Liquid Horizon have released their new album, Revolutions, on the new but already pretty prolific Artist Management Service. The band have been around for 7 years and this is their second full album. 

The album, a prog-metal concept affair, deals with the struggle for freedom in the form of different revolutions throughout history, including a three-song look at the French Revolution in particular. They cite influences as Savatage, Dokken, Vanden Plas and Dream Theater and there are definite elements of each scattered throughout the album, whilst vocalist Oliver Kilthau at times does a passable Bruce Dickinson impression. I’m not really a prog-rock/metal fan to be honest, but this is definitely a cut above the majority of what I’ve heard and the interesting themes and stories behind the songs definitely added a great deal to the enjoyment. 

The album opens with air raid siren noises and a spoken word introduction, before giving way to first track proper, “Battle Entrance” which looks at the refusal of German sailors in 1918 to go up against the Royal Navy, a mutiny which eventually led to the end of the German monarchy. 

The following pair of tracks deal with equally heroic struggles, from Geronimo standing up to the US for sacred tribal lands to Spartacus leading the slave uprising against the Roman Empire. The lyrics very much do justice to the gravity of the subjects, getting to the very essence of the struggles involved. 

The next couple of tracks both look at World War II, the first (Resistance) highlighting the White Rose movement, a non-violent German resistance group who called for active opposition to the Nazis, whilst the second (the exceptional “Sacrifice”) features the story of Georg Elser who tried to assassinate Hitler in 1939 and was ultimately killed in Dachau concentration camp just a few weeks before the end of the war. It is exceptionally rare for songs to not only move you by their actual musical content itself, but also by the themes its lyrics depict, so kudos must go to Liquid Horizon for even attempting this brave and thought-provoking album. 

The French Revolution trilogy starts with the French King believing he is chosen by God, whilst the second part deals with the themes of the revolution itself and the final part looks at the Reign Of Terror wrought by Robespierre which killed 18,000 “revolutionaries”. The final track, Last Stand, deals with some of the ideas behind the US Declaration of Independence. 

All of the tracks on Revolutions are played with expert musicianship, as displayed by so many prog-metal bands. The complexities of some of their contemporaries are not quite so evident, with more emphasis being put on the stories and the lyrics, which is a good thing. I would definitely recommend this album to all prog rock/metal fans without hesitation but I also think that a good many people who usually aren’t into this genre will be well impressed too and the subjects dealt with on this album should be required listening for everyone. An ambitious idea excellently executed.

Let us know your views on Revolutions 

Track Listing

Welcome To The Revolution
Battle Entrance
Sacred Ground
Freedom
Resistance
Sacrifice
The King (French Rev. Part 1)
Revolution (French Rev. Part 2)
System Of Terror (French Rev. Part 3)
Last Stand

Line Up

Michael Heck - Keyboards
Chuck West - Drums
Marc Schroth - Bass
Oliver Kilthau - Guitar & Vocals