Met F.E.A.R. (Fuck Everyone And Run, 2016) kwam dit neoprogmonster weer helemaal terug aan de oppervlakte en bewees dat, ook wanneer je noodgedwongen alles in eigen handen moet nemen en je fans moet smeken om je volgende album te financieren, er een lange carrière voor je kan liggen. Na een héél succesvolle periode met hun toenmalige zanger (jaren '80) kwam er een nieuwe periode die uiteindelijk resulteerde in een breuk met hun label. Daar stonden ze dan midden de jaren '90. Ze namen snel de touwtjes zelf in handen, zagen véél zwarte sneeuw, maar staan er nog steeds, sterker dan ooit. De nieuwe single is opnieuw geen hapklare brok. Be Hard On Yourself bestaat uit drie onderdelen (een gekend stramien voor de band) met elk een aparte dynamiek. Alles vloeit naadloos in elkaar over zodat je toch één consistente song krijgt. Een melodieus maar toch vrij stevig nummer met die typische bombast, de fijne keyboard en gitaarpartijen en Steve Hogarth die zijn 'pipes' terug van fluweelzacht naar intens krachtig flext. De lyrics, die mogen er ook terug zijn helemaal actueel natuurlijk.
"Be hard on yourself You’ve been spoilt for years" "Cause of death: Consumption."
An Hour Before It's Dark verschijnt op 4 maart 2022 via earMusic / V2 Records
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"An Hour Before It's Dark" - Whether it's the last hour you were allowed to play outside as a child before you had to go home, a reference to the fight against time in relation to the climate crisis or the last minutes in a person's life, Marillion once again put their finger on the pulse of time. Be it social, political, or personal issues, Marillion have never minced words and have always found a way to combine them with their own unique sound, known for incredible songwriting, melodies and top-notch musicianship, while swimming against the tide, not bending to norms and limitations.
The first single "Be Hard On Yourself" from the upcoming album couldn't be a better example of this. “Despite the seemingly bleak contemplations across this album - the virus, our mortality, medical science, care, AND Leonard Cohen (ha ha) - the overall feeling of the music is surprisingly upbeat. I think the band are as on form as they ever were really, and the addition of Choir Noir has added another new soul and colour to things”
Like its predecessor, 2016's critically acclaimed and chart-topping album “F*** Everyone And Run (F E A R)”, “An Hour Before It's Dark” was recorded at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios, which also provided the perfect backdrop for the carefully chosen selection of behind-the-scenes footage in form of a documentary on the making of the album and a performance of “Murder Machines” from Real World that will be released together with the album.
Marillion are currently on the road with the "Light At The End Of The Tunnel" tour in the UK, which will be followed by several Marillion weekends until summer 2022 and a major European tour in autumn 2022. Founded in 1979, British rock band Marillion have, over the course of 19 studio albums, become one of the most commercially successful progressive rock bands of the 1980s and are still one of the most outstanding representatives of their genre. Marillion embraced the potential of the internet for both their commercial approach and to interact with their audience, long before most of their peers.
