Marillion

[HOF]

Apparently the band have moved up the time on the release for Murder Machines. Premiers in approximately 19 minutes!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GN3FqaiOACw

[The Letter M]

Apparently the band have moved up the time on the release for Murder Machines. Premiers in approximately 19 minutes!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GN3FqaiOACw

Oh wow, and hour earlier then expected! Sadly I'll be on the road shortly but I'll definitely check this out when I get home!

-Marc.

[HOF]

The song sounds pretty good. Kind of a cross between Power and Living in FEAR musically. Lyrics are very pandemic centered but it's supposed to also be some sort of metaphors for broken relationships. A lot of Rothery on the track which is nice. Supposedly he is pretty prominent on the album.

[HOF]

Album trailer:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2IkXFx9LJDQ

Hearing some pretty cool things there.

[SoundscapeMN]

I dodged the $27 shipping charge for the Vinyl by ordering it on Amazon.

Ordered the CD from the band which only added a massive $5.50 to ship.

[UndercoverMyung]

What are the chances of these guys doing another US tour sometime? Would love to see them...

[SoundscapeMN]

The Montreal Weekend is scheduled for July, so who knows...

otherwise, if they end up on Cruise to the Edge in 2023?

[RodrigoAltaf]

I had a good chat with Steve Rothery about the new album today.  The Crow and the Nightingale and Repogram the Gene are my favorites off the new album. Honestly,  I still have somewhat of a hard time to embrace their recent output,  but the repeated listens of the new one to prepare for this interview paíd off, and I love it!

[The Letter M]

I had a good chat with Steve Rothery about the new album today.  The Crow and the Nightingale and Repogram the Gene are my favorites off the new album. Honestly,  I still have somewhat of a hard time to embrace their recent output,  but the repeated listens of the new one to prepare for this interview paíd off, and I love it!

Very nice! I've been looking forward to this one since FEAR wasn't quite what I expected, especially since I *love* STCBM, so I'm hoping for something along those lines. Cannot wait to get my copy of the album from the band!

-Marc.

[The Curious Orange]

What are the chances of these guys doing another US tour sometime? Would love to see them...

It's very difficult for bands to tour the US unless they have the machinery of a large record company behind them. It's an incredibly difficult country to get work visas for, and your tax codes don't help either. It's one of the reasons the band play Canada and Central/South America so often, because it's far easier for US fans to get to those places than it is for the band to get into the US (where they do tend to play to quite small audiences). None of this is Marillion's fault - those guys love playing live and want to play everywhere - it's just sometimes politics and commercial factors conspire to make it difficult for them to do so. They've struggled to break even on recent US tours, unfortunately. 

[RoeDent]

I wasn't sure how I'd be for this album but it turns out I'm really excited about it now we're into the week of release.

[The Letter M]

If you pre-ordered directly from the band, you can now download the album, and thankfully all the songs are grouped together so it's just 7 tracks and not 18.

Early impressions- I like it more than FEAR (though i never really gave that one much thought after year of release), and maybe even a bit more than STCBM, but not too sure on that yet. Definitely a very strong album overall, probably one of their best.

-Marc.

[goo-goo]

Just downloaded it from Townsend and shit. Loving this album. Surprisingly better than Fear, but not sure about being better than Sounds or Marble. An Hour sounds like a more constructed version of Fear, which it is not necessarily bad. But sometimes Fear drags a bit on some sections. 

[The Letter M]

Just downloaded it from Townsend and shit. Loving this album. Surprisingly better than Fear, but not sure about being better than Sounds or Marble. An Hour sounds like a more constructed version of Fear, which it is not necessarily bad. But sometimes Fear drags a bit on some sections.

Yeah, I can agree to that - FEAR sometimes feels a bit bloated. I just gave it a spin before listening to AHBID again, and it wasn't a chore to get through, but I did feel like some parts did overstay their welcome a bit. I think I like FEAR a bit more than I used to at this point. Honestly, the run of Happiness-Sounds-FEAR-AHBID is pretty strong, one of the band's strongest (if we don't count Less Is More or With Friends From The Orchestra since they're mostly re-recordings of older songs). Actually, their only "weak" album of the 21st century has been Somewhere Else, at least in my opinion, even though that album has a few strong tracks.

I think if you asked me to choose between H's first 7 albums with Marillion (Seasons End to marillion.com) and his latter 7, I'd pick the latter (Anoraknophobia to AHBID). The band have only gotten better with age, IMO, and I'd say this newest album proves that.

EDIT - Out of curiosity, would there be enough Marillion fans here that would be interested in participating in a Marillion Survivor? I ran one WAY back in 2011, and there have been a few albums since then (Happiness was the newest one at the time). If there's enough interested (say, at least a dozen fans) and willingness to participate, I might do it, but it would have to wait until my current Dream Theater Survivor is done (which probably won't be til at least May at this rate).

-Marc.

[goo-goo]

Just downloaded it from Townsend and shit. Loving this album. Surprisingly better than Fear, but not sure about being better than Sounds or Marble. An Hour sounds like a more constructed version of Fear, which it is not necessarily bad. But sometimes Fear drags a bit on some sections.

I think if you asked me to choose between H's first 7 albums with Marillion (Seasons End to marillion.com) and his latter 7, I'd pick the latter (Anoraknophobia to AHBID). The band have only gotten better with age, IMO, and I'd say this newest album proves that.



-Marc.

My feelings exactly. But Somewhere Else has the title track which is probably one of Hogarth's most emotional tracks ever. That buildup towards the last couple of minutes is just eargasmic!

[SoundscapeMN]

I've given it about 2 listenings...and while I enjoy many moments on it, I'm not sure about it overall, at least yet.

My initial impressions is it's very much like FEAR Part 2.

And while I do enjoy FEAR and found I liked it more overall than Sounds, I never grew addicted to FEAR sadly. Why when people were saying FEAR was their best record since Marbles or even Brave, I only followed that to a point.

But TIME often tells really how I feel about a record, and sadly, I haven't gone back to FEAR nearly as much as I would have expected. Maybe that's more a product of what I wish to listen to, and other things are more worth my time.

That all being said, I'm certainly going to give the band enough confidence to see if AHBID really clicks with me more.

The highlights for me for now are  Be Hard on Yourself and Sierra Leone.

Care the closing piece has moments certainly...but I would say the same about Gaza or even El Dorado, which are at best as mood pieces I guess, to gradually get to the cool sections.

Another thing is just from memory, I recall 1 or 2 of the members talking in interviews how this record compared to FEAR was more upbeat or at least catchy/energetic. I'm not fully sure how that is. Maybe slightly more energetic I guess. But it seems pretty clear with this record and FEAR and even really since MARBLES, the band has leaned towards writing music with their WALL-OF-SOUND and not emphasizing the melodies as much. Especially much if anything really poppy, which maybe many fans don't care for, but personally, if you have a catchy melody or chorus to include in a song, I'm totally up for that.

But as far as reviews and reactions, rateyourmusic.com for example was giving AHBID heaps of praise. The average rating yesterday was 4.3 out of 5 stars which is massive. I hardly expect it to retain that, but I wonder where that number will be in like a week or 2 once more of the fans have heard it.

[Stadler]

I read all this, and my FOMO kicks in and I want to be part of it... but honestly, I'm not sure I could sing you one song since Marbles. Wait; "Most Toys".  I can hum that.  But in general, I listen, diligently, but nothing seems to grab me.   I saw them on the FEAR tour, and it was excellent, but the highlight of the show was "Neverland". 

I suppose when the dust clears (I have some shows coming up that will drive my listening) I should give Somewhere Else -> AHBID another go.  (Hell, Afraid of Sunlight took YEARS to sink in).

[The Letter M]

I read all this, and my FOMO kicks in and I want to be part of it... but honestly, I'm not sure I could sing you one song since Marbles. Wait; "Most Toys".  I can hum that.  But in general, I listen, diligently, but nothing seems to grab me.   I saw them on the FEAR tour, and it was excellent, but the highlight of the show was "Neverland". 

I suppose when the dust clears (I have some shows coming up that will drive my listening) I should give Somewhere Else -> AHBID another go.  (Hell, Afraid of Sunlight took YEARS to sink in).

I get that. When I was first discovering prog over 16-17 years ago, Marillion didn't immediately click for me after Brave. Every album seemed to be out of reach for me, except Marbles, and since Somewhere Else was their newest at the time, I wasn't filled with a lot of eagerness to continue checking them out, but then HITR came out and I was immediately sucked back in.

Since then I've come to appreciate them more and more but if I want to spin Marillion, I really only go for their albums from the 21st century. Their 90s output is a bit hit-or-miss for me, though I will occasionally listen to their first five albums/the 80s stuff if I'm in the mood for it.

Of their albums since SE, I'd say both parts of Happiness Is The Road and Sounds That Can't Be Made are their best, not including the new one (though it certainly is standing up well against those albums, at least for me).

-Marc.

[HOF]

My CD is due for delivery tomorrow.

Had a 4 hour car drive today and decided to listen to all of the Mike Hunter albums in order (not including Less is More or Friends). There really has been quite a profession in sound/style from Somewhere Else to Fear. I like all 4 of the albums, but SE and even Happiness seemed to suffer from some overly harsh production techniques. I think Hunter wanted those albums to sound more live, but it didn't really benefit the material.

But then once you get to Sounds that Can't Be Made there's a huge step up in production values, and I think in general the songs are just a lot stronger than on the previous two albums. I also think H was starting to become more comfortable singing in lower registers and manipulating his voice in different ways to compensate for some loss of range. His voice just sounds so much better on Sounds and on FEAR. He's kind of learned to use the character of his voice to really accentuate the material.

I loved FEAR when it came out, and listening back to (most of it) just now, I still think it holds up as one of their best. Yes, there are a few passages that drag a bit, but there is so much really strong material. It was definitely an album for it's time, and scarily it feels like an album for right now as well.

[HOF]

Oh, and Marc, I would definitely vote in a Marillion survivor.

[jammindude]

I wish I was familiar enough to participate in a survivor.

The albums that I'm very familiar with and I still listen to on regular rotation are:

All the Fish-era
Anoraknophobia
Marbles

I also own, and know a bit, but would have to brush up on:

Season's End
Brave
This Strange Engine

I also own Radiation and I played it a lot when it came out and I ran a CD shop. But haven't spun it in probably 10 years. Also own Somewhere Else which I didn't care for, and FEAR which I spun a few times when it was first released and it never grabbed me.

I've never owned or heard any of the other post-SE albums that everyone seems to rave about. And I've heard only a handful of tracks from Holidays, AOS, and dot com, but don't own them either.

[HOF]

Afraid of Sunlight is so good. You really need to give that one a go (and just push past Cannibal Surf Babe if it's too weird).

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Afraid of Sunlight is so good. You really need to give that one a go (and just push past Cannibal Surf Babe if it's too weird).

You know, I actually enjoy Cannibal Surf Babe quite a bit. It is definitely quirky and totally out of left field, but I think it works.

As to your main point, I think Afraid of Sunlight is a fantastic album. With Marbles being my favorite Marillion album (and my favorite album of all time), I do think AoS is at least in the same league as Marbles. Definitely worth checking out.

[HOF]

Afraid of Sunlight is so good. You really need to give that one a go (and just push past Cannibal Surf Babe if it's too weird).

You know, I actually enjoy Cannibal Surf Babe quite a bit. It is definitely quirky and totally out of left field, but I think it works.

As to your main point, I think Afraid of Sunlight is a fantastic album. With Marbles being my favorite Marillion album (and my favorite album of all time), I do think AoS is at least in the same league as Marbles. Definitely worth checking out.

Oh, I think Cannibal Surf Babe is great fun, but I can see it being a turn off as well. It's a little out of character musically with the rest of the album, though it certainly fits thematically. It's kind of necessary though since there isn't much else in the way of uptempo stuff on the album.

I've said before that AOS is probably my favorite Marillion album and maybe my favorite album ever. It's that good.

[jammindude]

I'll have to give that one a try.

You know, I was thinking. For as much as I dislike some of their stuff, I never understood the hate for TSE. I get that the middle has some so-so moments. But Man of a Thousand Faces is amazing, as is the title track. I also rather like 80 Days.

[HOF]

I'll have to give that one a try.

You know, I was thinking. For as much as I dislike some of their stuff, I never understood the hate for TSE. I get that the middle has some so-so moments. But Man of a Thousand Faces is amazing, as is the title track. I also rather like 80 Days.

TSE is fine really, just not my favorite. I agree on Man of a Thousand Faces, the title track, and 80 Days (which does get some flack). I also think Estonia is a classic Marillion tune, if a bit overplayed. I like One Fine Day well enough too, and I'm also the rare fan who thinks Hope For The Future was a fun experiment. I do have a fairly strong aversion to An Accidental Man (mostly because the verse melody is straight out of Wrapped Around Your Finger) and I think Memory of Water was just badly executed with that cheap keyboard accompaniment (they finally found a workable arrangement on Less is More). Those two tracks shouldn't spoil the whole album for me, but for some reason they really drag it down. I think it's more that apart from the opener and the closer, the songs I do like or more good than great.

[Fritzinger]

DPD was supposed to deliver it today, which is a pleasant surprise since new releases I order from the UK usually arrive the next Monday. BUT I just gut a mail from DPD saying the mailman didn't encounter me at home...

...WHICH IS NUTS because I have Covid right now and am in quarantine, meaning I couldn't have been anywhere else than at home BY LAW 

[Stadler]

Afraid of Sunlight is so good. You really need to give that one a go (and just push past Cannibal Surf Babe if it's too weird).

You know, I actually enjoy Cannibal Surf Babe quite a bit. It is definitely quirky and totally out of left field, but I think it works.

As to your main point, I think Afraid of Sunlight is a fantastic album. With Marbles being my favorite Marillion album (and my favorite album of all time), I do think AoS is at least in the same league as Marbles. Definitely worth checking out.

Oh, I think Cannibal Surf Babe is great fun, but I can see it being a turn off as well. It's a little out of character musically with the rest of the album, though it certainly fits thematically. It's kind of necessary though since there isn't much else in the way of uptempo stuff on the album.

I've said before that AOS is probably my favorite Marillion album and maybe my favorite album ever. It's that good.

I've written about this before; I LOVED (and still do) Brave.  I didn't get AoS right away. I thought it was another Holidays (which I still don't like), in that it was Hogarth at his worst:  too cute by half and trying to be something he's not.   But I got the 2CD remaster, with the liner notes, and I'm pretty sure there was a documentary somewhere along the way that I heard him talking about it, and I got what they were going for.  It was an homage/pastiche of sorts musically, "Mr. Wilson" was Brian Wilson, and part of the lyric was about understanding - or not - the idea of playing to a particular audience (the world Wilson created, the surfer milieu, was something he couldn't ultimately escape, and when he tried - Pet Sounds - it metaphorically ate him up) and balancing that with the notion of artistic integrity.  Once that happened, it really clicked.  I won't say it's my FAVORITE song, but it's not skippable, and it fits really well with the "perils of celebrity" theme of the rest of the album - including the other pastiche, the Phil Specter inspired "Beyond You".

It's now one of my favorite Marillion albums.  Unfortunately, the next one, This Strange Engine, turned me off Marillion entirely for a number of years (and I still haven't warmed to that record).  Also unfortunately, while I went back and really liked Radiation and Anoraknophobia, and LOVED Marbles, there is too much hit or miss about Marillion starting with TSE.  (For my money, I would love to see another collaboration with Dave Meegan).   

[romdrums]

Afraid of Sunlight is such a fantastic record.  I oscillate between that and Brave as my favorite album of all time.  It came out right after I graduated high school, and I was on a trip through Europe when I found it in a store in Eindhoven, The Netherlands.  I remember listening to it on our way to Antwerp, and being lost in the music.  It has been a quintessential road trip album for me ever since.  I made it a point to listen to it on a family vacation, driving from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon.  In the remaster liner notes, H mentions that it drifted off somewhere in the direction of Arizona, and he wasn't kidding.  Anyway, I could go on and on about it, but the TL;DR version is that AOS is still perhaps my favorite album by anyone, ever. 

[Stadler]

That's awesome; even if a record doesn't carry that weight with me personally, I love hearing stories about people's "favorite records ever".   

[Puppies_On_Acid]

One of these days I really need to write down my thoughts on Marbles, since it's my favorite album ever, and it's really not close.

[HOF]

One of these days I really need to write down my thoughts on Marbles, since it's my favorite album ever, and it's really not close.

Been listening to Marbles a good bit lately. It's definitely worthy of such a ranking. Just in terms of the depth of material and production values, it probably is their best crafted album. Fantastic Place is still probably my favorite Marillion song, and an absolute production masterpiece.

I've said it before, but I struggle with live performances of Marbles because I think Meegan captured the band at their absolute best both sonically and performance wise, and it's just impossible to replicate these songs live. It's been interesting to hear Meegan talk about the recording process on H's podcast, and what they had to do to get some of the performances on that album. He butted heads with Rothery a lot, he almost drove H mad trying to capture the perfect performance of Fantastic Place. He made everyone in the band do a bunch of different takes of Drilling Holes but none of them could be the same, and then he put it all together without the band really knowing what the final product would sound like.

[lonestar]

Seems the new album is the exact same length as my commute home... How convenient.

[MinistroRaven]

DPD was supposed to deliver it today, which is a pleasant surprise since new releases I order from the UK usually arrive the next Monday. BUT I just gut a mail from DPD saying the mailman didn't encounter me at home...

...WHICH IS NUTS because I have Covid right now and am in quarantine, meaning I couldn't have been anywhere else than at home BY LAW 

Get well soon brother.

Check your Messenger PMs

[Stadler]

One of these days I really need to write down my thoughts on Marbles, since it's my favorite album ever, and it's really not close.

And for what it's worth, Clutching At Straws is my No. 3 (I've gone crazy with that damn RankingEngine site since doing my Rush list).   Love that Marillion can have two (or maybe more) albums that are so impactful to people.