Arena (UK) | Artist
Arena is an Englisg neo-Prog band formed 1995 in Surrey by Clive Nolan (keyboards), Mick Pointer (drums), Keith More (Guitar), John Carson (vocals), and Cliff Orsi (bass). The members all had elite heritage, giving rise to their "Supergroup" status. Clive Nolan was previously with Pendragon and Shadowland, Nick Pointer was with Marillion, and Keith More was with Asia. Cliff Orsi was soon replaced by John Jowitt of the band IQ, and ex-Kino and Frost* guitarist John Mitchell replaced Keith More in 1997. The band underwent further lineup changes but founders Nolan and Pointer are still members to the present day. Most of the band's lyrics are written by Nolan, though Pointer contributed lyrics to Sirens and other tracks on the first two albums. Musically the band's style ranges from symphonic to hard rock. While in the beginning they sounded very much like early Marillion from the Fish era, more recent albums have a similar sound to Nolan's earlier band, Shadowland. Arena is regarded by many as one of the dominant neo-prog groups of the 1990s. As a recording outfit, Arena has released 10 studio albums up to their latest release in 2022. Standouts include The Visitor (1998), Immortal? (2000), Contagion (2003), Pepper's Ghost (2005), and The Theory of Molecular Inheritance (2022). They have also released several excellent live albums, including Live & Life from 2004. Although some critics deride neo-Prog bands such as Arena as mere copies of earlier groups like Yes and Genesis, the majority of critics and fans alike admire the band for their superb musicianship, complex yet melodic compositions, and high production values. They developed a characteristic sound, finding a new lease on neo-prog by adding heavier and harder rock guitar and bass often verging into metal territory, with virtuosic guitar solos and heavy churning riffs and thundering bass, but still managing to weave it around the intricately delicate melodies. Their albums, which in true "prog" style are often concept works, are perfectly partitioned into vocal and instrumental tracks with powerful vocal performances balancing the more thunderous heavy rock. Despite having the qualities of AOR, Arena’s attention to detail makes the music sophisticated with subtleties such as keyboard runs, echoey guitar backings or different types of drum fills. The melody is the main driver of the tracks with Sowden’s vocal emphasis on the lyrics in the spotlight except when the band delivers excellent musical prowess on the instrumentals. As a matter of interest, Clive Nolan became the youngest musician in England to be awarded an ALCM diploma in composition from the London College of Music, at the age of 16. Holding both a BMus and MMus, he played violin, cello and viola, although his main study while at university was composition, orchestration, musical arrangement and conducting.
Artist Website: wikipedia/Arena
Featured Albums: Arena (UK)
Related Artists: Marillion, Kino, Pendragon, Asia
