The Seventh Degree Of Separation” which found the band ramping up the heavy rock aspects to make the updated version of the band with Manzi as the vocalist a louder more rockin’ affair. The album starts off with an elaborate cinematic soundtrack type of intro which gives a clue to the inspiration behind the album’s content. While the overall themes are multifaceted, the story is based on a short horror story by M.R. James titled “Casting The Runes” and the 1957 film version titled “Night Of The Demon.” The timeline is in the Victorian times and the album also nods to the rock operas “She” and “Alchemy” due to Manzi’s involvement in the latter. ARENA performs in the usual theatrical and moody manner that they always have with Clive Nolan’s eerie keyboard touches haunting every cadence and providing the atmospheric generator as the canvas on which to paint the melodies and rhythmic drives of the heavy guitar, bass and drums.

Overall it’s really hard to distinguish THE UNQUIET SKY from “The Seventh Degree Of Separation” as the album seems to carbon copy every aspect and the band had fallen into a comfort zone with little desire to expand beyond the previous album’s newly established harder edge rock tracks. Once again ARENA implements a series of shorter tracks that emphasize strong melodic hooks that constitute simpler constructs although with just enough progressive mojo to keep it from being booted out of the progressive rock club. If random tracks from this one were mixed with the previous album and shuffled together it would be virtually impossible to distinguish which belonged on which album therefore THE UNQUIET SKY fails to distinguish itself in any significant way save the rare overtly cinematic touches such as the introductory track. While the band perfectly checks off all the boxes that make ARENA the band they are, what’s missing here is some sort of interesting deviation from the status quo.

To my ears this album sounds like one of those bonus albums that was tacked on to deluxe packages, a trait that has become more common especially in prog circles like IQ and other neo-prog bands. An album that is perfectly listenable and basically gives the fans a double dose of what a particular album dishes out. If this had been released the following year after “The Seventh Degree Of Separation” and marketed as a sort of “Part 2” then this might have been more acceptable but after a four year absence in which to craft something more stellar, THE UNQUIET SKY does fail at wowing the aural sensibilities. Nevertheless there is nothing bad at all about this album. It effortlessly cranks out twelve well-crafted tracks that weave pleasant melodies, dynamic outbursts of heavy rock alternating with piano led slower moments and the expected storyline that revolves some melodramaticism excavated from long ago. Unfortunately despite all the exact same traits as its predecessor, everything seems a little watered down and showcases ARENA in a slow but sure decline.

Members reviews

rdtprog
The album concept is from a short horror story by Mr. James called "Casting the Runes". The atmosphere of this film is illustrated in the opening song. If the last Arena's album didn't convince all critics, this one could bring back some of those who didn't like the direct approach of this last album. This new album is not radically different from the others, but you can hear how much Clive Nolan's work on keyboards and piano has succeed to create some new sounds which give to the music a more atmospheric sound. You just have to listen to the track "Returning the Curse" to hear some nice atmospheric sounds from the keys that could find similarity with the band IQ. Also on this song, it's easy to get hooked on the chorus : "You look at me, but you failed to see me". Usually I am not the biggest fan of ballads, but here, the two ballads "How did it come to this" and "Oblivious to the Night" have enough quality to keep my attention throughout the album. The confident voice of Paul Manzi must help me enjoy those songs, but also the nice melody. There is also some semi-ballad type of songs that are not as captivating as most of the songs, but we get enough strong compositions to make for it. I was under the impression on the last song of the album "Traveller Beware", the way the song was building up, that it was going to be a epic like they did in the past, but this time the band keep their songs not too long. I don't want to finish this review without talking about the but the guitar work of John Mitchell who's sensible touch is tangible through this album .

Ratings only

  • The T 666
  • Losimba
  • stefanbedna
  • cefr45
  • clone62
  • Unitron

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