Harpazo is a prog metal project founded by guitarist Marc Centanni and songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer Gary Wehrkamp (Shadow Gallery/Ayreon). By all accounts, it’s a large-scale collaboration rounded out by a collection of superstar talent from various acts within Christian, prog rock and power metal spaces.

HARPAZO – The Crucible (TRAILER)

Last Friday, the group released their debut album, The Crucible, a sci-fi thriller rock opera set in 2142. The album showcases vignettes of several characters, its central character an American eccentric tech genius named Jude Solomon. As the head of an innovative prosthetics company called Ichor, which infuses patients with a similarly named serum designed to heal all ailments and diseases, he earns near-universal backing for his breakthrough. Amid this success, he develops a savior complex and strives to achieve worldwide immortality by merging humanity with machinery. Through his cult of personality, he urges his followers to adopt a singular truth – that his technology is essential to the world’s survival. At the same time, they must accept him as their savior.  In turn, he seeks to eliminate those in opposition to his plight – the non-believers, or, more specifically, those who still practice old-world beliefs.

HARPAZO – I Am God (Official Lyric Video)

Contextually, the opening track, “Ichor,” contains a singing dialogue involving Solomon recruiting Michael, a trained assassin from Project Talos, as his messenger, with promises that their alliance will grant him unimaginable power. The chord sequence works well in bolstering the calculated nature of Solomon’s plan, while Michael’s words (sung by DC Cooper of Royal Hunt) demonstrate the impact that Solomon’s influence has on him. The harmonic duet in the chorus effectively emphasizes their forged alliance, with its solo work – fluid as it is fluent – complementing this triumph. After an electronic-inflected transition in “Legion Program,” the album is punctuated by its carrier single, “I Am God.” Alongside its hook factor in the riffs and backbeat, I like how its chorus ends in a subtle scream, as if to reveal a dormant monster behind a show of consistent nobility.

HARPAZO – Ichor (Official Lyric Video)

The fourth track, “The Golden Crown,” deals with the construction of a new city called Babylon, the central utopia cementing his philosophy. In this song, a new character is introduced, Princess Relena Umberto, who hails from Rome. With a manufactured disposition at an early age, she is equally cunning as she is beautiful. Her goal is to restore royalty to her family name, and Solomon promises her that her royalty will be restored in Babylon, while she will benefit from associating with someone of immense power and influence. In doing so, she begins a romantic relationship with Michael. The halfway part of the song characterizes their developing bond by both guitar and vocal solos, both expressed in their own unique way. After the arrangements complete, what follows is the implication that their bond is brimming with passion and intensity to the point where Michael begins to question his identity as an assassin, and wrestles to figure out whether he has genuine feelings for her or is simply being manipulated into serving Solomon.  On the fifth track, “The Crucible”, which features Barren Cross vocalist Michael Lee Drive alongside DC Cooper, colossal damage is inflicted by a meteor shower that occurs shortly after Solomon’s breakthrough. But when a wary Pope John, another Roman who made his way to America, joins with resistance forces, Solomon sees them as an immediate threat. In response, he encourages a genocide against the faithful, ironically asserting that religion’s primary purpose is war. As alluded to by the title, Michael’s inner conflict with his identity amplifies after being confronted by Pope John. The album’s midpoint is defined by “Two Witnesses” (featuring Sacred Warrior vocalist Rey Parra), where the performances become longer and more involved, and the stylistic showcase of electronic textures and overdriven guitars emphasize the divide between potentially limitless technology versus struggling, yet resilient faith. Two disciples of God, Moses and Ellie, appear before Michael, further informing him of Solomon’s evil ways, and though he initially tries to maintain his stance as an assassin, he now sounds noticeably hesitant.  Like the previous track, there is solid solo-laden interplay between the instrumentation, with guitar and keyboard leads played in smooth, but powerful succession.

At the latter half of the album, Michael learns of Jude Solomon’s hypocrisy behind his nobility upon being handed a bible from The Stranger. In “Change of Heart Part 1,” which features Bloodgood vocalist Les Carlsen alongside DC Cooper, Michael becomes more receptive to changing his ways. Rather than be pushed into believing in something that’s not easily understandable, he makes a choice independently to accept Christ into his heart. He also recognizes the true extent of his love for Relena, feeling an obligation to save her from Solomon’s oppression. Rather than take the easy route and go after Solomon, his advisor, Casimir Agnus, and the Ichor Soldier, he is crucified (“Ultimatum”, “A Small Price To Pay”). Just as well, the nuance in the songs’ execution becomes more apparent when highlighting the strength of Michael’s resolve. The ninth track, “We Are Weak,” for instance, derives its inspiration from both classic and modern iterations of “Jesus Loves Me.” The first, which comprises the song’s initial half, is a poem to a dying child (the child, in essence, is Michael), with gentle, yet simultaneously bleak, almost haunting accompaniment, and the second half is an empowering – and rocking hymn. In a similar way, “Change of Heart Part 2” highlights Princess Relena’s journey of faith, while gaining newfound purpose after noticing the death of a little girl’s mother. On the final track, In the “Book of Life,” the group barely escapes Solomon’s destruction, finding solace Relena grows a faint bond with the girl and takes her in, all the while the characters head back to Rome. The heaviness this time around feels rightfully subdued, conveying a mix of emotions. While the state of the world is bleak and dystopian, the group eventually finds safety there is also a glimmer of hope that faith will prevail in the face of insurmountable odds.

Overall, The Crucible has strong hook factor, not only by its guest spots and musicianship, but its characters. It is a story of not only choosing faith and love amid catastrophic circumstances, but the transformation of two people who abandon their cold, calculated upbringings and develop empathy and compassion for others. Even though ‘I’ve reached the end, I’m invested and feel the story can and should be continued.

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Harpazo The Crucible Album Review