Absolon (Ken Pike) returns with A Portrait of Madness

Ken Pike, formerly of Malachia, released an album with a new band, Absolon, back in 2013 called Darkness Rising:The Tale of Derek Blackheart. It was a concept album, and was pretty good, I guess. It had a couple of really nice tracks, but I don't really like concept albums and the overall feel of the album was a little too goth for me.

Well, he wound up getting married and I believe moved to Japan and started a new band with his wife called Firesphere. They released one album that I know of, in 2014, and it was carried by Roxx for a while.

Apparently, he is back in the states and reformed Absolon now, after a decade, and pushed out a new album called A Portrait of Madness.

And yes, it is another concept album. So let me re-clarify, I don't like concept albums. Actually, let me rethink that. Yeah, I'm not exactly expressing myself right...I meant to say I loathe, despise, hate concept albums..hahahaha

This one is also being carried by Roxx and is available on Bandcamp too.

A quick listen on Bandcamp and it was easy to see it was similar in style to Tales of Darkness, though nothing grabbed me like it did on the first album.

With that being said, this is a hard pass for me not just musically, but also due to the concept of the album.

Here is the write-up of the album from its entry on Bandcamp

Randolph Bathery-A Portrait of Madness
Story Synopsis

The year is 1920, London England. Its been three years since the end of WWI when Randolph Bathery, a soldier in the English army, returned from the war a broken man. As the years passed, Randolph grew more depressed, his personality dark, foreboding and menacing. Those around him came to believe he had brought something back with him from the war and that he was, in fact, possessed by a dark entity. After a terribly botched exorcism leaves Randolph near death and utterly insane, the Catholic Church has him secretly committed to the Lancaster Mental Asylum in order to cover up their failure and incompetence. Now, not only is Randolph trapped inside his own mind, he’s trapped with the entity that still possesses him. The doctors and staff of the Lancaster Mental Asylum, thinking he is just another insane mental patient out of many, are unaware of the danger they are in until it’s too late. Accepting that the entity is now part of him, and no longer being able to handle life as a prisoner in the Lancaster Mental Asylum, Randolph Bathery wreaks havoc and chaos upon the staff at the asylum and, with the help of the entity inside him, finally escape into the night.

I would typically say I LOVE concept albums, but that story synopsis sounds just plain dark with no redemption involved.

I am not a fan of concept albums, either.  I don't usually understand the story unless they put the lyrics into more of a play form.  Even then, I don't seem to enjoy the songs as much because they never really feel finished as they are all part of this larger musical idea and I quickly get distracted from that and move on.

topshot rhit wrote:

I would typically say I LOVE concept albums, but that story synopsis sounds just plain dark with no redemption involved.

Yeah, that ending really bothers me.

Yeah, with a few exceptions I am also not a fan of concept albums (most are too progressive for my tastes).  I have that first Absolon album and like you a did dig a few songs, but overall I wasn't a huge fan of the album as a whole.  I did listen to some of the new album and have decided to pass on it as well.