Now, I did not really expect anything that was wildly different from the previous two outings, and I did not get it either. It is perfectly clear that this album belongs together with its brethren, having the same type of themes and sounds that we experienced in previous albums. Actually, there is probably a chance that they recycled riffs and beats as well, because it all sounds so similar. It definitely connects the album together in a very effective way, but it would have been nicer if each record had more of an own personality, maybe representing a phase of the story.
This makes "The Redemption of William Black" very familiar, almost too familiar since most of the same structures are used, so it is easy to mistake one song for another. In this album for instance, we have a new "Escape Velocity" in "Prayers of Light", a new "Stars Are Burning" in "18 Days", and a new "Human" in "Redeemer". Not all songs in here are copy cats, but none really stands out extremely from the rest (except for one, but we will get to that later).
One thing that this album does have is some more heavy tones, which does make sense with what the story is going for, and we get a lot more from the guys behind Blaze in here. Guitaris Chris Appleton shreds his ass off in this album, especially "The Dark Side of Black" and the solo in "Immortal One", but also puts in some gentler moments as well to weigh it all up. Drummer Martin McNee and Bassist Karl Schramm (whom just like Chris is from the band Absolva) both do a splendid job as well, making this record the best performed one of the three. We also get some nice guest work in the album as well from Chris's brother Luke Appleton, Liz Owen, a bunch of backing vocalists and narrators, and also Fozzy's own Chris Jericho, who really seem to fancy these sci-fi concept records.
There is still no problem in finding some personal song favourites in here, at least one or two will make its way towards your liking fairly easily. The catchy nature of "Redeemer", "Are You Here", and "Prayers of Light" is a nice fix, while those who like more heavier stuff should check out "Immortal One" and "The Dark Side of Black". Then we have the epic finisher "Eagle Spirit" that takes the saga to a very emotional and satisfying conclusion, one that leads William Black to the stars, for his final journey.
So what do we ultimately make of Blaze's "Infinite Entanglement" trilogy? While it might not contain the musical quality to really bring forth a grand following, I do think the story and the heart and soul that Blaze has put in this project is incredibly impressive. It is a huge job to finalize a multi album concept like this in such a short time, and fans of Blaze should really give all of their love to him. Individually, these three album are fine, not brilliant in any way, but together they create an epic experience that is thrilling from start to finish, a perfect binge listen (around 2 hours and 20 minutes), all three albums in one go, creating an epic sci-fi saga that is more than meets the ear. So thank you Blaze, and god speed to you William.
Songs worthy of recognition: The Dark Side of Black, Are You Here, Eagle Spirit
Rating: 6,5/10 Human Eyes ("Infinite Entanglement" trilogy as a whole gets 7,5/10)
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More reviews of Blaze Bayley
Infinite Entanglement
Endure And Survive
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