Guilt Machine: On This Perfect Day

By: Dr Matt Warnock

On This Perfect Day is a captivating, progressive rock album released by Arjen Lucassen’s newest side-group, Guilt Machine. The record was written as a concept album of sorts, which Lucassen wrote to explore “the destructive psychology of guilt, regret and the darkest form of secret — the secrets we hide from ourselves.” Though the concept album, perfected by bands like Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden, seems to have gone out of fashion in recent years, it’s albums like On This Perfect Day that remind us all why concept driven rock was such a success in the first place.

Containing only six tracks, the shortest being a little over six minutes and the longest being almost twelve, the album possesses a musical flow to it that forces the listener to take a step back, to see the musical forest through the proverbial trees. Not to say that the songs all sound the same, but each track has more in common with the movements of a symphony than they do individual songs on a pop-rock record. There are musical and lyrical themes that thread their way through each song, linking them together to form a larger work, with the high-level of musicianship provided by the band acting as a guide that leads the listener through each harmonic twist and melodic turn.

One of the most interesting aspects of the album is the vocal “messages” that are found strewn throughout the album. A month after announcing that he had begun the project, Lucassen sent out a message on his website soliciting fans to send him short, audio messages in that persons mother tongue, along with a written translation. After receiving over two-hundred submissions, Lucassen narrowed it down to nineteen audio samples that he would use on the record.

The examples chosen, and that can be heard on the album, represent a myriad of languages that include French, Russian, Chinese and Tagalog. The inclusion of these audio clips only adds to the continuity between the tracks. Even though the listener may not understand what is being spoken, they act as a “narrative” of sorts that helps tell the story behind the album.

On This Perfect Day is one of finest progressive rock albums to be released in recent years. Anytime a band releases a concept album they are setting themselves up for comparison to the great records that have defined the genre. With a remarkable level of musicianship, and talent for writing and arranging, the members of Guilt Machine have produced a work that is not only enjoyable to listen to, but one that may very well hold its own against the most notable concept albums of this, or any generation.