Forgotten Gods – Memories (2024)

How nice it can be to discover a band whose music appeals to you immediately without you being able to explain it exactly. Still, I'm going to try to do just that. Through an advertisement on facebook I saw a band pass by where a familiar name caught my eye. I couldn't place it at first but eventually I knew, the singer Mark Cunningham is (co-)organizer of the Prog for Peart festival in Abingdon in the UK. As a lover of the real British stream of neoprog bands of the present time, This Winter Machine, Ghost of the Machine, Stuckfish etc.., I regularly came across the name of this festival in reviews. So it is clear that Cunningham has a thing for the drummer of Rush, who died so tragically. That turns out to be true, but not only in terms of music, both are/were real passionate motorcyclists and love/loved the physical and mental freedom that it brings.

Well, we're going to see if Mark's band, Forgotten Gods,  musically leans towards the Canadian greats. Now Rush is not really one of my favourite bands but of course I am aware of the fact that a lot of proggers do see them as one of the greats. To be honest, I don't hear too much of it and I would rather place the music of these forgotten gods in the traditional English neo-prog but on the lighter side.

The album with the very beautiful cover only contains six tracks and that does raise some high expectations. Seeing the length of the songs, the expectation is justified that there is a lot to experience musically and I can assure you there is.

What immediately stands out? The excellent vocals of Cunningham, he has that typical English sound and for me belongs to the better singers in the genre. Most of the lyrics are indeed based on memories, but also show the necessary depth and insights. The nice guitar work of Steve Harris also stands out who is often allowed to solo and does so in the style of Rothery and Barrett (okay, almost of that level), nice and melodic. For me, the playing and sound of a guitarist just has to click and it certainly does in this case. I also just like the traditional line-up so let’s go and listen to it.

While writing many of my latest reviews, a certain feeling comes to the fore and that has to do with the fact that I often come across a lot of bands that put one or more super “proggy “ songs on an album but also a number of shorter ones with a lighter vibe. This is also the case with Memories and I had to get used to that.

With Pillars of Petra there is a beautiful epic of almost fifteen minutes on this album and for this alone I would buy the album (of course I have done it already and the cd is on its way). This oriental-tinted piece deals with the situation in the Middle East and the failing human and geopolitical influence over the centuries. It starts the way you want it to, heavy keys as a threatening harbinger of what is to follow. A female voice with those typical oriental colours brings us right down to Petra. A quiet rhythm supports Cunningham's voice and after four minutes Harris joins in with such a wonderful melodic guitar solo and the intensity rises. An emotionally singing Cunningham tells his story and eventually the tempo goes up too and through a nice keyboard tune and a fairly simple rhythm we are led back to Harris who is allowed to solo for minutes. This is really beautiful and at the end of the song the peace returns. Give me more songs like this. Well I can get it because Vigil is also a real proggy song with a very clear Pendragon feel with more than ten minutes, especially in the middle part where a simple rhythm supports the bluesy guitar solo. I clearly hear Breaking the Spell or Paintbox by the band around Nick Barrett. It deals with Mark's life until the death of a much loved one and therefore really is a series of autobiographical memories.

Above I already mentioned the fact that there are also some simpler, read shorter, songs on this album. Opener Alive is an ode to motorcycling and the experience of freedom and is a bit more straightforward with certainly some proggy elements and of course a long guitar solo. For me, the keys could have been a bit more prominent in the mix and towards the end the keyboard solo, which is admittedly relatively simple, fits very well. Still, the high level of the two long tracks is not reached and the melody sometimes is a little bit cheesy.

The two more than seven minutes long Everybody's Hero, about who else but Neil Peart, and Alone, about a young woman who feels, well, alone and misunderstood, are fine songs with some solos on guitar, and slightly less on keys, but can only partially convince me in terms of melody.

That leaves the last song, Rose and Pink, with a distinct Pink Floyd vibe and an electronic rhythm. Harris can also indulge himself here and that sounds nice again. Cunningham sings a bit higher and shows that he can handle this just fine.

As I said, I am pleasantly surprised by this album but I also see enough opportunities for a next release and as I believe, they are already working on that. Forgotten Gods has the ability to go all out for prog and has proven to be able to do that just fine. Whether the band wants that, I don't know, but as a proghead, I would of course like to see it. There is also room for improvement in terms of the mix, because the keys could be more to the front and a bit heavier and more threatening. The rhythm section could also be a little more adventurous and more present. Still, I think Memories is a very good debut album and I very much look forward to the sequel.

The beautiful cover is a nice signboard and is, whether or not generated by A.I., a perfect addition to the music.

Music 79

Cover 83