Arena-Songs From The Lion´s Cage (1995)

In the mid-nineties, two of the finest instrumentalists of neo-progressive rock, Clive Nolan, keyboardist for Pendragon, and Mick Pointer, former drummer for Marillion, joined forces to found Arena. In mid-1995, they released their monumental debut album, "Songs From The Lion's Cage", considered one of the gems of the progressive rock genre of the nineties. For this first recording, the two musicians collaborated with Marillion guitarist Steve Rothery, guitarist Keith Moore, bassist Cliff Orsi, and vocalist John Carson. Arena's approach on this first release was based on the progressive sounds of early Marillion, with echoes of the great bands of the 70s like Genesis and Yes. The sounds of Clive Nolan's eloquent and omnipresent keyboards, Mick Pointer's formidable precision on the drums, and the outstanding guitar and bass work combine to create an album as spectacular as it is surprising, featuring the epic and progressive "Valley of the Kings" and "Solomon", the powerful "Out of the Wilderness", the melodic "Jericho", and the atmospheric "Crying for Help IV". From this point on, the band would regularly release a series of high-quality works, such as the subsequent "Pride" (1996), "The Visitor" (1998), and "Contagion" (2003), among others, culminating in "Double Vision" (2018), the latest major contribution from this formidable neo-progressive band.