Review Summary: Commendable but slightly overdone restraint.
It’s not a secret that fans are often convinced that they have a special connection with their favorite artist and adamantly refuse to accept unilateral nature of such a connection. Well, I don’t know about all those mystic psychic links forming between two people who have never met each other, but so far Roy Khan has been doing exactly what I want from him in terms of his musical career. Of course, I was upset when he announced his decision to leave Kamelot and take a break from music and singing altogether back in 2010, but I could also clearly hear the strain and fatigue in his voice that crept in even on his last studio records with Kamelot, not to mention live performances. It was clear that the man needed a break.
The most important question was how long the break will last and what Roy will do after it’s over. The worst possible scenario was, of course, permanent retirement. Thank God, that didn’t happen. Returning to Kamelot was hardly an option, the band is clearly satisfied with Karevik and has been doing its own thing for quite a while. Then, Khan could certainly try his hand at a solo career, which would have been good (apparently, that projected solo album is still in the works, but we don’t have any details on it so far). But that would mean that only Khan has returned. Whereas Conception reunion means that several other great musicians are back to the fold after a long absence. First and foremost, I’m talking about Tore Ostby. The wizard of flamenco, the master of riffs, the ayatollah of rock’n’rolla etcetera, etcetera. May God bless his nimble fingers and agile mind.
You would expect a crew possessing such a unique singer and accomplished guitarist to burst back onto the stage with a bang. Instead, they chose to enter with quiet dignity and reserve. Take the opener “Grand Again,” for instance. Surely, a song with a title like that must be some sort of self-aggrandizement, but no. Instead, its main message is that all power and might have their limits, reminiscent of the title track from Kamelot’s breakthrough “Karma” album. This modesty is prevalent throughout the EP, and all the flashiness of the band’s debut album now feels like a distant dream. But, as expected, the songs are mostly great. The aforementioned opener is the closest the band gets to power metal, and also the simplest song in terms of structure with its build-up verses and soaring chorus. “Into the Wild” sounds like a direct continuation of those groovy mid-tempo songs from “Flow,” but with a more impactful refrain, and “Quite Alright” is maybe the closest the band ever got to writing (gasp!) an actual pop tune, featuring almost danceable rhythms, punchy guitars, and lyrics about relationship with the lyrical hero realizing that his beloved is doing quite alright without him. Again, such modesty! Last but not least, “The Moment” has more to offer than your typical rock-ballad, with irregular drumming patterns and matching piano melodies which make the song sound mathy even. I would go so far as to say that “The Moment” even reminds me of the few piano-based “The Dillinger Escape Plan” songs like “Widower,” although the song’s weirdness is toned down significantly by Khan’s more traditional singing and the chorus that releases the tension instead of building it up.
In fact, the whole EP could be described as toned down, both in terms of the songwriting and performances of each individual member. Roy sounds great, of course, but at the same time strangely hushed (and grim), while Ostby mostly limits himself to quirky yet reserved riffs, only letting himself loose occasionally for the solo sections. To be quite honest, I am in two minds about this restrained approach. On the one hand, it lends the band an air of certain class and taste. Also, the only song I really don’t like is the title track, starting with its actual title which is very stock, as are the song’s trite symphonics and melodramatic lyrics. The rest of the material on display here takes time to open up, but it’s a great bunch of slow burners.
At the same time, I feel like the band’s modesty and restraint borders on timidity. Like “it’s just an EP, we are just testing the waters, may we come in please?” As such, the EP ends up being more of a sampler than a full product. Maybe that was the point, but I couldn’t help expecting Conception to sound exceptional, after having been gone for so long. And they do sound great, but in a strangely understated way.
