The greatness of an artist of the progressive scene is not evidenced solely by technical skill on an instrument or vocal dexterity. I would even state that these are often secondary matters. What’s more, the artist's greatness in progressive rock is not measured by the accumulation of countless musical nuances within a song, such as sudden changes in time signature, tempo, scale, or the "mathematical" nature of the composition. Instead, the measure of a progressive composer and artist lies in their care for the piece, the primary goal of which ought to be to evoke a sense of communing with immortality in the listener, therefore with a perfection that withstands the test of time and delights just as intensely with every subsequent listen.
The concept of caring for a composition is perfectly understood by Clive Nolan - the architect of the progressive sound and the father of projects in which the concept of progressiveness is captured most fully, both musically and lyrically. Released in 1997, the album The Cry by Arena is a shining pearl that provides a dose of pulsating bliss. Every song contains a spatiality and atmosphere that allow one to gaze, like the Romantics, deep into oneself and be consumed by thoughts - both euphoric and melancholic.
The beginning, heralding a spiritual (I would even embrace the term religious) journey, starts with a tension-building synthesizer in "Theme", with minimalist soundscapes hiding somewhere in the space of the rising electronic wind. A sudden thunderclap momentarily tears the listener away from the delicate notes, only to merge with them into a single whole and open the gates to the main part of the album with the poignant vocals of Paul Wrightson...
Help me, help me... help
Let us share this hope
That we close our eyes in peace
Follow what may rise from this
Standing in the halls of grace
Let my people go!
Was the cry I heard from far away
I should have known
Not to believe every word I heard them say...
- Arena - "The Cry"
According to the information included in the booklet accompanying The Cry CD release, all songs from the "Crying For Help" series were intended to form a single work, interacting with each other through concept and musical arrangement. Ultimately, they served as interludes between the "larger and more intense" songs on Arena’s two previous albums - Songs From The Lion’s Cage ("Crying For Help One, Two, Three, Four") and Pride ("Crying For Help V, VI, VII, VIII"). The Cry release therefore constitutes a return to the original idea while simultaneously expanding the concept through new musical arrangements of pre-existing tracks and "refreshing" the whole of it. Henceforth in terms of analyzing the sonic and lyrical layers, the "Crying..." concept should be treated as a continuum lasting through three albums, culminating and concluding in the mini-album The Cry...
Help me, help me... help me…
There is a face I can see
Staring back in desperation
Nowhere to turn to now
Drowning in this sea of fate
Don't run! don't hide!
The devil will find you anywhere
We should never have lied
The sin was always there.
- Arena - "The Cry"
Composing a coherent musical work characterized by progressiveness relies on the skillful management of dynamics. At a certain moment, a culmination of tension must occur so that the listener is not exhausted by a continuous increase in sonic intensity, or by it remaining at a static level. Due to the nature of the progressive genre, rises and falls in tension take place both within the internal structure of a song and the album as a whole. Constructing progressive albums, the listening of which from start to finish requires no unjustified effort from the listener, necessitates balancing fragments full of sonic sensations with moments of peace and lightness, during which the listener can breathe, gather their thoughts, and digest the impressions received so far.
This is precisely the role played by the "Crying For Help" inserts on Arena's first two albums between the intense tracks. However, one may notice that just as dynamic and monumental sounds need moments of respite to avoid exhausting the listener, velvet tones can themselves fill entire albums and tracks without the thumping of drums, the screech of electric guitars, or unbridled organ melodies. The album The Cry utilizes this dependency to introduce the listener to different, peaceful registers - ones to which the progressive rock fan is typically unaccustomed...
Help me, help me... help me…
The choice must be free
Answers do not grow on trees
We must face our enemies
With faith in one another
Don't fall down! Don’t lie down!
You can lean on me my friend
The future may not bring us luck
But together we can go down fighting...
- Arena - "The Cry"
The song "The Cry," being an alternative version of "Crying For Help VII" from the album Pride, introduces the listener to the themes of the entire work. The lyrical ego externalizes his pleas, hopes, and desires to an unspecified addressee (God?). He asks for hope, a peaceful death, and recalls a pleading and desperate cry from afar to "let his people go" (release from evil?). The further part of the track evokes the motif of original sin, which "was always there", and a face marked by desperation (the countenance of a thunderous Creator?). Stuck and drowning in a "sea of fate", escape or hiding from one's sinful and fragile nature is impossible, for convincing oneself of one's purity will not wash away the weight of the lie committed - we should never have lied / the sin was always there.
Nevertheless, sinful nature also offers solace in man's ability to choose and follow a chosen path of divine righteousness. The third verse notes that facing one's "enemies" (weaknesses?) can be accomplished through intact faith in oneself and in each other. Brotherhood gives hope, and even if fate does not smile in the future, at least man will suffer defeat while standing against evil openly. The emotionality of the entire track is intensified by the use of only two instruments - classical guitar and Paul Wrightson's piercing voice. The reverb applied to the vocals strengthens the impression that the pleas for help are directed at the heavens - eternally silent and intimidating in their majesty...
Alongside the skillful juggling of tension and dynamics in progressive works, another variable enabling a brush with genius and rising above mediocrity is the thoughtful manipulation of mood. The album The Cry balances on a spectrum between dark gothicism and high fantasy.
The track "The Offering", like "Fallen Idols", belongs to the corner of epic fantasy, full of magic, spells, miracles, and wonders. Listening to "The Offering" with closed eyes, the imagination itself provides the listener with idyllic scenes straight out of Anacreontic poetry. The bliss induced by the subconscious awareness that one is communing with such a romantic, ecstatic, tender, and simply beautiful display of human possibilities in transcribing emotions teleports the listener to a mythological Arcadia, where life is simpler, happier, and not devoid of meaning. "The Offering" translates as a proposal, a gift, or a sacrifice... Perhaps the song presents a vision and promise of the afterlife, outlined without uttering a single word?
According to the Book of Genesis, God confused human languages and scattered people across the world for their attempt to reach heaven with the Tower of Babel, yet music can move the heart of every sensitive person to an equal degree and allows its message to be understood... Following divine dogma is meant to bring comfort, liberation from the trenches of mortality and allow for co-creation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Is music, then, a vessel of emotions, ideas, and visions chosen by God for humanity? Does music possess a divine element through its universality? Is music a path to reach God and communicate with Him?
The next part of the album is the track "Problem Line," which is simultaneously the original version of "Crying For Help III" from the album Songs From The Lion’s Cage. This fragment of the album introduces an atmosphere of unease through a wandering and almost siren-like singing in the background and repeating piano phrases. The simple structure of the track allows for the introduction of extra-musical elements that enrich the album's narrative. Near the end of the track, the sound of a telephone appears - after dialing the number, however, no one answers... Perhaps despite the efforts, the outlined vision, and the promise of salvation, the mortal did not answer the Creator's call?
Next in line is the fully guitar-based "Isolation", fully arranged and composed by John Mitchell (all tracks except "Isolation" and "The Healer" were written by Clive Nolan and Mick Pointer). This track expresses nostalgic longing and loneliness. Compared to other tracks, it utilizes only one instrument - the classical guitar, which rings out in two voices. The man-sinner reflects on life and deliberates with himself. Two perspectives clash as the led guitar melodies overlap, simultaneously complementing each other and creating a harmonious whole.
Doubts and skepticism are inscribed in human nature - perhaps only in complete isolation and with external factors shut out is man ready to face his "enemies", who do not lurk around every corner, but dwell within us?
"Fallen Idol" is a natural continuation of "The Offering", weaving a vision of happiness and peace of spirit. Rising synthesizer parts, like waves, cloak the listener in reverie and sweetness. The richness of flavors with which "Fallen Idol" treats the listener, along with the returning, truly captivating leitmotif, may suggest that man has made the right choice, leading him onto the path to the land of eternal happiness. The harmony of the track enhances the feeling of carefreeness, boundless optimism, and fulfillment. "Fallen Idol" is a feeling of metaphysical relief and solace after internal battles, dilemmas, and uncertainty. The “fallen idol” serves as a metaphor for the triumph over mundane struggles and the mastery of carnal desires. Unjustified desires have finally let go, making room for pure joy of life - perhaps fulfillment is not such a distant perspective?
After the served bliss, "Guidance" enters with an eerie noise (already known from "Theme") and a spreading sonic fog. During the electronic wind, short, electrifying sequences of sounds can be heard, soon accompanied by a synthesizer and a rising female choir, and after a moment, a low male one as well. The already high tension is further amplified by the appearance of poignant operatic singing, on which the listener involuntarily focuses. Then, this singing disappears for a few moments, only to return again - this time without the participation of the choirs. The state of deep listening ends with the slow fading of the track, which flows seamlessly into the next - "Only Child"...
Who makes these choices?
Who waves the final hand
When wisdom is more than age or reason
Who makes these choices
Who makes the final stand
When solitude is all that you believe
- Arena - "Only Child"
The track begins with delicate and minimalist phrases on the piano, which give way to Paul Wrightson continuing his contemplations. In "Only Child" (which is a new version of "Crying For Help IV" from the album Songs From The Lion’s Cage), the lyrical subject wonders aloud about the mechanisms of the world. He is an abandoned man - loneliness is the only thing he knows and believes in. A change in the track's dynamics in the second verse and a different vocal articulation may indicate that someone answers the dilemmas of the man from the first verse...
It’s all the same
And you really should have known
It’s all the same
When your heart grows cold and you’re all alone
This has no name, this feeling that I used to know
It’s here again
I can see the tortured souls as they cry for help
Take my hand
I’ll lead you through the traps and snares
Take my hand
I’ll feed you and I’ll clothe you like my only child
There’s nothing left to fear
My only child
There is nothing left to hurt you now!
- Arena - "Only Child"
Following the religious-transcendental interpretation, one might get the impression that it is indeed a higher being extending its heavenly hand to man. The being sees the damned souls but simultaneously recalls that the feeling the addressee of its answer is experiencing is known to it - meaning it must have once been or still is human... An ethereal and undefined entity desires to lead man through the hardships of life - behind him, nothing follows that could do man any harm.
However, the track serves the listener a certain plot twist in the last verse...
Who makes these choices
Who waves the final hand
When all around I hear the sound
Of pleading for a helping hand
Who makes these choices
Who makes the final stand
When far away I hear them say
They couldn’t give a damn… give a damn!
They’re crying for help… Help me!
- Arena - "Only Child"
A surprising constatation exposes human hypocrisy. On one hand, people beg for help and support in difficult moments, yet on the other, despite internal deliberations and pondering the meaning of existence, they fall into decadence, stagnation, and openly, with unjustified self-assurance, state that they "don't give a damn." The Creator, whose hand was childishly rejected, will fall silent for the duration of the next track - "Stolen Promise" - only to return with His sinister monologue in "The Healer"...
"Only Child" is crowned by a guest appearance from the legendary Steve Rothery, whose emotional and romantic guitar solo captivates, moves, and diffuses the tension of the entire composition.
The penultimate track of The Cry, titled "Stolen Promise," is another fully instrumental display of the outstanding compositional skills of Clive Nolan and Mick Pointer, who, in the spectrum of mood presented on the album, perfectly balance between fairy tale and darkness. Mystic soundscapes lined with mystery direct the listener's thoughts to fanciful, soaring gothic castles situated somewhere on a hill lashed by heavy rain, known from legends and stories. The listener can imagine decadent and lavish parties taking place within them, in richly decorated ballrooms. They see legendary knights entering the walls, a world of sword and sorcery, mythical creatures, and epic duels...
However, focusing on the title of the track in the context of the interpretation presented so far, the listener's thoughts may also wander toward the emotions of a man, already condemned to damnation and eternal rejection, but simultaneously free from the whims of capricious creators. Through clever juggling of the track's mood, one can get the impression that this man is torn by conflicting feelings - on one hand, he has become the master of his own fate, detached from otherworldly forces, but on the other, even in moments of euphoria overtaking him, his existence is lined with uncertainty and hesitation.
After all, human life is only a few dozen years - perhaps it is worth wasting this time on a foggy promise of eternity, to later bask in the light of immortality? Perhaps Pascal, in his wager, held the key to ultimate happiness?
Tempus fugit, aeternitas manet (time flies, eternity remains) - the words of the ancients resonate...
I’ll take from the rich and then I’ll take from the poor
I’m never happy; I’m never happy until I’ve taken all the more
Let Damocles come back!
And drop his sword upon my head
I’ll get right up again; right up again and dance with the dead
Don’t try to leave my bloodstained arena
You may get lost in this circus of fools
And I’ll be there when you’re thrown - to the wolves!
- Arena - "The Healer"
The spurned Creator returns in the full-of-energy and madness final track "The Healer", whose energetic, bouncy, and in places even danceable mood differs significantly from the earlier parts of the album. Agitated and, as it turns out, wicked, "The Healer" delivers his sinister monologue, in which he reveals his true face as a despot, a cruel tyrant, and an avenger. He takes from both the rich and the poor. He can do anything, for his power is not and never was in any danger - to visualize this, he invokes the myth of the courtier Damocles who craved power, over whom hung a sharp sword held by a single horsehair.
"The Healer" waits for every stumble of man and revels in the thought of a future where he will be able to witness his fall and him being "thrown to the wolves." He treats the world he created as a "bloodstained arena" and believes that those who do not follow him become circus fools, thrashing about without sense or purpose.
I am the Healer: I lead the people here with science and hope
I am the Healer: With a flash of my hands
I’ll throw you both ends of the rope
I’m dealing fate with a smile and a sugar pill
Don’t try to turn; don’t try to fight against my will
I can taste the poison
I can touch the fear inside
I can taste upon corruption
I can touch the fear inside
- Arena - "The Healer"
The higher being has all science and hope in its assortment, thanks to which it leads the people, yet to the man in a trap, it "throws both ends of the rope" and gives a false impression of care and providence, outlining human paths while grinning maliciously. It is not afraid of poison, and it reaches human fear with ease.
“Oh physician” I hear you cry
“Why don’t you heal thyself?”
But your dependance, but your addiction
Is the secret of my health
Don’t try to leave this bloodstained arena
You may not wish to live by my rules
But I’ll be there when you’re thrown…
Don’t try to leave my bloodstained arena
You may get lost in this circus of fools
And I’ll be there when you’re thrown - to the wolves!
- Arena - "The Healer"
The final fragments of the song introduce another twist. It turns out that the only nourishment or insignia of the Creator's power sustaining His inviolable authority, is man's willful dependence on Him and the self-delusion that he needs Him. The Creator is like a vampire who feeds on the sucked-out life energy of lost mortals. Perhaps at the moment of detaching from the fantasy of salvation, Heaven, the Elysian Fields, the Last Judgment, dogmas, and unjustified fear of being judged by a capricious Eternal One, man gains the freedom to forge his own decalogue of righteousness and build his own vision of the universe? The mythical "Healer" is thus truly a “poisoner”, having no moral right to rule, who, like a mad tyrant, would throw all who think differently to be devoured in his bloodstained arena...
Chained to the ground, the figure depicted on the cover sits before three paintings. The first on the left and the first on the right are the cover art of Arena's first two albums - respectively: Songs From The Lion’s Cage and Pride. The middle painting, however, is Edvard Munch's The Scream. This is a fantastic touch and a wink toward the observant recipient of this outstanding work. Attention to detail was thus also expressed in the album's graphic design, which perfectly complements the whole.
The Cry by Arena is one of the most beautiful and unique works from the progressive scene. The maturity of all the tracks making up the album, the subtle references to other extra-musical media and the openness to a multitude of interpretations indicate that the creators took care of every detail, composing a complete creation - with thoughtful changes in dynamics and tension, appropriately balancing between fairy tale and gothic. The melodies contained in the album, spontaneously triggering the imagination and painting impressionistic landscapes before the listener's eyes, move, touch, and motivate one to look inside oneself.
The beauty, nostalgia and mood, which practically change the texture of the air inhaled in the place where we experience this work, cleanse the mind. The catharsis the listener experiences after listening to this record causes them to fall in love with it even more each time.
If music is the Creator's domain, then a particle of Him is certainly found in this album.
