Mystery: Redemption

Redemption is the ninth studio album from Canadian melodic prog act Mystery, and comes five years after their last Unicorn Digital release Lies and Butterflies. The line-up for Redemption consists of:

Jean Pageau / vocals
Antoine Michaud / keyboards
François Fournier / bass, keyboards
Jean-Sébastien Goyette / drums
Sylvain Moineau / guitars
Michel St-Pere / guitars, keyboards

If you've never listened to Mystery before, their brand of prog is quite vocal oriented and filled with plenty of memorable hooks & melodies, bringing to mind fellow Canadians Rush, Saga, and certainly UK acts like Arena, Marillion, and IQ. Eight tracks are featured on Redemption, with the epic 19-minute closer "Is This How the Story Ends?" being the album centerpiece (and it's a good one) but there are other highlight songs to look out for. You get the vibrant opener "Behind the Mirror", the dark & melancholy title track, and the lush, dramatic "The Beauty and the Least", which includes some truly wonderful lead guitar soloing. "Pears and Fire" is another gem here of dramatic neo-prog, as haunting keyboards, excellent vocals, and tasty guitars float over dynamic drumming from Goyette, and I do need to state what a fine singer Pageau is, who knocks it out of the park throughout this album. He absolutely soars on the moody "My Inspiration" with a slight nod to ex-Styx vocalist Dennis De Young.

It's hard to find any fault with the fine material on Redemption, which is another in a long line of solid releases from this longstanding Canadian prog act. Recommended.

Track Listing
1. Behind the Mirror (6:46)
2. Redemption (6:36)
3. The Beauty and the Least (9:15)
4. Every Note (6:01)
5. Pearls and Fire (12:43)
6. My Inspiration (8:24)
7. Homecoming (5:10)
8. Is This How the Story Ends? (19:11)

Added: November 4th 2023
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:
Related Link: Band Website
Hits: 675
Language: english

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