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BURN THE SUN
Tracklist: Heal the Waters; Torn; Burn the Sun; Resurrection; Absolute Zero; Just a Little; Waking Hour; Noose; Feed the Fire; Bleed; Missing You.
Ark was born out of a chance meeting in a bar in a small town in Norway.
The musicians were, at that time, all involved in other bands and so it was not until some years later following, amongst other things, the breakup of the awesome Norwegian pioneers of progressive metal, Conception, that guitarist Tore Østby, singer Jørn Lande (ex Company of Snakes and other projects) and American drummer John Macaluso (ex-TNT) got the chance to commit their ideas to tape. The resulting recordings finally surfaced last year in the form of the self-titled disk - 'Ark'. Greeted in some corners with adulation and in others with some puzzlement, it blended many styles but was undermined somewhat by an imperfect production.
However the success achieved was sufficient that, signed to Inside Out in Europe, money was made available for the German / American producer Tommy Newton to handle the job and the result is, to these ears,
remarkable.
With the addition of Randy Coven on bass and longtime Malmsteen band member Mats Olaussen on keyboards, there is a fuller all round sound this time out - though it is still built upon the same foundations of Tore's wonderfully inventive guitar playing, John Macaluso's delightful percussion, these topped with a glorious performance from the vocal chameleon that is Jørn Lande.
Taking influences from rock, metal, prog, flamenco and pop: describing their style is not an easy task and others better qualified than myself have failed.
Generally there is a melodic hard rock basis to the numbers, to which elements of blues, pop and prog are added in various measures. However, there are too many time changes in the mix for it to be simply classified as hard rock and the sounds are blended in such a way that, given suitable exposure, their music could really have a wide appeal.
The first track 'Heal The Waters' relies strongly upon Jørn's bluesy vocals and Tore's alternatively slow and furious guitar playing, while 'Torn' begins altogether differently with spacey keys, percussion and
bass. This is, perhaps, the standout track on the disk with drummer John Macaluso throwing a kitchen-sink full of percussive ideas into the mix giving the tune an intensity and interest which few can match,
while vocalist Jørn follows the twists and turns of the music like no other singer I could think of.
The title track, which is perhaps one of the more immediately accessible numbers, is full of chunky guitar and bass over which Jørn's voice soars, dripping with emotion.
Once again an inventive mix of additional sounds and samples give extra spice to the song as does a blistering guitar solo from Tore - one of the hallmarks of the disk.
After the intensity of the opening numbers, 'Resurrection' has an altogether slower tempo and relies upon Jørn's voice to carry the melody while Tore switches from acoustic to electric guitar to deliver a searing
solo.
This is followed by the unique 'Absolute Zero', where the band begins to flirt more obviously with outside influences and Jørn borrows a heavy dose of Bjork for his vocal delivery over a fascinating guitar and drums backdrop.
In fact the influences are much more obvious in the songs on the second half of the disk.
A heavy dose of Seal is incorporated into 'Just a Little', where comparisons to the big hit 'Crazy' are inevitable and Jørn manages to sneak a little bit of Robert Plant and Coverdale into the song as well. Despite this, the number retains a character of its own as Tore's flamenco playing and other touches stamp the tune with the unique Ark touch. 'Waking Hour', which follows, is another contender for the standout track off this disk with a spine-tingling vocal performance from Jørn.
'Noose' is a more bluesy number with Jørn utilising all the grit and character in his voice to convey a sense of anguish which is further accentuated by Tore's guitar.
'Feed The Fire' has a more rocky sound while 'I Bleed' returns to the bluesy feel and is a more straightforward composition. The final song is the longest; 'Missing You' is both bluesy and soulful, using keys, a guitar solo that screams emotion and a number of percussive effects as the sound builds. Jørn's voice drops away leaving Tore to deliver another furious solo before returning to round off the number ... and the disk.
While blatantly borrowing sounds from of a number of popular artists both musically and vocally, Ark manage to produce an alchemic mix that marks them out as a real talent.
Their meld of rock and blues combined with elements of prog and pop manages to impress on many levels. Clever instrumentally, yet accessible and with short punchy tracks, the album certainly has plenty of mainstream appeal (should it receive airplay), while at the same time retaining an intelligence and musicality that would appeal to non-mainstream fans. This is already very much in the running for my album of the year.
Charlie 8th July 2001
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