The Enid – Journey's End
Founder members Robert John Godfrey and Dave Storey cement together the latest incarnation of The Enid on their first studio album for quite some years. Since the release of their defining album, 'Something Wicked This Way Comes' back in 1983 and the subsequent break up of the band in 1988, their music has somewhat been forgotten. In May 2009 Robert John Godfrey, with his latest group of musicians to played a sell out show in London and released the album 'Arise And Shine', an album which missed many musical radars.
"Journey's End" sees Godfrey and Storey joined by Max Read (vocals), Jason Ducker (guitars), Nick Willes (bass, timpani and percussion) and Elsa (growl). A mixture of orchestra and rock, the album fuses together two very different bed mates. Sometimes sounding like early Pink Floyd, sometimes sounding like a Disney film score, the music delights from start to finish. Full symphonic and choral pieces intertwined with some very good rhythm section work, the composing prowess of RJG and The Enid is showcased in full.
There are multi layered vocals and excellent drumming on the opening track, 'Terra Firma'; a song bemoaning the ravaging of the Earth by its occupants. This is a great opening track though not typical of the rest of the album which is more 'classical' in its delivery. In contrast, 'Terra Nova' delivers layers of moods and sounds, gently building up before featuring some nice floating guitar.
'Space Surfing' changes the mood again, this time to more of a 'rock' sound. It has a heavier bass and chunkier guitar supplementing the greatly processed vocals. That one off their chest, The Enid delivers what The Enid do best, a classical piece in the form of 'Malacandra'. Developed from the version that was released on 'Arise And Shine', this epic track has developed into a spectacular orchestral piece with over thirteen minutes of lush soundscapes.
The layered vocals return on 'Shiva'. According to the sleeve notes, up to sixty tracks of real vocal recordings and the addition of a vocoder were used in the creation of the sound of the choir at the end of this track. It is more upbeat in parts and the orchestral atmospheres are all very well put together resulting in yet another memorable track. The last track on the album is 'The Art of Melody – Journey's End'. This is another instrumental in the same vein as the earlier, classic Enid compositions. Rising up and then dwindling to silence it is a fitting end to a remarkable piece of work.