Marillion • An Hour Before It’s Dark

[MiniForklift]

Volume is up and first track has started, two hour drive in front of me so should get a couple of initial listens under the belt. Supposedly one for all of the Rothery fans and a true return to form. We shall see, but it’s been a long wait and I am excited…

[sty]

Looking forward to hearing this soon.

[MiniForklift]

Looking forward to hearing this soon.

Well it’s definitely worth a listen. Surprisingly it doesn’t have too much of the searing Rothery solo’s I was hoping for but one listen down and I like it. It sounds like it’s almost a continuation of FEAR but with possibly stronger melodies and songs overall. It’s definitely a full and rich listening experience. If you’re someone that has any preconceptions of this band (prog rock, Fish etc etc) you can dismiss all of that straight off the bat
Initial standouts for me (which will no doubt repeatedly change) are The Crow and the Nightingale and the final few parts of the ‘Care’ sections. This album certainly ends beautifully

[sty]

Looking forward to hearing this soon.

I'm downloading it to my Spotify app so I can easily listen in the car.

I do have a fair degree of pre-conception of the band (I'm mostly in love with the Fish era stuff and find H's vocals a bit off putting (mind you Fish's vocals are a long way from they used to be these days and I don't think the overall tunes are as strong as they used to be), however i did really really enjoy Rothery's solo albums and recent live CDs.

I'm open minded enough to give it a good go.

[captainfruitbat]

Three listens in and I'm really enjoying it. It will take several more listens to settle into it all though - lots of complexity here.

[MiniForklift]

Three listens in and I'm really enjoying it. It will take several more listens to settle into it all though - lots of complexity here.

It's on a whole other level on a good pair of headphones. Now I've dug a little deeper into the lyrics everything is a lot clearer and the poignancy of everything really hits you in the face. Listened to it on my morning walk yesterday and the final track nearly had a few tears out of me, I can honestly picture a hall fall of people crying when they finally play this whole thing live and get to the end

[olegmcnoleg]

Before Covid hit Marillion we’re planning to do a weekend event in Australia. Damn, I hope they put this back on the agenda. I’m a huge fan, but I’ve not seen them live since the 80s.

[MiniForklift]

Before Covid hit Marillion we’re planning to do a weekend event in Australia. Damn, I hope they put this back on the agenda. I’m a huge fan, but I’ve not seen them live since the 80s.

Yeah, I would've gone over for that! Would've been the early and mid 90's when I saw them live, was lucky enough to see them many times in the UK when they were on their 'Holiday's In Eden', 'Brave' and 'Afraid of Sunlight' tours. The lights and visuals they put on that run alongside the music are amazing, they seemed to really start to make that a thing from Brave onwards

[captainfruitbat]

Before Covid hit Marillion we’re planning to do a weekend event in Australia. Damn, I hope they put this back on the agenda. I’m a huge fan, but I’ve not seen them live since the 80s.

Same here. Saw them a couple of times at Aylesbury Friars very early 80s, then at Reading Rock Festival in both 82 and 83. Haven't seen them live since except on the various live DVDs I've bought over the years. It's an ambition of mine to make it to one of their weekends maybe in the Netherlands in the next couple of years.

[ChAoZ]

Ahhh, brings back memories of listening to Script for a Jester's Tear, and Misplaced Childhood on vinyl, in the company of my beautiful slightly older next door neighbour smoking naughty cigarettes and drinking red wine, was very cathartic after a rough break up

[Bg]

Ahhh, brings back memories of listening to Script for a Jester's Tear, and Misplaced Childhood on vinyl, in the company of my beautiful slightly older next door neighbour smoking naughty cigarettes and drinking red wine, was very cathartic after a rough break up

Was he a big fan of Marillion?

[MiniForklift]

Well it took nearly a month to arrive but was worth the wait. The ‘book’ that’s inside the sleeve is beautiful, looking forward to watching the DVD on the making of the album tonight

[captainfruitbat]

Well it took nearly a month to arrive but was worth the wait. The ‘book’ that’s inside the sleeve is beautiful, looking forward to watching the DVD on the making of the album tonight

Mine arrived a couple of days ago. I didn't go for the signed one though. The packaging is really nice, and the documentary is well worth a watch.

[MiniForklift]

Mine arrived a couple of days ago. I didn't go for the signed one though. The packaging is really nice, and the documentary is well worth a watch.

Finally got around to watching it last night. Found it fascinating listening to all of them talking about the creative process and how the songs were developed over time. Very cool

[captainfruitbat]

Mine arrived a couple of days ago. I didn't go for the signed one though. The packaging is really nice, and the documentary is well worth a watch.

Finally got around to watching it last night. Found it fascinating listening to all of them talking about the creative process and how the songs were developed over time. Very cool

Agreed. And the background info on the choir they used and how that all came together was really interesting - even for someone like me who has never even thought about choirs and choral arrangements before. They've come a long way since Grendel and Market Square Heroes.....