Arcade Messiah
III

He is an industrious man this John Bassett, and under the Arcade Messiah moniker he has released three albums in as many years – in fact, I reviewed the second Arcade Messiah release earlier this year. This third issue is simply named three and Bassett himself states: "Arcade Messiah III has certainly been a labour of love for me, never before have I refined a record to the degree that I have done with this album, I incorporated many new production techniques and have learned a lot from the experience of putting this record together. I'm very excited to release this out into the wild." And I already had quite the expectations before I read what John had to says as I really liked the two previous releases.

This new release has an artwork that is about as intricate as the music on the album is, and it is not only intricate but also excellently produced on an album that can be described in many ways. The press sheet mentions sludge, post rock, progressive metal, doom and stoner, but I would describe it as intricate instrumental rock music made by a man who is a rather brilliant composer and musician. If you have heard any of the previous Arcade Messiah albums you will recognise the style and the overall sound of Arcade Messiah. But it is more than that, it is an evolved sound and also something new yet familiar for the fans of this moniker, I would call it a fresh new album from an excellent artist.

It has all you could want from an album like this, it sounds interesting fresh and exciting – perhaps a more hit-like song would have added a little bit extra to the album. But overall I don’t think there are much weakness, if any, to be found in this production – it is even kept short and to the point with just 42 minutes of playing time in six tracks that you wouldn’t mind playing again when the album ends. I would call it great stuff, plain and simple.

And I recommend that you have a look at this great album, it is sure worth all the time you give it. Unfortunately I have not been able to come up with a great ending to this text so I just write that if you are a fan of great music, you will enjoy this one.

HHHHHHH