Having just finished posting a discussion of three classic Glass Hammer albums, comes news of the upcoming release of a new album! Arise is the title, and it is a completely new direction – thematically – from the Skallagrim Trilogy that took up their previous three albums.

If there is one constant in the career of Glass Hammer, it is change. I am not aware of any musical group that is always pursuing new directions, both lyrically and musically as Glass Hammer. The miracle of them is the consistent excellence of their output, regardless of the path they take.

Arise is a sci-fi epic, and I mean a true epic. It follows the voyage of an android sent to explore some deep space anomalies. The mission is called Android Research Initiative for Space Exploration. As we travel with our android ARISE, we encounter exoplanets: some beautiful (Arion), and some seemingly malevolent (Proxima Centauri B). There is also a “curious anomaly detected at WASP-12” – a rift in space where mysterious entities bent on destruction are entering our universe.

Communications from ARISE eventually cease, but strangely enough, “inexplicable sightings of the presumed-destroyed spacecraft Deadalus have emerged.” I don’t know if this indicates that the saga of ARISE will continue or not, but it looks like there could be more to come.

Musically, the album is not as heavy as the Skallagrim Trilogy, but it definitely rocks. Wolf 359 features Hannah Pryor on lead vocals again and she sings beautifully over a relentless beat. Arion (18 Delphini b) is a bright, upbeat song featuring Babb and Pryor trading lead vocals. Mare Sirenum is a brief instrumental in the spacey “Tangerine Dream” mode that GH has become so good at producing. Lost begins as a bluesy jam and then transforms into a very ear-friendly tune sung by Pryor. Rift at WASP-12 is my current favorite track – it’s a blistering rocker with a great hook. Proxima Centauri B is slow-burning heavy rocker that has Babb’s terrific bassline mixed up front, and it sounds great. Arise clocks in at 11:44, and it is quite a good epic. It features Pryor’s best vocals on the album. The song slowly builds in intensity and when she sings, “So little time left to say this/So little time is left for anything/There is a light up in heaven/There is a light shining down upon man/See Him, know Him, love Him/See, feel/And know eternal truth” it is a truly cathartic moment. The album closes with a long instrumental jam that holds the listener’s interest from the opening note to the last.

Besides Hannah Pryor, Reese Boyd is back on lead guitar. Randall Williams handles drums, and overseeing the entire project is Glass Hammer’s cofounder, Steve Babb. He outdoes himself here, tackling keyboards, rhythm and lead guitars, bass guitar. percussion, and vocals. Cofounder Fred Schendel plays drums and guitars on WASP-12.

Musically, ARISE is a winner, offering moments of serene beauty as well as ferocious rock. Hannah Pryor really shines on vocals throughout, and Steve Babb is still the most inventive bassist in rock. The concept of the album fascinates me, as well. The hero of the saga, ARISE, is an android – by definition an artificial human. Yet, in every song, he (she/it?) seems capable of perceiving a spiritual reality. In Wolf 359, ARISE sings, “They say that God is watching over me/I’m not sure what He wants or what He hopes to see.” And in Arion (18 Delphini b), “Thank God I found it/Thank God you’re standing here with me.” At the end, even though communication from ARISE seems to have ceased, it appears that he is returning to Earth – perhaps in a resurrected form? Hopefully, this is not the last we hear from this tale. As with every Glass Hammer album, the lyrics provide much food for thought.