Emerging from an industrial town in Norway on the cusp of the 1990s,
Conception conjured a unique manifestation of progressive power metal
which incorporated a myriad of influences, from anthemic hard rock and
metal through to Spanish flamenco and fusion jazz. Fronted by the
prodigiously talented guitarist Tore Østby and classically trained
singer Roy Khan, Conception released four albums between 1991 and 1997,
each of which made a vital contribution to the canon of power metal.
These albums are now being reissued by BMG, each accompanied by a swathe
of bonus material, reminding us once again of Conception’s creative and
technical genius.
When Tore Østby started
Conception in 1989, his vision was for a band attuned to the burgeoning
thrash metal scene of the time. But as time went on and the band started
writing and recording music for what would become their debut album,
The Last Sunset, it became apparent that they were heading in a
different musical direction. The line-up got adjusted with the expanding
musical style with the local talents Arve Heimdal on drums and Ingar
Amlien on bass, which gave the band a solid, groovy and unique
sounding
rhythm section. The band was finally completed when Roy Khan came in, a
powerful and melodic singer who had been studying his craft at Tonheim
Folkehøgskole.
Most of the music for The Last Sunset had been
written by the time Roy Khan joined Conception, which meant that he only
had a month in which to rehearse before recording commenced. In that
time, however, both Tore and Roy realised that they had the beginnings
of a powerful creative partnership, made evident as they wrote the
album’s title track together.
Released in 1991, The Last Sunset
was a labour of love, with the band financing everything themselves and
creating their own record label – CSF Records – in the process. Such a
move demonstrated the band’s confidence in their music, and also their
commitment to their art. And reviewers were quick to voice their
approval, too: the title track was given significant airtime by Norway’s
public broadcaster; in the UK, BBC DJ Tommy Vance championed the band
on The Friday Rock Show.
What reviewers of The Last Sunset
picked up on was the way in which Conception approached progressive
metal from a different angle. Hard edged and aggressive riffing makes
itself known from the off with the thumping opener ‘Building A Force’,
and the dynamic fireworks of ‘Fairy’s Dance’ and the groove of ‘Bowed
Down With Sorrow’ are breath-taking. Khan’s voice serves as a perfect
foil, adding light and shade to the music, evoking rich emotion with
every note. The technicality of the songs impresses, too, not only in
the flawless execution, but in the way that it never overcrowds the
songs themselves. That said, Østby’s use of Latin music – such as the
Flamenco parts in ‘War Of Hate’ - are an undeniable highlight of the
album.
The Last Sunset, as well as Conception’s burgeoning
reputation as a well-honed live outfit, attracted the attention of the
wider music industry, notably Noise Records’ Karl Ulrich Walterbach who
signed the band in April 1993 after receiving a demo of material written
for Conception’s proposed second album.
Recorded with Tommy
Newton in Germany, Parallel Minds was a hugely important album for
Conception. While the band’s debut could be seen as a transitional
recording, Parallel Minds can be seen as the record where Conception
truly defined themselves. A bright production is married to a catchy
collection of songs which both rock and uplift. There’s heaviness
aplenty from the outset with ‘Water Confines’ and the Judas Priest-esque
splendour of ‘Roll The Fire’, while ‘Wolf’s Lair’ is a bona fide
thumper. Khan’s voice comes into its own across the record in anthems
and ballads alike – it’s impossible to be unmoved by his performance in
‘The Promiser’ or in the epic closer, ‘Soliloquy’.
Parallel
Minds was released in November 1993 and it opened more doors for
Conception, bringing them to the attention of audiences around the
world. The band’s confidence grew, as did their ambition, and the net
result was their phenomenal third album, In Your Multitude.
Released
in 1995, In Your Multitude found Conception excavating new seams of
emotion while simultaneously developing their progressive tendencies
further without sacrificing either melody or emotion. It is a complex
album which warrants repeated listens. A mystical atmosphere pervades,
particularly so during the album’s less frenetic parts such as in ‘Some
Wounds’ and ‘Missionary Man’. Tore Østby’s flamenco influences take on a
more fusion flavour here, transforming a song like the monumental ‘A
Million Gods’ into one of the finest progressive epics of the decade.
And, once again, Roy Khan’s voice demands attention, unlocking the
music’s emotional potential, whether in a longer piece such as the title
track or a hard hitter like ‘Under A Mourning Star’. One of the high
points for progressive power metal in the ‘90s, for sure.
Having
established a distinctive sound over the course of three albums,
Conception took their audience by surprise when they released Flow in
1997. The familiar Conception touchstones were all there – Khan’s
beautiful vocals, technical prowess and intriguing atmospheres – but the
balance is more in the favour of melodic accessibility. Different to
its predecessors, for sure, but a fantastic listen in its own right:
‘Gethsemane’ and ‘Cardinal Sin’ shine with the incorporation of some
electro beats; Khan’s voice is as acrobatic as ever; ‘Tell Me When I’m
Gone’ and ‘Would It Be The Same’ is a reminder that Conception still
groove and rock hard.
Flow, however, concluded the first chapter
of the Conception story. Taking a long long break starting 1997, the
members went on to other bands, notably Kamelot (Khan) and ARK (Østby),
Crest Of Darkness (Amlien). The band reactivated in 2018, however, with a
new EP and then, two years later, with a fifth studio album. The
reaction to their reunion has been impressive, underlining just how
important Conception’s first four albums have become to fans of
progressive and power metal, and melodically heavy music in general.
The
BMG reissues present The Last Sunset, Parallel Minds, In Your Multitude
and Flow in expanded versions, each with additional previously
unreleased songs and live tracks. This additional material provides
snapshots into Conception at various junctures in their history,
demonstrating the evolution of some tracks which we recognise from their
full-formed album versions, as well as showcasing the band as a
phenomenally tight and intoxicating live unit, too.
Tore:
“Putting together the band and setting out on the musical journey
together has been a real adventure. With a common urge to explore and
develop ourselves and our music, each album clearly shows the different
phases we went through from album to album. We are as proud of each
album today as we completed them.“
Roy: “There's been an
increasing demand for our first albums over the years, and we are
extremely happy that we finally are making them available in
collaboration with BMG. Further to that we are very excited to release
some really old demos and unreleased songs from the very beginning with
this package. These early demos demonstrate even more clearly the
journey and development of the band from start to where we are today.
Enjoy!“
