Adagio's 'Life' - Album Review

France is not exactly known as a hotbed of rock and metal acts, but there are a few bands out there flying the flag for French music. The extreme and prog metal hybrid act Gojira are now genuinely big hitters in the metal world, and ambient rockers like Lazuli and Alcest are making waves in the progressive rock community. My favourite French export however is Adagio, a progressive metal act who have been around for a few years now but have lain dormant in recent years. I first came across Adagio in 2010 when they support Kamelot at the Koko in London's Camden Town. They were the first band of a three-band bill, but their tight, heavy, and melodic sound really shone through and it was clear that this was a band packed with talent. Adagio's history dates back to 2010 when they were formed by virtuoso guitarist and songwriter Stéphan Forté. Four albums were released between 2001 and 2009, and it was 2009's Archangels in Black that I began listening to after that excellent show in London. I have since gone back and amassed the band's entire back catalogue, which was not easy as many of the albums are quite hard to track down on CD for sensible prices, and have fallen in love with the band's heavy yet melodic sound. Comparisons can be drawn with the American prog metal act Symphony X, but in truth Adagio are heavier with influences from both thrash and extreme metal used often with fast tempos and occasional harsh vocals. Not long after the tour with Kamelot however, Adagio went on what seemed an indefinite hiatus. Christian Palin, the vocalist that was featured on Archangels in Black, had left the band before the tour. While it seemed the band wanted to work with Mats Levén, the veteran singer who stepped in to save the tour, on a permanent basis things just seemed to fall apart and Forté put Adagio on ice to focus on a solo career. Snippets of news were released over the years, and a couple of demos were uploaded to Youtube featuring singer Kelly Sundown Carpenter (Outworld; Beyond Twilight; Civil War), who played a few live shows with the band in 2007, a few years ago but then all fell quiet again. Last year however everything changed. Forté announced that Adagio were recording their fifth album and a crowdfunding campaign was launched to to finance it. This was an overwhelming success, which allowed Adagio to operate without a record label, but it was still well over a year before Life saw the light of day. Those of us who pre-ordered the album received our copies a few months ago, but it was officially released through Forté's own label last month. Not long after the campaign was launched, Carpenter was announced as the band's new, permanent singer; and the rest of the new line-up followed. Joining founding members Forté and bassist Franck Hermanny on Life were Carpenter, long-time keyboardist Kévin Codfert, new drummer Jelly Cardarelli, and violinist Mayline (Idensity) - making Adagio a six-piece for the first time. Despite it's lengthy gestation period, which included having to re-record all the drums when the drummer initially brought into the band Guillaume Bergiron hastily left the band not long after recording his parts, Life carries on the sound Adagio forged between 2001 and 2009. A few new influences, mainly from the tech/djent metal worlds, have been thrown into the mix too, but mostly this is an album of heavy and melodic songs of the kind that fans have come to expect from Adagio.

The album opens with the epic title track, which gradually builds up with a simple, but effective, orchestral score. This becomes more gothic and dramatic as it moves along, before a slow, heavy riff kicks in. Forté then launches into one of the album's many guitar solos before Carpenter takes over and showcases his gritty and theatrical vocal style. Adagio have had a few different vocalists over the years, but Carpenter could be their best yet. His thespian vocals fit perfectly with the dark and dramatic sound that Adagio have, and his performances during the sparse verses - which are dominated by Codfert's keyboards - bring to mind Alice Cooper and Jon Oliva. The song is a real prog metal epic, with different moods and styles stitched together to make a schizophrenic piece that alternates between smoother melodic pieces, spooky ambient sections, and crushingly heavy riffs that showcase Forté's new tech metal influences. His impressive leads skills are showcased perfectly towards the end during a lengthy neo-classical guitar solo as the song moves towards a groove-filled closing section with Carpenter's soaring reprise of the chorus. After the dark journey that was Life, The Ladder is a more traditional metal piece with a strong opening riff that leads into a verse wrought with despair as Forté's guitars create a cold atmosphere. The song slowly moves towards it's chorus. Piano melodies are added during the pre-chorus, and the following chorus really sees Carpenter let go vocally with a melodramatic display that perfectly fits the mood of the piece. It is not a fast song, and the guitars do not always dominate, but it still feels heavy - with a suffocating feel that is created perfectly. This changes up part-way through with a gorgeous keyboard-led instrumental section that provides a little light at the end of the tunnel, but this is soon extinguished with a twisted riff and a final repeat of the dramatic chorus. Subrahmanya, named after the Hindu god of war, is one of the album's heaviest pieces. It is also the one that really showcases Forté's new djent influences perfectly with an impressive riff that really knocks the listener flying. The lengthy and atmospheric intro, dominated by Mayline's violin playing, makes the riff seem even more powerful when it kicks in as the contrast is so stark. It is while listening to this song that you realise just how well produced the album is. Forté, Hermanny, and Cardarelli are in perfect harmony during this riff, and the whole song steams along with mechanical precision, all held together by Codfert's keyboard layers. The song also contains possibly Carpenter's best vocal performance on the album, with grit and emotion to rival genre greats Russell Allen and Matt Barlow. The chorus in particular is impressive, with subtle harsh vocals mixed into the background for effect and soaring melodies to die for. Mayline gets to a shine a little more part-way through with a violin-dominated instrumental section, which soon gives way to one of Forté's best guitar solos. The Grand Spirit Voyage is something of a mini-prog epic, and it has a less-dark tone than what has gone before. The influence of bands like Symphony X can be seen here, with melodic piano lines that act as the song's main riff, and a more traditional heavy metal feel with fast double bass drumming from Cardarelli and much less of the tech metal feel that dominated the previous numbers. Codfert's keyboards really dominate the song, and create a great atmosphere throughout. His piano playing in particular is impressive here, and provides the main focal point with Forté's guitar playing often content to provide more conventional rhythms.

Darkness Machine, which the band shot a video for, returns to the heavier sound showcased earlier with a dry, juttery riff that really cuts through the atmosphere with a heavy precision. I am not usually a fan of the djent guitar style, but Forté has made it work really well. Codfert's keyboards make up for the dryness created by the guitars and the balance between the two instruments is good. Carl Bensley (Instinct of Aggression) provides some harsh vocals throughout the song which really adds to the heaviness perfectly. Forté usually contributes the band's harsh vocals, so I am not sure why Bensley was selected for the job this time, but he sounds great none-the-less and adds some appropriate darkness to the song. Forté shines on the guitar however, with plenty of excellent riffs throughout that really drive the song forward at a good pace. The guitar solo slows things down somewhat though, and the deliberate phrasing used works much better than a simple flurry of notes would. I'll Posses You is as creepy as the title suggests, with Carpenter's theatrical vocals once again taking the centre stage. The strong piano presence throughout, coupled with Carpenter's vocal antics, make the song sound like a heavier Savatage at times - although this image shattered every time a djenty riff kicks in. I really like the way Adagio have managed to add this modern sound into their sound perfectly without making it sound forced. At heart Forté is still a student of a neo-classical guitar school, but the addition of djenty riffs and rhythms has really freshened up Adagio's sound during the long time away. Secluded Within Myself is a dark mid-paced number with plenty of great guitar and bass grooves which all sit atop a great piano performance from Codfert. There is a little of a Kamelot vibe throughout, despite being heavier than the majority of that band's efforts, but it seems a little of Kamelot's style may have rubbed off on the band during the tour in 2010. While Adagio's style is usually very melodic, this song seems to place greater emphasis on the vocal melodies than others. While it may be somewhat less interesting musically, Carpenter shines here with a simpler backing over which to sing. Trippin' Away acts as the album's ballad with a softer approach with a simple piano line and some bluesy guitar leads. Carpenter shows another side of his voice here, and actually sounds a little like Tommy Karevik, but during his time with Seventh Wonder as opposed to his darker efforts with Kamelot. After a lot of heaviness throughout this album, it is good to have a slower song and it works well within the context of the album. Codfert gets to flex his muscles a little more with his piano playing really placed in the forefront of the piece. Mayline's violin, which is often somewhat buried in the mix and used to help create atmosphere rather than as a focal point, also gets pushed to fore a little more here with a mournful solo section that really helps add extra emotional weight to the song. The album's final number Torn is another simpler metal piece with strong melodies that helps to bring the album to a memorable close. A piano intro gives way a symphonic metal backing with tight guitar rhythms and a bass-heavy verse that again feels like something might have come up with. The chorus is one of the album's most instantly-catchy pieces, with vocal melodies that really sink into the brain as Carpenter sings them with real energy. While the album's best songs have already come and gone, this song feels like a victory lap after a job well done - allowing the band a chance to just have fun with a simpler, more melodic piece. Overall, Life is a really strong comeback from Adagio after laying dormant for so long. There are not enough bands playing this sort of progressive metal any more, and it is great to have these Frenchmen (and woman) back with an album as vital and powerful as this.

The album was released on 26th July 2017 via Zeta Nemesis Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Darkness Machine.