Marillion - Marbles

Hauntingly beautiful rock album. On paper Marbles is way too long for its own good, should be boring and stuff... but it isn't anything like that. The music here is nothing short of hypnotic and captivating, perfectly suited for its overblown running time. Most of the songs here are among their best ones, and epic Ocean Cloud especially is one of my favourite rock songs of all time.

I used to be a huge fan of Fish-era Marillion and in my fanboyish rage dismissed their later albums, but Marbles finally opened my eyes. Hogarth-era Maillion is less raw and unpolished than the original one, but it feels even more subtle, modestly elegant and well-aged, like a good wine. Marillion is one of the best active prog bands out there, and it most probably will stay that way no matter who's the singer.

^ nice to see Marillion getting some love

Ocean Cloud is their greatest song ever.

This is a total masterpiece

While I don't think the 100 minutes are all great, there's about 50-60 minutes here that are definitely among the best Marillion done under the H era.