Solstice - Prophecy. 2013 England

Prophecy is the 5th album from Solstice, and in a quick turnaround (by Solstice standards that is) of three years. There are five new, and lengthy, compositions for Andy Glass to explore his emotional progressive style, as first laid out on Silent Dance - and as a shrewd move, three of those tracks from said album have been added as bonus material, having received the Steven Wilson mix, and are included here for reflection and comparison. Prophecy finds Solstice right down the middle of their various styles. A selection of the best - and worst - Solstice has to offer (in my mind anyway). As such, Prophecy is almost certainly not the album that will change minds about them. The album artwork, and overall atmosphere, call out the American West - that of the Native American. There really isn't a more appropriate topic when considering the music of Solstice. It's an interesting anecdote then, that New Life first started sending chills up my spine while driving in Northern New Mexico on my way to Santa Fe from Denver (this was back in 1994). So perhaps I was having the same musical visual that Glass himself was. Let's get to the problematic parts, and then we'll focus on the positive. Solstice, again for my tastes, always had a tendency to retain too much "praise to the heavens" in their music. You can just picture the female singer with her head up, eyes closed, slowly swiveling her hips, palms open and arms sweeping upwards, while howling to the moon in that annoying American Idol way. Pan the camera for a profile shot in a misty light. Not for me I'm afraid, sorry. On this album, you can definitely envision this scenario on tracks like 'Keepers of the Truth' and 'West Wind'. On the flip side, when Glass and company add a little muscle, and the soaring violin and electric guitar begin to lay out the sustain chords, the entire mood shifts from quasi-religious to pure emotional ecstasy. Now in this setting, the crystal clear female voice is heavenly rather than temporal. For this style, we get 'Warriors' and especially the rousing closer 'Black Water' which is absolutely Solstice at their best. The opening track 'Eyes of Fire', like the album itself, straddles both sides of the fence. In any case, I'm a huge Solstice supporter, and would recommend this highly to fans. Otherwise, you may want to start with Spirit if curious about the band.

Ownership: CD: 2013 Esoteric Antenna

12/19/13 (new entry)