Tardigrades: water-dwelling, eight-legged, segmented micro-animals. Intriguing title, isn’t it? Just when I thought that Vincent Price’s point of view was groundbreaking or crazy (that depends on your perspective, really…). I am referring of course to the “fact” that Price believed that spiders and most specifically The Black Widows will dominate this world as he expressed it so vividly 42 years ago in the seminal “Welcome To My Nightmare” album by Alice Cooper. Now, The Mute Gods are giving us a hint on how the earth will be in the future.
And if the name of the band itself doesn’t ring any bell, I am sure the members will be quite familiar to you as Roger King, Marco Minnemann & Nick Beggs are established artists in the progressive rock genre. The truth is that when I received “Tardigrades…”, which is the band’s sophomore effort, I hadn’t listened to their debut album. So, I didn’t know exactly what to expect. However, the result was so impressive that I found myself searching for the debut CD so as to complete the collection. I guess that the main differential point this time around is that “Tardigrades…” is a bit heavier, more hard rock oriented than its predecessor. Especially, Beggs’ guitars –who is an exceptional bassist on his own merit- are setting (most of the times) an aggressive tone that is wonderfully blended with King’s amazing keyboards that create an almost cinematic atmosphere. Naturally, the potential listener is bound to experience a few moody moments –just imagine something in between Steven Wilson and Fates Warning (“A Pleasant Shade of Gray” era)- but the shining highlights of the new record are the heavy tunes. For instance, “Animal Army” is a hard rock juggernaut that leaves you absolutely speechless as King has done a brilliant job in the overall arrangement. Also, the title track is more or less a tribute to the legacy of the legendary Rush in a pure prog rock direction.
All in all, I’d say that “Tardigrades…” is a really, really good album…actually, better than the debut one. I sincerely hope that The Mute Gods will explore further more their heavier side. The only certain thing is that the result will be more than rewarding.
Highlight: The song “We Can’t Carry” is one brilliant sample of the British ingenuity in this genre…especially due to its wonderful pop inhection!
