Orion – “Lightbringers” | Progressive Rock Central.com

Ben Jones, the artist who is Orion, has returned with a new album, which he will release on his own, titled, Lightbringers; on August 16, 2024. Helping Ben on this adventure is none other than Hugh Syme, who help create “the full layout for this album, plus a fully illustrated 20-page booklet”. Ben began work on this new album around August/September 2023. The first three tracks were released on the Passing Through EP in December 2023, which acted as a preview of this new album. It was very well received, and I was happy with where my renewed interest in music was taking me”.

Ben goes on to describe the meaning and origin of the concept of Lightbringers, “The original working title for this new album was Human Nature. The idea was that each song would be a commentary on that subject, for which I had many ideas. However, by the time I had written the fourth track, “As Best We Can”, I felt as though things were getting a bit thematically depressing. At that same time, I was finally reading Geddy Lee’s memoir (a highly recommended read!). As a lifelong Rush fan, I was already aware of the dark past that Geddy’s parents had endured. However, Geddy’s presentation of his mother’s struggles, both during the war and after his father’s untimely passing, breathed new life into the subject. Despite all the horror, something amazing came of it all – A son was born that went on to touch millions of lives (my own included). His telling of his mother’s undying spirit was also something that captured my imagination. It was at this point that the lyric ‘We come out of the darkness, and we bring the light with us’ popped into my head. It was this idea that someone could face something horrific, yet bring some light into the world….. Bring some light?….. The Lightbringers!”

…And so let’s examine the album:

The album opener, “The Tumult of My Heart”, “was inspired by a book of the same name by Jason Spencer from The Prog Mind (A thank you to Jason for giving me his blessing). He describes the book as ‘a nonfiction release about confronting the harmful religion of my past.’ The song itself tries to deal with these issues”. And it does so with Rush inspired and sounding music. The opening electric guitar strings take you right back to some elegant Rush classics. Then, the harder edge electric guitar adds waves of grinding guitar playing to the song. Meanwhile, Ben does his best Geddy Lee vocal inspiration. A powerful song musically and lyrically.

“The Ghosts Among Us”, according to Ben “comes from the gut-wrenching experience of caring for someone with a profound disability. Whilst it’s not something I’ve had to do; it is something I’ve had to watch”. He continues, “Sadly, I’ve witnessed people that have spent years in an unresponsive state. Kept alive by the love of the people around them, as well as an awful lot of modern medicine” The lyrics question the reason why we use modern medicine to prolong life. The music is powerful and full of the inspiration of the sounds of bands like Rush and Dream Theater.

“This Sickness”, is about social media. Ben says, “I’m not a fan of social media. It’s just terrible. I appreciate the irony of the fact that my entire following is based around Facebook and Bandcamp, but that’s different. As with all things, there are good parts and bad parts. In my view, the bad parts of social media seem to outnumber the good. People live on their phones now. They don’t even know what it is they’re looking for, so long as it’s anything other than reality. The imagery around this song is all based around a mental institution. However, it’s hard to tell who the patients really are. Is it the social media addicts, or is it the utterly, utterly fake “influencers” that are desperately clambering for views?” The music is full of gritty and grinding metallic, electric guitar and powerful drums. A rough song, about a subject which absolutely ignites Ben.

“As Best We Can”, according to Ben, “Tackles the sadness of a failed relationship. Just to be clear, this is a failed relationship, not a concluded relationship. The people in this relationship have drifted apart, but they’re still together. Why? Maybe they’re staying together for the kids. Maybe they’re staying together out of fear for taking that step into the unknown. Whatever the case may be, they’re just doing what they can with what they’ve got”. The angst is measurable. But Ben steers away from grinding guitar on this song, and instead chooses, a very cool acoustic guitar; which lifts and varies the sound of the music, along with the orchestration, keyboards, and programming.

“The Cycle of Light”, as Ben says, “Is the opening part of a four part epic that closes the album, comprising “Spark”, “The Scattering Stars”, “The Falling Heavens”, and the closer, “The Lightbringers”. It is a glistening keyboard note that shines like a light through the heavy metal guitar, bass and drums, before the opening of “Spark”.

“Spark”, is an instrumental. Ben says, “I think this track says a lot. It was at this point that I really started getting into my orchestral sample libraries, hence the ramped up presence of strings, French horns, trumpets, and god knows what else during the second half of the album”. Another very Rush influenced track, with the deep bass, heavy guitars, and thumping drums, of the band’s earlier period before maybe Hemispheres or Permanent Waves. More like the “Working Man” period, than the latter, keyboard influence of say, Signals.

“The Scattering Stars”, opens with soft piano and atmospherics. It sounds like Ben has the support of a full orchestra, with standing bass and brass. Ben says, “The idea of The Lightbringers was a force, or a collection of entities, that have no concept of bad. They just do what they do to bring about a final state of good. The idea of “The Scattering Stars”, is that these forces are seemingly chaotically moving. In reality, they’re just getting into position so they might exert their influence”. After opening slow and soft, the song takes on more momentum and heavier guitar and drums, as the ‘band’ plays on.

“The Falling Heavens”, encompasses the idea that the heavens could actually crash down upon us. As Ben says, “It’s catastrophic, it’s apocalyptic…. But maybe it’s necessary. Maybe these things are here to burn down our temples so that we might build better ones”. This one is a no holds bared run through grunge and powerhouse metal guitar, bass, and drums. The heavier, the better. The lyrics talk about an apocalyptic reign of terror on the Earth. It is very powerful.

“The Lightbringers”, is the epic closer on the album. The reason we gathered together and listened to this album. It opens with colossal keyboards and light bringing atmospherics, before the power metal guitars, bass, and drums kick open the sound even further. Ben says, “This piece is partly written from the perspective of ‘The Lightbringers’. It is also the home to one of my favorite lines on the album, ‘We come out of the darkness, and we bring the light with us’. I can’t imagine that in Anne Frank’s final moments, she had any concept of what her diary would bring to the world. Perhaps ‘The Lightbringers’ had bigger plans”.

Ben Jones handles all programming, soundscape, orchestration, guitar, drums, bass, and keyboards.

The Lightbringers, by Orion, is another remarkable album, created by a one-man show named Ben Jones. He has assimilated the sounds of Rush enough to know how the music is played and how to create something both similar and a tribute to his favorite band. If you are a Rush fan, like me, and many others, you will enjoy this album and desire to hear it often. To imagine one man created all this music and sound, and added the elements of programming and atmospherics, is enough of a reason to at least want to listen to it. Once you do, you will want to bring more light into your existence. And that, I believe is what Ben Jones really wanted in the first place!

Album Track List: