Like many other artists in my collection, I couldn’t tell you where these guys came from, or at least, why they ended up on my computer, but I was glad they did. With a name like that, you’d think they were Greek or Spanish or something, but no, they’re American. The name, of course, comes from that fantasy classic of all fantasy classics, and is the name of the highest God of the elves, first mentioned in the Silmarillion, another potential link with later prog rock icons. At any rate, this album certainly qualifies as one more of
Trollheart's
Album title: A Story Two Days Wide
Artist:Iluvatar
Nationality: American
Year: 1999
Chronology: 3
The Trollheart Factor: 3
I like the way the band’s name is even written on the cover using a vaguely medieval style font, strengthening the connection with Tolkien. Pretty much all of the tracks here are long ones, with only one below six minutes (well, two). It opens on “Sojourns”, blasting away with a big thick Mellotron from Jim Rezek and some fine intricate guitar courtesy of Dennis Mullin, the song containing the album title, a good bouncy mid-tempo number, the vocals of Glen McLaughlin strong and clear without being overbearing in a sort of Hammill/Gabriel way: they’re there, you can hear them but he doesn’t force your attention onto his voice. The unavoidable comparisons to seventies Genesis, Yes and even Rush persist, though I don’t hear much if any piano yet. Nice spacey sort of synth backdrop to the midsection of the song as it slows down into a very gentle, drifting pace.
Picking up speed now as it builds to the big climax at the end, Mullin showing off his expertise on the guitar without, well, showing off. A soft, introspective opening to “Savant” with very definite Pendragon overtones, really nice bass line and a sense of Mostly Autumn here too. “Dreaming With the Lights On” is much more rocky and uptempo, and indeed shorter, the shortest so far at six and a half minutes. I must say that here McLaughlin does start to sound a little Phil Collins-y, then one of my favourite tracks on the album is “Holidays and Miracles”, which has a lovely, lazy, relaxed feel to it, driven by sparkling guitar and a soft vocal in one of the performances of the album by our man Glen. It is though, to be fair as I always harp on this, the first of their songs here in which I can pick out a hook, and it’s a good one.
Sort of gives me echoes of Gabriel’s “San Jacinto” in certain areas, with a nice instrumental section at the midpoint, some very Asia-style trumpeting keyboards from Rezek building up the intensity till McLaughlin comes back in with the vocal, though the song ends kind of oddly. Big punchy intro then to “Better Days”, which trundles along with almost metal boots, a real sense of urgency in the melody, McLaughlin’s voice sounds slightly modulated - not quite a vocoder but maybe phased or something? The melody seems very familiar, at least the verses, but I can’t quite place it. I’d definitely call this the heaviest track on the album, while the next is the shortest, and actually precedes the longest. “Even Angels Fall” is, I guess, what passes for a ballad, though I kind of wouldn’t necessarily call it such.
It does however as I say lead into the epic, the closing track and by far the longest at over fifteen minutes. “Indian Rain” opens on soft synth and guitar (with the obligatory sounds of thunder and rain in the background) and involves some very emotional work on the frets by Dennis Mullin. Initially at least it’s a slow, morose kind of tempo, dramatic strings creating the backdrop for the guitar and there’s some nice work on what sounds like the Prophet near the end too. A bouncy acoustic guitar ending rounds things off nicely.
Track Listing
Sojourns (7)
Savant (7)
Dreaming With the Lights On (8)
Holidays and Miracles (9)
Better Days (7)
Even Angels Fall (6)
Indian Rain (9)
