TRACK LIST:
1. Overture 3:43
2. Accidents Will Happen 3:20
3. Please Don't Let Me Go 3:25
4. Can't Blame Me 3:20
5. A Perfect Day for Flight 6:39
6. Mr McKee 5:04
7. Find My Way Back Home 6:25
8. Krown on the Coastline 4:46
9. Welcome to White Rose 0:45
10. Mystery At The Ministry 4:41
11. Midnight on the White Rose 4:22
12. Complete the Machine 2:20
13. Waiting to Be 4:58
14. Labyrinth 4:30
15. Armed Gods 2:14
16. At the Lab 3:30
17. Never Giving up on Your Love 3:06
18. 2048 Numbers 7:45
19. Emergency Exit 2:24
20. Troubled Minds 6:02
21. Hide and Seek 5:28
22. Holy War 3:05
23. Empty Shells 5:00
24. Fireworks 2:20
25. The Big Swindle 4:33
26. Violet Alone 4:48
27. Don't You Want to Feel My Heart 4:10
28. Infinite Within 23:47
LINE UP :
Jonathan Casey - vocals, keyboards, bass, guitars, voice
Mark Grist - vocals, drums
Colin Sullivan - guitars, voice
Danny McCormack - vocals
Sandi Jane Hyland - vocals
Eoghan McLaughlin - vocals, voice
Stella Bass - vocals, voice
Sharon Mannion - voice
Danny Kehoe - voice
Charlie Kranz - voice
Graeme Singleton - voice
Tomoko Okamoto - voice
Ron Garner - voice
Tamara Markus - voice
with:
Anto Drennan - guitars
Conor McGouran - guitars
Michael Buckley - flute
Prolusion.
Irish band M-Opus was formed back in 2014, and the following year they released their debut album "Triptych". It would take the band a few years to develop their next album, but in 2020 they released their sophomore production "Origins" on their own label Rude Chord Recordings.
Analysis.
While the first album by this band was a more purebred take on classic era symphonic progressive rock, this latest album iof theirs is a creation that is rather more widespread on just about all measurable levels. Style and orientation comes with a great deal of variety, both CDs of this conceptual creation are crammed full of material and the compositions aren't even straight forward compositions in the traditional sense of the word. Instead I would suggest that this album is a combination of a theatrical stage play, a rock opera and a musical, and possibly with some audio book features present to boot.
In terms of the musical diversity, this is a production featuring more nods in a variety of different directions than I am able to pick up on in one or even three listens. Initially I did hear a lot of Rush references, with the sprawling nature of this album in itself giving a little bit of a "2112" aspiration, but as the album unfolded and developed I made notes of King Crimson, Yes and Genesis too, and possibly Gentle Giant and most certainly Pink Floyd as well. And that is after only a little bit of headway in on the first of the two CDs of this double feature. That the material here also expands into areas outside of a progressive rock environment in terms of style and orientation makes the comparison approach something of a Herculean task on this occasion.
For the listener this means that we have an album experience that is an unpredictable journey through a myriad of different landscapes, which can be a bit confusing or distractive for some. The manner in which the band have chosen to tie this all together is one that while creative will also be one that is detrimental as far as the potential reach of this album goes. Hence the references to a theatrical play and music that were given early on.
At the start and the end and sometimes also in interludes the songs on this production will feature cinematic sequences with sounds and effects in addition to vocals, and fairly often also spoken word dialogue. The futuristic soft sounds of these passages are a recurring element that strengthens the album identity and emphasize the conceptual nature of this production, but at the cost of the identity of the compositions as songs and compositions that can be experienced as just a song. While the song element tends to dominate the playtime, the interference of the cinematic and theatrical play features is a disruptive presence. One that some listeners obviously will love and treasure, especially those with a keen interest in science fiction I'd presume. But for those who prefer to separate their experiences in the arts a bit more, this blend of elements will be a bit more questionable.
"Origins" is a production where it is obvious that a lot of time and passion has been invested in order to create an expressive and creative end result, taking the concept album and the rock opera in a slightly new and perhaps more immersive direction. One that will demand a different kind of focus from the listeners, and will perhaps require a slightly different kind of listeners than a regular album production will too when it comes to that. Whatever opinion you may have on that subject, what is certain is that this is a bit of a novel creation as far as the albums released in 2020 goes.
Conclusion.
"Origins" is an ambitious production, a double concept album that combines aspects of the traditional concept album and the rock opera production with elements from a theatrical stage play and, at least to some extent, also some elements from an audio book experience. It is a production made to be an immersive experience, and then obviously also a creation that requires listeners with a mindset and a focus geared towards having the desire for a more focused and immersive experience. A novel take on the concept album, and a challenging one for very different reasons than what is normally the case for a progressive rock album. But for the right and presumably science fiction interested audience, this is an album that will be held in high esteem indeed.
