number 35 is incoming..
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35. Flaming Row – Elinoire (2011) Two concept albums in a row!? Yes, we have reached the short prog corner of my top 50 and a brilliant one at that. ‘Elinoire’ is one of the better discoveries I had in 2013 (thanks a bunch, Chad! Don’t be mad at the ‘low’ placement) and an awesome album overall. Flaming Row is the brainchild of guitarist and all-round multi-instrumentalist Martin Schnella, who we know of.. nothing else entirely, but he manages to bring along a bunch of awesome people on this almost 80-minute, 17-track record. Among the people playing on this record are the amazing Gary Wehrkamp and Brendt Allman from Shadow Gallery and a bunch of people you have likely never heard of.
Similarly to the Ayreon album, this album features a ton of vocalists who all portray a different character. Where the singers on the Ayreon album all depicted a certain emotion, on ‘Elinoire’ the singers portray more abstract concepts, such as Spirit, Past, Liberty and Time, among some key characters in the storyline. There is a story to this album, but the lyrics leave it rather vague what actually happens, but it has something to do with infidelity, a mother dying at the birth of her daughter Elinoire and some background with a grandfather – I simply do not know.
That said, even though the lyrics are probably important to the story, in some cases they are unintelligible, because there are multiple vocalists singing at the same time (
Initiation Fugato) and there’s a couple of screams here and there on the album. Also, this album features some very bad English, which I won’t share here (‘my camouflage is uncovered now’, sorry I did it anyway, but there’s more than just this line), so let’s just assume that the lyrics are not the focal point of the album.
On the music itself then! Yes, this is what we’re here for, because all of it is gorgeous. Featuring an abundance of different music styles, ranging from heavy metal, to rock, to jazzy parts and even funk and country, this album goes a lot of different directions without ever losing track of its core sound; a rather dark blend of relatively low-pitched vocals and clearly audible guitars. Among the album’s 17 tracks there’s so many highlights, that my picks for songs down here could differ the next day, because there’s much different stuff on there. Tracks like the brooding
Lea’s Delivery or the powerful prog-tune
Unearth the Truth didn’t even get a mention, but the truth of it is really that all of it is amazing. True to form, the album is held together by recurring musical themes, as well as the odd lyrics here and there. The highlight of this album’s music for me will have to be the amazing guitar playing throughout though; there’s not a bad note to be found and the sounds are huge. Massive props to Brendt Allman’s closing guitar solo on the album’s final song, my favourite song on the record as well, but Mr. Schnella knows his way around the instrument too. And he shows it. Looking for some very interesting, contemporary progressive metal that goes some unexpected places without losing its catchiness and likeability? Check this one out.
Favourite song: A Place to Review Your Soul
Other songs worth checking out: Time Mirror, Elinoire, Rage of Despair
Other stuff by this band: Flaming Row released ‘Mirage – A Portrayal of Figures’ in 2014, which is awesome as well. It’s got some songs on it that are better than some moments on ‘Elinoire’ (
Journey to the Afterlife may well be my favourite Flaming Row song), but overall, it’s a little less consistent. Both albums are amazing though.