Review Summary: Fantastic music hindered by a promising concept that never gets off the ground.
I rarely make 'blind' purchases of albums. There's simply too much bad and mediocre music out there to risk throwing ten to twenty dollars around blindly. "A Gentleman's Hurricane" was an exception for me. Mind's Eye deserves a lot of credit for the packaging of "A Gentleman," because I was sold from the moment I saw the album title and cover. The movie-like introduction to the album on the back of the case intrigued me further, setting the stage for what seemed to be a complex and interesting concept.
"On a dark and foggy day in September, three shots are heard in the deep dark woods of 'The mother of Presidents' state Virginia. Adam Evangelista, a 53 years old retired top assassin whose ice cold walls have been worn down by his now continuing growing guilt, searches for an answer to it all, like we all do at one point or another. He acknowledges that he can't continue without finding a way to ease his mind.
Seeking refuge at the town's own church and the now retired priest Father Cavellero Di mori, coincidently visiting his old church and parish. Adam tries to get into the depths of his own disturbed but at the same time genius mind. Describing his life and assassinations for his now new made friend father Cavallero during sessions of confessions. Both men reveal deep secrets unkown to the outside world. Dark secrets they are both ashamed of, linking them to each other's past...but there is a catch, he only has seven days to pour his heart out before his very last job and time is running out."
The first track, "Praying for Confession" is a masterpiece of an opener, displaying excellent songwriting involving a variety instruments, a thought-provoking monologue from Adam (whose voice actor is spot-on), a gospel-like backing chorus, and an ominous atmosphere. The lyrics and singing by Andreas Novak are also well-done ("I broke the glass, reflection died, the mirror lies, deformed and blind").
Unfortunately, this first track is probably the most interesting on the album, as far as the concept goes. Despite having such a perfect set-up, the concept never really manages to get off the ground. Every song in between the first and last is just a description of a different murder, with Father Cavellero being completely transparent on every one. In fact, the only reason the listener knows that these different stories are confessions at all is because of the back cover and opener. The friendship that supposedly develops between the two men is left, well, completely undeveloped. Nothing in the music or lyrics even suggests any sort of bond at all and, throughout the nearly one hour and twenty minute album, there are only a few lines of diologue between them. The only song that deals with the sins of the priest or the links "to each other's past" is the very last, which turns out to be more of a tease than a satisfying conclusion.
The dreary, sullen atmosphere that pervades the opener also dissipates the moment the second track starts in and the large majority of the rest of the album is defined by fast, energetic riffing and bouncy choruses. Ashes to Ashes (In Land Lullaby) has a nice haunting atmosphere and melodic playing, but the effect is short lived.
I feel, at this point in the review, it is prudent to point out that the musicianship is excellent, the songwriting solid (if chorus heavy), and lyrics interesting for what they are, which is a chronicle of twelve murders. Perhaps I am putting too much emphasis on the concept, but it's hard not to when it was the chief reason for my purchase of the album. Although the title, cover, and (most importantly) the description on the album case are highly intriguing, they are even more misleading. If the band didn't put such emphasis on the concept, then neither would I, but the album even comes with a "making of" DVD and a comic strip outlining the story.
Considering the possible directions in which the band could have taken this album, it's just disappointing that they settled for the easiest and simplest one. There could have been an actually developed sideplot involving Adam's struggle with Christianity, with undertones of either redemption or hopelessness (to the band's credit, Hell's Invitation does touch on this, if very briefly). I won't go into spoilers, but there were many opportunites ripe for politcal commentary, as well. But the most heinous crime here is letting the relationship between a regretful assassin and a priest with a dark past go completely untouched! If the concept had only involved Adam as he relived all of his past jobs in his mind before his final kill, I honestly would have enjoyed the album far more because, as far as the music is concerned, everything here is rock solid.
More than anything else, "A Gentleman's Hurricane" teaches a valuable lesson: if you shoot for the stars, you have to get there. Even if you still make it to the moon, it's a disappointment. There is a lot to like about "A Gentleman's Hurricane" and it deserves a look from fans of many genres; the fast, energetic guitarwork and drumming, combined with exquisite keyboards and all-around excellent musicianship, should appease progressive metal fans while the insanely catchy choruses should make the CD more accessible to fans of mainstream music. It doesn't reinvent the wheel, but there's a lot of creativity here anyway. Now, if the first and last songs weren't the only ones to progress the story and have enough atmosphere to live up to the concept, I might go so far as to call it a masterpiece. As it stands, the thick, heavy stench of wasted potential lingers too prominently to make such a claim.
4/5 may seem like a high rating for all my complaints, but once I got past the original disappointment of the story, I found I very much enjoyed the music and don't want to discourage anyone from taking this album for a spin because of my own expectations.
P.S. I realize that English probably isn't these guys' native language, but couldn't they have at least hired someone to spell and grammar check the lyrics? I can understand a mistake here or there, but this is downright distracting. Even the back cover has awkward sounding incomplete sentences and the writing on the "making of DVD" looks like a text from a middleschooler. I know it's nitpicky, but if it's distracting enough to notice, then it's worth mentioning.
