Band:	Arena
Album:	The Unquiet Sky
Style:	Progressive metal
Release date:	April 27, 2015
A review by:	Ivor

01. The Demon Strikes
02. How Did It Come To This?
03. The Bishop Of Lufford
04. Oblivious To The Night
05. No Chance Encounter
06. Markings On A Parchment
07. The Unquiet Sky
08. What Happened Before
09. Time Runs Out
10. Returning The Curse
11. Unexpected Dawn
12. Traveller Beware

Turns out it's not easy to come up with an apt description for the new Arena album. I've spent quite some time searching for a phrase that would round up my ongoing journey with The Unquiet Sky. Until recently I could only think of something being off about this one. Now, finally, I've concluded that unremarkable grower sums it up best. That, and that something is decidedly off about it.

It all started with the first spin of the album. As a long-time Arena fan it pained me that I was not only not finding the album interesting but also realising that part of the cause is not liking how it sounds. The quieter parts are all right, but during louder sections the guitars, keys, vocals and drums all appear in a kind of a mess. It's just all there without much distinction. Moreover, what is still keeping me especially annoyed are the cymbals that just seem to be ringing and hissing, appearing somewhere, nowhere and everywhere at once during all that time.

I also tend to like more albums that manage to make use of the wide soundstage. Part of Arena's trademark sound is to appear rather narrowly focused in the centre; at least the bulk of the instrumentation focuses there. When listened with headphones or in a car, this effect is far less noticeable than when your speakers are set wide. The Unquiet Sky just fails to fill the space entirely and for some reason it bothers me this time. It's worth noting, however, that in closer environments the problems mentioned in the previous paragraph also sort of fade into the background, being less noticeable.

So, in view of the above, The Unquiet Sky left a totally bland and unremarkable impression at first, besides registering as being generally in line with the expectations of the content. But apart from the problems, nothing stood out. A couple of spins later it still seemed to appear uninteresting. Yet, for some reason - maybe it is also respect and love for the band, and maybe it is also a refusal to accept this album as a failure - I kept returning for another go.

Inspired by the short story Casting the Runes by M. R. James and the 1957 film Night of the Demon, The Unquiet Sky is pretty much unmistakably an Arena album, bearing quite a lot of similarities to The Seventh Degree of Separation. It might be slightly more geared towards melodies but that's as maybe. The fact is, though, that over a rather lengthy period of time, this album sinks in and, suddenly, songs have taken on a face of their own and become recognisable, lifting the veil from the album and painting an unremarkable grey in a palette of swirling colours.

Don't get me wrong, the sound is still somewhat off, but having sunk in, there's a counterbalance to it allowing for The Unquiet Sky to be actually enjoyed. It pays to invest time into discovering what it holds keenly hidden, it might just happen that the effort is more than anticipated. It might as well be that I just listened to it over and over and persuaded myself into liking this album and am now simply pulling excuses out of my back-pocket. Take it as you will; just keep in mind that if it's unremarkable at first, you might have some work ahead of you if you want to like it.