Saracen | Marilyn
by Nikiforos Skoumas
Staff Writer
British pomp-rock group Saracen re-emerge with a brand new studio album, their fifth to date, five years past their previous full-length effort. Since their reformation in 2003, Saracen seem comfortable in crafting their releases into concept albums; much like its predecessor, Marilyn is indeed a concept album.
With the above being said, Saracen members have wisely chosen a rather interesting topic to base their latest studio effort being none other than cultural icon Marilyn Monroe. While acknowledging their original thinking, it has to be clear, that the musical orientation of Saracen is not exactly compatible with the conceptual topic they have chosen to explore. Saracen play pomp rock in late ‘70s-early, ‘80s style with emphasis on the epic element. So clearly moving from medieval battles to the life and times of Marilyn Monroe is a huge leap for Saracen.
Their musical style has not changed in order to better accommodate the new concept: the upfront-epic keyboards of Paul Brabber are ever present, complemented by thick guitar riffs and occasional melodies courtesy of Rob Bendelow, all topped by the hymn-like vocals of Steve Bettney.
Never the less, guest appearances by Issa Overseen and Robin Beck establish a female presence that is absolutely essential to the character of the album, being the main point of differentiation for Marilyn. Robin in particular, performs part of the vocals on a total of five songs out of eleven, effectively becoming a key contributor to this project.
It has to be addressed that there are no particular mood swings on “Marilyn,” as the group choose to deal with the downside of Marilyn’s star-status causing the end result to sound rather sad since there are not enough up-lifting songs to counter-act the gloominess on Marilyn.
Conclusively, while having chosen an original concept to build their latest album upon, Saracen have not made any compromises in their musical approach (apart from the inclusion of the female singers), while their conceptual approach is rather one-sided, concentrating mainly on tragedy, neglecting glamor and success which were arguably equally large parts of Marilyn’s social statue.
Pomp-rock enthusiasts and fans of the band in particular, are expected to make the most of this album as musically Marilyn is a faithful continuation of the epic/pomp style of the previous Saracen releases.
Genre: Pomp Rock / Epic Hard Rock
Band:
Steve Bettney (vocals)
Paul Bradder (keyboards)
Richard Bendelow (bass, vocals)
Paul Gibson (drums)
Rob Bendelow (guitar)
Snake Davis (saxophone)
Track list:
1. The Girl: Norma Jeane
2. The Orphan: Whither the Wind Blows
3. The Dreamer: Hold On (Issa)
4. The Model: Make This Body Work (Robin Beck)
5. The Actress: Who Am I (Beck & Overland)
6. The Wife: Love Like A Razorblade
7. The Patient: Break the Spell
8. The Mistress: Not For Sure (Robin Beck)
9. The Forsaken: Feel Like Going Home (Robin Beck)
10. The Witness: Unfinished Life
11. The Woman: Marilyn (Robin Beck)
Label website: http://www.escape-music.com/news.htm
Hardrock Haven rating: 7/10