A
couple of years ago, Gandalf’s Fist
surprised everybody with the release of the excellent - but kind of ambitious - The Clockwork Fable. It was a really
interesting triple concept album that introduced us to the underground city of
Cogtopolis and its bizarre inhabitants. With that album they increased their fame and
the band begun to play at various festivals, such as HRH Prog in North Wales
for example, where they were the headliners on the 2nd stage.
This year they returned with The Clockwork Prologue, which works as
a prequel, if I got it right. The band
now includes two more members in comparison with The Clockwork Fable; Keri
Farish on vocals and Ben Bell on keyboards, bass, guitar and vocals.
Although
The Clockwork Prologue is similar with The Clockwork Fable, it is slightly
better in my opinion. Not only because it includes all the elements that we
enjoyed in the previous album, like for example the theatrical narration parts
that work as a “bridge” between the songs, but also because it is shorter,
therefore less “chaotic”, and it can be appreciated better and faster.
There
are lots of wonderful melodies throughout the album, strong guitar riffs,
beautiful changes, and let’s not forget the really interesting story, on which,
both albums have been built.
At the
very beginning of this post, I wrote that with the release of The Clockwork
Fable, Gandalf’s Fist surprised everybody. I’m afraid that the element of
surprise is not going to work this time, mostly because now people know what to
expect. But that doesn’t make the album less enjoyable!
So, to sum up, The Clockwork Prologue is a
great album and without a doubt a very serious piece of work! Definitely one of
the best releases of 2019 so far. And as far as I’ve heard, this time it will be
available in vinyl edition as well. Good things are happening to good bands…
Congratulations to Gandalf’s Fist once more,
not only for releasing really good albums, but for their hard work and for
keeping their quality at very high standards.
Favorite
tracks (so far): Solar Huntress, Wanderer, Supplies for the Festivities, The
Clokkemaker, Blackening.
My Rating: 4.5 stars
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