Hora - Prominence

Hora's album Prominence is a primarily vocal-less album that could double as a sound track for a video game. While no one knows Hora's design for the album, with our own imagination one can hear a story that slowly unfolds, beginning with the glimpse into what lies ahead, the destroyed world of the present and the agony in resentment, betrayal and the loss of life. But the story doesn't end there, and what goes down must come back up - by the middle of the album we hear hope and promise, the fight for survival and a happy ending.

The album begins with Future Hope, the two minute opener with the sound of wind, a gentle piano melody and the constant beep of robotics in the background, allowing us to picture Hora's idea of the future.
Prominence is the first song, and starting off with the haunting wind sound like its predecessor, Prominence sets the stage for a story of a desolate existence. With the onset beat drums kicking us off, the song sets forth portraying sadness, drama and hope with its beautiful instrumental orchestra that is combined with the steady electronic beat. Being a voiceless track, Prominence must work twice as hard to impress - but easily completes this task and more.

Ignition kicks off with a soft hiss and the rapidly speeding rhythm of the keyboard before the melody goes into a full electronica swing. The song is catchy and is the only one with vocals. Hora's distorted vocals sound like something that would be produced by industrial artist Blam Honey. Midway through the song, we're greeted by sudden raspy growls before the music fades in and out, but soon the beat is back and stays strong until the end.

The next song is Photon, which has a much darker sound with echoed and distorted noises that open the song before the keyboard begins to lead us into the rhythm. This dark sound doesn't last long, and the song explodes into an ethereal atmosphere with the gentle chime of bells and a much more optimistic synth rhythm. Much like Prominence, the song gives us plenty of opportunity to enjoy each instrument present in the track before it fades out.

Starting with the sound of a heavy blowing wind and sparkling chimes, Flow is the one of the most delicate songs on the album. It is guided by a gentle guitar melody and eventually a soft orchestra accompaniment. The song is accented with a gentle sparkling sound and a xylophone solo and is one of the prettiest songs by far. Life is an incredibly impressionable track with a looming sound of danger and loneliness that echoes through the piano melody. As the song builds, a deep industrial arrangement joins in. While the song does not build to something that one can dance to, Life is a song to be appreciated for its mysteriousness.

The song Ray is the turning point of the release and starts out strongly with a heavy keyboard opening, which hurls us into a whirlwind of electronic activity. The beat of the song is fantastic and wild, and it is hard to sit still to. The song builds steadily and continues to surprise us with bursts of sound throughout, leaving a very satisfying sound. For a song to portray such a jumble of emotions in under four minutes, Ray's strong melody leads us on the downward spiral towards the conclusion of the album.

No one is sure what comes after life, but Heavenz-COMA gives us a little insight with its innocent keyboard and guitar arrangement. The song has a bit of a gentle R&B feel and while it slowly builds, its releases are subtle and not in your face like its predecessor. After the energy exuded from the previous track, Heavenz-coma is a great breather that guides us into a calming world of sparkles and relaxation. Spinal Cord tries to follow Heavenz-coma's style but fails miserably as a dull song that has no real melody. It focuses more on softly held notes and distortions than on any specific arrangement. There's echoes of voices, static and a very distorted keyboard composition, but instead of wowing the listener, it puts you to sleep. Despite this, it doesn't detract from the release - though it certainly doesn't add anything, either.

All is not lost as Euphoria takes the wheel, bringing us back to a mystical sound with the high pitched chimes before transitioning beautifully into the charming keyboard melody. A very cheerful track, Euphoria is loaded with energy and really impresses upon us that happy endings do happen. It hints that the close of this album will be a cheerful one. Spiced up with electronic distortions and spaced out chimes, Euphoria is placed perfectly as a great pre-closer.

Quasar is the final song on the album and dampens the mood Euphoria created, dropping us back down into a dismal world of sadness with the slow piano opening and heavy metallic pounding. However, as the synth keyboard joins in, the melancholy melody begins to break up and the song slowly builds upward. Quasar does not drip with happiness but truly exemplifies hope, and as it slowly fades out, it leaves a deep, lasting impression.

Since leaving Schwarz Stein, it is clear that Hora has truly focused on perfecting his talent. Prominence was a great way to continue to unveil that to the world. It is an album that shouldn't be missed.