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Album Reviews : Mark Kelson – Resurgence

By on January 29, 2015

Thoscd_cover_finale who have followed Mark Kelson’s career with The Eternal should be able to more or less guess what his first solo album, Resurgence, sounds like. The transition out of the deep darkness into lighter rock territory has been quite constant from 2004’s The Sombre Light of Isolation though to 2013’s When the Circle of Light Begins to Fade has been constant, while each one still undeniably being  an Eternal album.

Resurgence is essentially a continuation of that trend but with the freedom of not having to fit into a musical timeline, which Kelson has made the most of. There’s still his distinctive voice and that classic Eternal guitar sound in the heavier moments (see “My Own Degradation”), but then the 10+ minute “The Only Way Out Is In” heads more into Pink Floyd territory, with some nice funk to it.

That retro touch is present throughout in both guitar parts and keyboard sounds, but rather than head so far into 70’s territory that it’s all sounds like a tribute album (looking at you, Åkerfeldt…), it’s worked into his own sound and subsides when it’s time for some bigger riffs or vocal-heavy sections.

“Ocean Blue” sits in ballad territory with a chill, classic rock solo that works incredibly well considering its simplicity. Likewise with “Samana”; split into two parts that open and close the album, the first is a beautiful ambient piece with some subtle spoken word samples and the latter focused around acoustic guitar.

Overall Resurgence sounds like a more relaxed Kelson, which assumingly comes from the lack of boundaries, and it’s a refreshing listen. Never does it sound pretentious or just a bit pointless like so many solo albums can; it sounds really honest, and you can’t ask for more than that.

Artist: Mark Kelson
Album: Resurgence
Genre: Rock
Year: 2014
Label: Independent
Origin: Melbourne, Australia
http://www.markkelson.com/

Track list:
1. Samana (Part I)
2. The Only Way Out Is In
3. My Own Degradation
4. Ocean Blue
5. Wide Awake
6. Ācariya
7. The Aftermath of Apathy
8. Samana (Part II)

About

Mitch Booth is the owner, designer and grand overlord of Metal Obsession. In the few seconds of spare time he has outside of this site, he also hosts a metal radio show over on PBS 106.7fm in Melbourne (Australia) and organises shows under the name Untitled Touring. You should follow him on Twitter.