MY SOLILOQUY – The Interpreter (2013)

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Guitarist, singer & composer Pete Morten is – as many of you are aware, one of the new members of UK wonders Threshold, and his musical skills can be heard prominently featured on the band’s great album from last year.

Pete’s been in many projects over the years including his own band MY SOLILOQUY since 2002, playing all over Europe and sharing stages with big names of the prog metal field.

Now, after all these years and surviving multiple line-up changes they’ve finally put out their stunning debut full-length album “The Interpreter”.

This recording is sure to spark the interest of Threshold, Circus Maximus and Fates Warning fans and they won’t be disappointed once they hear My Soliloquy’s excellent modern Progressive Metal.

But it also will appeal listeners from other genres, as apart of symphonic keyboards and shredding guitar leads, the melodies and riffs leans many times into elaborated Neo-Prog and even Hard Rock, all packed in a powerful delivery, of course.

Morten is so much more than a skilled guitarist and he really shows what a versatile talent he is taking care of lead vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards, in fact the only instrument he doesn’t play on The Interpreter are the drums. Getting back to those vocals and Pete has quite a range and diversity that works good here, although his singing is an acquired taste.

The word that just keeps coming to my mind after listening to “The Interpreter” is ‘craft’. The craft of great songwriting, the craft of finding just the right notes and textures to fit the mood of the song and most of all, the craft of one of the most expressive voices in metal, progressive or otherwise. All of the songs on “The Interpreter” are in the five-seven minute range which allows the musicians to put in enough great ideas to augment the basis of each piece.

The CD begins with “Ascension Pending”, a track that introduces the sound of the band, has a requisite amount of heaviness and a few softer parts that allow Pete to show his full, dramatic vocal range.

“Flash Point” starts right up with a killer heavy riff punctuated by Morten’s trademark punchy guitar accents, has a driving intense vocal melody, a wonderful softer acoustic mid-section followed by a beautiful guitar solo and a heavy and highly epic finish.

After that intensity, we get the beautiful and slightly complex “Corrosive De-Emphasis” which begins in a Neo-Prog style but then about halfway through, changes gears completely into a soft pensivity before resolving the piece in an almost middle-eastern sounding motif and restating the beginning theme. A highlight.

“Fractured” is one of the heaviest and moving pieces on the album and has a very cool short theme that is played and varied throughout the song (by both keys and guitars) to provide a lot of effect.

Next we get the beautiful and somewhat melancholy power ballad “Six Seconds Grace” and the jumping yet atmospheric of “Dream In Extremis”. Follower “Inner Circles” is a quirky, melodic piece that juxtaposes some of Pete’s most expressive vocals as well as his great guitar tone.

The CD then closes with the stunning “Star”, an incredibly beautiful and dramatic ending to the album that reminds me of some of the best work that I.Q.’s done over the years. To close out the album, this Neo-Prog song has the band pulling out all of the emotional stops, with a slow, languorous guitar over several different vocal parts before finishing so improbably and so beautifully with just piano and strings.

“The Interpreter” is an awe-inspiring piece of art quite difficult to classify into any particular genre, but that’s a good thing in my book. Like Threshold, My Soliloquy is a band that wants to make you feel rather than bowl you over with chops.

What’s so nice is that while this is definitely a Prog Metal album in many aspects, the roots of the sound are very much influenced by the melodic inventiveness and accessibility of the Neo-Progressive movement of the ’80s primarily exemplified by the U.K. bands Marillion and IQ. It’s not at all surprising as the album was co-produced, mixed, mastered by Rob Aubrey who’s also worked with Marillion in the past.

Everyone should check “The Interpreter” no matter which musical genre you like most, this a superbly crafted piece of music.

Easily Recommended.

01 – Ascension Pending

02 – Flash Point

03 – Corrosive De-Emphasis

04 – Fractured

05 – Six Seconds Grace

06 – Dream In Extremis

07 – Inner Circles

08 – Star

Pete Morten – vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards

Damon Roots – drums, percussion

Mike Gilpin – add. guitars, vocals

Andy Berry – add. keyboards

Chris Sharp – add. bass

BUY IT !

www.amazon.com/The-Interpreter-My-Soliloquy/dp/B00AALHVWE