Wow! Imagine. If you could hear power reminders of the sounds you remember from all of your favorite progressive rock bands in one album. Welcome to Forsaken Innocence, Drifting Sun’s latest release coming October 27, 2021.
This is an amazing progressive rock album, and it will probably be my favorite prog album of 2021. Absolutely nothing is missing here. Memories and sounds of the influence of Genesis, Supertramp, Rush, Jethro Tull, and many more I shall mention later, can be heard in this brilliant masterpiece spectacular!
Start with one of the best new male voices in progressive rock Jargon, and you are well on your way to capturing fans attention. I believe Jargon is right up there with Tim Bowness, of No Man fame, when it comes to progressive rock vocalists. Jargon’s solo album, The Fading Thought was an incredible introduction to his music and voice last year. Together with the band, Drifting Sun, I think he will continue his ascent to the pantheon of progressive rock.
Forsaken Innocence, is Drifting Sun’s eighth album. Along with Jargon, on lead vocals and keyboards on “Forsaken Innocence Part II”, the band consists of the following amazing talent: Pat Sanders, on keyboards; Matthew Spencer, on guitars; John Jowitt, on bass; and Jimmy Pallagrosi, on drums. Contributing violin on tracks 1 & 5, and guitar on track 7, is Eric Bouillette. Ben Bell plays a wonderful Hammond solo on track 3. Gareth Cole plays guitar on track 4.
Why not just declare you are king of the world, instead of “King of the Country”? They truly will be, after enough people hear this masterpiece. They open it with a bold gesture and royal music. Soft guitar heralds the regal opening. Then Jargon sings, “Bells sail through my dreams. Where they find their solemn hymns. How sweet to watch the night open its eyes”? “I’m the King of a rainy country, rich but powerless. Young, yet feeling wintry”. Then, they take a rich page from the Genesis’ book, and add the “nah, nah, nahs”, you might remember from “Cinema Show”.{Thank you for that!). Jargon sings, “I used to hope that life could bring me peace. Could lull asleep my deeply gnawing mind. I was a fool: the senses clear with time. A church bell grieves, a log in the fireplace smokes and hums falsetto to the clock’s catarrh”. Anyone else here, picturing the king on the album cover for Rush’s A Farewell to Kings? Yes, indeed. Jargon concludes this rocky story, “ I dream my way into treacherous labyrinths. Nothing can draw me away from this neverland”. Meanwhile, while the story unfolds, flute-like keys, Hackett-like guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, violins, strings, and bass are creating their own memorable supporting concerto. Jethro Tull, Genesis, Yes, Supertramp, and Rush wrapped up in a song. What a way to open an album! But wait, there is more!
“Insidious”, opens with solid guitar and keyboards music before Jargon sings, “I hear the whispers, I feel the noise. I sense the cries but don’t feel remorse. Just war and violence, the lust to kill. Are all we slaves of a dark depravity? Just close your eyes. Under my skin there’s a beast lying within. I close my eyes. Under this skin there’s another dark side of me. In pure silence and sweet pain there lies the knife. Time fades away. We can’t go back, we can’t reverse, into an undertow we sail to the end”. Unbelievable guitar work, and that awesome piano! Beautiful, dreamy keyboards and Jargon making vocal impressions through the mist. Then, Jargon sings, “I see what is in there and what might be, the scripts within my hand, no sense of feeling. Just look in the mirror and see what’s within”. Oh, yes, please take us back to the spirit of Script for a Jester’s Tear. Jargon sings, “Just close your eyes…”.
“Dementium”, opens with powerful piano notes and Jargon singing, “Frail, you were running into the fray, in the night. I hear you calling; I feel the touch of your soul. Forsaken innocence, for seeking inner sense. Step into the real world and out of your paranoid realm. You hear voices; voices that you cannot quell. And the spider is spinning her web of deceit”. Then, those classic keys you remember from a childhood of listening to Peter Gabriel era Genesis. Thank you for the reminder. The spider reference brings back memories of the Cure’s “Lullaby”. They lay out the story so well, then let the musicians paint the dark instrumental soundtrack straight out of a Tim Burton masterpiece. Put on the headphones, sit back and enjoy.
Bright piano opens “New Dawn”. Jargon sings, “What you leave, what you take from me. Like silence piercing daggers through my heart But the leaves are still growing strong. And life can do me no wrong. Cold wind blows into the night. Tho’ I ain’t shivering, I’m winning this fight. Love was snuffed away in the blinking of an eye. Oh Lord! Please don’t let me die!” Yes, the kind of powerful writing we used to hear on all progressive rock albums in the past. Glittering electric guitar solos follow, along with those magical Banks-like keyboards. Flute-like keys are a warm addition throughout the album.
The title track, “Forsaken Innocence – Part I”, opens with guitar and bell-like keys, powerful bass and flute-like keys, bringing new sounds to the soundscape. Jargon sings, “Hope is in your eyes, but it’s time to break the ties. So, we go our separate ways”. Jargon sings some more lyrics, but this is the beginning of three songs of mostly instrumental magic. The band shows off their talent in every way throughout the powerful “Forsaken Innocence Suite”. John Jowitt; an IQ, Arena, Jadis, and Frost* vet’s, bass, can be heard as powerfully as Chris Squire’s presence in Yes. Then, they thunder the drums and light the keys. With Sanders carrying the day. Providing more Banks’ – like melodies than we really deserve. Let it roll on, complete with blistering electric lead guitar. Later they cool it down with violins and strings.
“Forsaken Innocence – Parts I and II”, opens with keys, flute-like keys, and Jowitt’s bass, supported with rocking drums. Jargon has a few lines here, but this track is an over 25-minute, instrumental extravaganza. The keys will almost leave you crying they are so good. Supertramp themes are all over some of the instrumental sections of this piece. Would love to see this suite played live.
“Forsaken Innocence – Part II”, is another 14:53 minutes of wonderful instrumental music. Sit back and enjoy.
“Time to Go”, is the epic closer on Forsaken Innocence. The piano and acoustic guitar combination is wonderful. Jargon sings, “Mother Nature took her child. By the brook, down to the river. And the strong winds failed to whisper. Gone is the heart. It was her time to go. Washed away, down by the tide. In the morrow, and thereafter. Joy will never set their hearts on fire”. Jargon continues, “And their endless tears are bitter Gone is the heart But it’s time to go…”
“Hand on Heart”, is an extra song added to the album as a bonus. Another great, power-packed song full of guitar, bass and drums, with Jargon and the band delivering supreme satisfaction. Thank you for this additional bonus track.
This is a tight group of musicians who have captured magic in a bottle. Can’t wait for the tour. This music is going to be amazing to hear played live. Hope they make it to the ‘States’. The guitar – work, is at times Steve Hackett-like. The keyboards, besides Jargon’s vocals, are the magic of this band. Add Pat Sanders to my list of favorite keyboardists! Every note he plays is magic. Throughout this masterpiece, I feel the music ebb and flow, like the waves on the ocean. In and out. Some rise high, then fall to the soft shore. Just perfect syncopation. Get this and be part of a rising comet of musical stardom!
Forsaken Innocence, was mixed and mastered by Leonidas Petropoulos. The immense and dark images and artwork for the album were created by Dimitris Tzortzis.
Track List
- King of the Country – 11:37
- Insidious – 8:08
- Dementium – 9:11
- New Dawn – 6:49
- Forsaken Innocence – Part I – 10:52
- Forsaken Innocence – Parts I and II – 25:46
- Forsaken Innocence – Part II – 14:53
- Time to Go – 2:29
- Hand on Heart – 4:49
https://driftingsun.bandcamp.com/album/forsaken-innocence
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