Marillion – An Hour Before It’s Dark

Releasedate:   04-03-2022
Label:  E.A.R. Music

Marillion is back after a 6 year hiatus since their last release “Fuck Everyone and Run” from 2016, this is their 20th studio album within their 40 year career, and after this long journey, their sound is stil fresh and exciting. 

Within the last 6 years a lot has happened in the world, especially in the last couple of years, we have had COVID and a lot of political turmoil, and Marillion has not missed the opportunity to address these matters that affect us all, they are a social punk-esque band after all, at least from the lyrical perspective, which was what set them apart from the rest within their first records with Fish, I am happy that with this album that sentiment and social attitude is still there. That being said, if you are one of those fans that stopped listening to Marillion after Fish left in 1989, I would recommend for you to listen to this record, it is easily one of the best albums they have done with Steve Hogarth as vocalist.

The album is divided in suites, which is a commonality in Marillion albums and within the prog rock world, it’s a storytelling device in which musicians can explore different variations and moods within a same storyline lyrically speaking but also from a sonic perspective, Marillion do play around with the moods revolving around melodies, harmonies and various hooks which come in and out but with slightly different outfits.

When listening to this album as a whole, there is a notable and seemingly well thought out order in which the songs have been selected based on the dynamics and emotions conveyed, it’s almost as if the whole album is one big song.

The album starts with the ‘Be Hard on yourself’ suite which has 3 songs, and it’s a great ignition to this journey jam packed with a lot of emotion, the finale of this suite is one of my favorite moments within the whole record, the way they are able to go through different musical passages maintaining the same motif while shifting in tempo, going from dark to angry to hopeful is just amazing, this is a great example of neo-prog rock storytelling.

With the next suite “Reprogram the Gene” it is noticeable that they are drawing inspiration from the health crisis that has been affecting us all for the past couple of years. With the last part of the suite, the guitar melody is very reminiscent of Fish era Marillion releases, specifically from the ‘Misplaced Childhood‘ era. So it is clear that Steve Rothery’s signature is still present and strong.

‘Sierra Leone’ is a 5 part series of songs that range from sweet and melancholic to faster paced and emotional within the very ending with “More than Treasure” It’s a song that makes you think about the material world relative to life and death, it’s about a poor man who won’t sell a diamond he found in some rubble even though it will give him incalculable riches, the song is filled with glitter and keyboards that sparkle on top of the sweetness portrayed by Hogarth’s voice, it’s very diamond like.

The final suite is ‘Care’, and it’s an epic way to close the album, it starts with a very danceable mellow funky electronica sounding intro, the main message behind these songs is that no one knows how much time we have left before it’s dark, perhaps an hour, but regardless, you should make the most out of that hour, go enjoy the light while you can, I enjoy the juxtaposition of this message against the funky backbeat that goes in and out of Rothery lead guitar dominated passages. Even though it’s relatable for all of us, especially when considering what the world is going though, zooming in, the inspiration for Hogarth was from a friend of his who was diagnosed with Cancer, and how in those last moments they became closer. 

You cannot not love this album or at least the feeling it represents after listening to the finale in the ‘Care’ suite. The finale is a gesture of gratitude to the real angels on earth, all those people helping and working in hospitals, all the carers, nurses, doctors, etc.

The song is a crescendo trip to bliss and the vessel that is transporting you there is an epic choir together with Rothery’s signature guitar lead tone and Hogarth’s voice.

The mix in “An Hour before it’s Dark’ is just amazing, the instrumentation is subtle and complex at the same time, the guitar leads are silky smooth yet poignant, the back up vocals and choirs are minimal and tasteful. But apart from the musical elements being on point, the subject matter is also relevant and interesting, this is a great Hogarth era Marillion release, in my opinion one of their best.

 

Line up:

• Steve Hogarth – Vocals, Additional Keyboards & Guitars
• Mark Kelly – Keyboards, Programming, Backing Vocals
• Ian Mosley – Drums, Percussion
• Steve Rothery – Guitars
• Pete Trewavas – Bass Guitar, Backing Vocals 

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