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Wednesday, June 12, 2024
Harpazo - The Crucible - A Concept Album of Near Perfection
By Rick Dante
It is not very often I listen to a concept album and envision a play, with full sets, actors in costume, each scene advancing the dark plot of global domination, where citizens are given serums (voluntarily) to turn them into well, the Borg. if you ever wanted to establish a foundation for this story beyond Good and Evil, one built upon societal influences that exist in our world today, then jab people in the arm with a serum that allows you total control over their minds, over their bodies that become fortified into eternal soldiers for their newly risen God, add in a Princess, and include an invincible Trans-human (part robot, not sex change) assassin who is sent to kill the rebel leaders who have refused to abandon their Christian religion for the *cough* new world order.
Now throw them all into the classical never-ending war between God and Satan, and I would bet you are listening to Harpazo- The Crucible. If that is the fact, then I can see your eyes wide-open and I can hear you whisper incredulously "WTF" because you just reached Track 6 and yes, WTF is appropriate here, there, and everywhere on this Metal Opera album from the brilliant mind of Marc Centanni and his equally mind-blowing Producer Gary Wehrkamp.
Are there weaknesses in this album? Few. Oh so very few. I would be splitting hairs if I said it would have been nice if the female lead vocals were of equal to the male vocalists, but I have seen some pretty damn talented vocalists wither away when standing next to a singing DC Cooper (Royal Hunt). I may modify this opinion later in my review. So let's drop that for now and move into the story and music of Harpazo- The Crucible.
How can you successfully transition from global destruction and death into a weirdly psychotic and sad "Jesus Loves Me" children's song (suddenly I was five years old and terrified) and make it actually work? After that try turning that children's song into a Rock Anthem and people will be laughing at you, unless you do it like this, because this works. Again, in every song it works, just all fits together, the music, the story, the concept are united into one excellent adventure. That is exactly what you want from a concept album and Harpazo nailed this one to the Honor Wall of Concept Albums. Not unlike Martin Luther nailing his Ninety-Five theses to the green door of the church. While we are discussing classical concepts, let's step into art versus music for a just moment.
Specifically, let's compare the music of Harpazo- The Crucible with art, from a layman's perspective, of course. Michelangelo's Statue of David is a Masterpiece. You walk into the chamber, perfectly designed for viewing the statue, and David encourages you to approach him. You circle David and he is a young man, earnest and striving, and then from the next angle David is an adult, mature and comfortable with himself, then as you continue to circle, David ages. He is wiser, more resolute, and perhaps more cynical. It is one carving of one man, yet the many faces of David's life are observed as your view of the statue changes. How did the sculptor do that? WTF. You realize then that Michelangelo's statue of David is a Masterpiece.
This is why anyone worth their salt as a reviewer should compare this ambitious project to David, to the Sistine Chapel, to Close to the Edge, Trick of the Tail, The Wall, The White Album, Eldorado, Aqualung, Fear of a Blank Planet, and dare I say it- Tyranny before calling a concept album a "masterpiece". So what is Harpazo- The Crucible then? Conservatively, it is a near masterpiece. And why is that? Because Harpazo- The Crucible has just arrived in the world and someone, somewhere is going to turn it into a play. It will happen. The play could be successful, if produced well, and then The Crucible could be elevated to that renowned classification of "masterpiece" that some Broadway plays are blessed to enjoy.
Harpazo- The Crucible is more than album, it has potential to expand into something visually and emotionally fantastical. Will this actually happen? It may not. But when the lyrics provided are in script form, someone will want to make it into a play and after that, it's up to the public to embrace Harpazo-The Crucible, the rock opera or bounce it out of town.
There is also the musical foundation in Harpazo-The Crucible that outright refuses to be ignored- courtesy of Gary Wehrkamp's core (Shadow Gallery) prog-metal and symphonic metal expertise in musicianship and production. The musicality of the arrangements, guitars, piano, keyboards, flowing through, sometimes ripping through and elevating every song on this album is Mr. Wehrkamp at his finest. With Shadow Gallery so far removed from their last album in 2010, where can those concepts, those arrangements that artistically smashed every other prog metal band in existence, where can they be found? Here. Right here. Listen to Harpazo- The Crucible, you long-suffering Shadow Gallery fans, and your thirst will be sated.
Along with Marc Centanni and Gary Wehrkamp we have lead vocalist D.C. Cooper's distinctive, powerful vocals dominating the tracks. He truly sings on a different level than other vocalists which is truly astounding to have that much vocal command. God bless him. We cannot overlook Fate Warning's Mark Zonder usual exercise in perfection on drums. It is not a stretch to call this band a Supergroup.
Now it's time to tactically step back on subject of female vocals because the vocals on The Book of Life (Track 15) are simply beautiful and divine. Those vocals would make Annie Haslam of Renaissance proud. But how did we end up in Olde England, Mr. Centanni? Do you have a red telephone booth that transported us there? It is clear that Harpazo has no fear, they will bring musical style changes that in lesser hands would be disastrous. In the song The Book of Life, Harpazo has brought us to our Jon Anderson (YES) Wondrous Stories award for stylistic excellence. That award is not given away lightly.
Now usually, a reviewer takes the approach of critiquing each track separately, as if the sum of each is equal to the sum of the whole. On some albums that quickly becomes pretentious and ego-driven, the reviewer places himself in the position of judge, jury, and sometimes executioner of the project. That won't happen here. If you would follow one reviewer's request however, please do not listen to the sample mixes- these are sales props that give you a small slice of music from each song yet also are disconnected from each song and essentially the album as a whole. If you don't hear the transitions from one progression to the next, you are missing the absolute essence of the music. Folks today want the 10 second listen, just like their social media. But you can't take 10 seconds to study a Monet painting and you can't do that with Harpazo either. It's not a shot of whiskey at the Roadhouse, it's a glass of wine in Napa Valley. Know the difference and act accordingly.
I am thrilled to have been taken on this excellent ride. Be virtuous, be curious and listen to the album in its entirety, because that will slay you and put the WTF on your lips. And it even gets better on the second and third listen so it's definitely worth your valuable time. Simply stated, Harpazo- The Crucible is going to kick your ass, wash over you like a waterfall, and send you away ready to get in line to ride the adventure again. Go nail it to your wall now with your other favorites and then go see the play someday.
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