siLLy puPPy The second edition of the metallic neo-prog phase of PENDRAGON’s career, PURE followed the band’s previous album “Believe’s” sudden leap into a brave new musical world where the band’s classic beloved neo-prog sound had suddenly been infiltrated by screaming metallic fury which was not appreciated by the entire fanbase. The band stood resolute in its determined approach to evolve PENDRAGON’s sound into the new expanding frontiers of cross-pollinating musical genres while staying faithful to its neo-prog roots and continued on course with a new set of seven tracks as well as a new drummer in the form of Scott Higham who replaced long time member Fudge Smith.

Similarly structured to “Believe,” PURE features several shorter tracks, a few longer and a multi-suite midsection that showcases the band’s new found freedom in diversifying its explorations however PURE delves even further into the realms of progressive metal with more frequent excursions into raucous guitar riffing and heavy angsty tempo build ups. Laced with the same passional vocal performances of Nick Barrett and the band’s classic neo-prog arpeggiated guitar majesty, PENDRAGON jettisoned none of classic trademarks but rather simply turned their straw house into one of more durable bricks as if the band suddenly merged with Porcupine Tree as the metal is more in line with it’s chug heavy space prog than anything else.

“Indigo” starts off confidently in an upbeat mode as the album deftly balances the atmospheric keyboard swirlies of neo-prog with psychedelic guitar lead before bursting into a melodic rock explosiveness that PENDRAGON tames into a melodic circus act. Despite the heavy musical backdrop, Barrett’s vocals remain as tender and controlled as ever without ever jumping into any sort of metal vocal style. The near 15-minute track sets the tone for the entire album by not only showcasing a greater expansiveness into beefier rock performances but also a newfound creative touch in keyboard dexterity and sound effects without sacrificing the fundamental neo-prog touches that band had made its own. While “Believe” was only an occasional metal dabbler, PURE proves to incorporate a more aggressive guitar heft into almost every track with the following 9-minute “Eraserhead” following suit with the now established rotisserie effect of proggy metal, slowed down space rock and neo-prog underpinnings.

The three part “Comatose” which collectively adds up to about 17 minutes of the album’s 53 minute run features some of the most dynamic and dramatic moments starting with a retro PENDRAGON neo-prog sound of piano led vocal narrations with heavy synthesized atmospheres but proves itself a shapeshifter of varying musical motifs that slowly ratchet up the tension in suitable chord progressions, keyboard programming dynamics and thundering heavy metal uproar. Higham’s drum contributions are notable as it propels the more relaxed approach of yore into a more energetic rock proficiency with clever drum rolls and percussive ingenuity. Likewise these three tracks flow luxuriantly through various creative passages that allow all kinds of art rock possibilities to flutter in and out of the scene with the most outlandish resulting at the end of “I - View From The Seashore” which ends with a classical musical addition that would make Mozart proud.

“The Freak Show” follows the suite with another round of grungy metal heft accompanied by electric atmospheres and Pink Floydian space rock techniques cementing PURE as the heaviest overall album experience PENDRAGON had engaged in up to this point. The closing track “It’s Only Me’” is really the only track that seems a bit too saccharine for its own good with a guest harmonica performance and the least heavy track of the album. It feels a bit out of place amidst the ballsier tunes that precede but demonstrating that PENDRAGON has lost none of its melancholic balladry in the midst of turning up all the amps to full deciblage. While many simply write off the period from “Believe” to “Passion” as a bad turn for the band, if you accept these albums on their own terms they are cleverly crafted quite brilliantly actually with PURE being my favorite of the lot. While many are adverse to change i relish in it and find this unusual new rendition of PENDRAGON to be quite satisfying.

Warthur It took me a surprisingly long time to warm to Pendragon's Pure. Sure, it was immediately obvious from the dark, heavy opening passages of Indigo that this was a bit of a departure for the band, and it's rather admirable how they chose to deliberately step away from the tried and tested formula which had held true from The World to Not of This World.

However, the new sound they unveil on Pure didn't grab me at first. The fact is that they are far from the first band to combine neo-prog with darker, heavier musical styles - hell, Clive Nolan's own Arena had already been there and done that five years before on Contagion - and in this case, I wasn't sure about the logic behind it.

After a while, I started to warm to it a bit, realising that aspects of the classic Pendragon sound were woven in and out of the compositions as one thread a much richer tapestry than the band had previously attempted. Further listens, however, caused the material to diminish to my ears, since it became apparent that rather than revolutionising their sound Pendragon had simply disguised it a little by applying a bit more distortion to the guitar. Still, I have to give them props for the experiment.