The final sentence of my review of the 2022 debut, Scissorgames, from Ghost of the Machine read thus: “The next one might well be rather excellent, because as us veterans of the scene appreciate; from humble beginnings, doth greatness ensue”.

Reading those words, I rather wish that I was as good at predicting the bloody lotto numbers as music releases. I’d be a rich man by now! For the sophomore release, Empires Must Fall is simply stupendous, an essential album for 2025. Before I move to discussing each track, let me say this. You will note from my original review I referred to the second wave of prog bands who formed the heart of the influences on that debut. With this album, this band announce themselves as true heirs to that English tradition of cinematic, storytelling progressive rock, moving this fine genre well and truly into the 2020’s. It is a remarkable achievement this album, a sonic delight, and something to be cherished.

The lineup is that of the debut, so nice and settled with Charlie Bramald on vocals and flute; Graham Garbett playing guitars and providing backing vocals; Mark Hagan on keyboards, piano, and Mellotron; Stuart McAuley on bass, Moog pedals, and Mellotron; Andy Milner bangs the drums; and Scott Owens guitars.

The album is released 7th March via progrock.com essentials, and you can cop hold of it at https://essentials.progrock.com/product/ghost-of-the-machine-empires-must-fall/

Okay, let’s discuss six unique pieces of music, within which are three epic length tracks, all of which are contenders for this website’s “epic track of the year” award. The way things are going, I might well have to devote a whole page on the website just for that single honour!

In terms of the storytelling, the first record concluded with the tyrannical Puppet King being vanquished by his final victim… she slew him with a pair of scissors! What are the consequences of that violent but liberating act? What is true justice? Is the Puppet King’s slayer—the newly crowned Empress of the Light—succeeding at being a benevolent ruler? Can she right all the wrongs that she herself had suffered? And what will it take to finally break the cycle of violence and coercion? Fascinating stuff, the artwork on the CD is exceptional, and a quick word about the title – all empires must, indeed, fall, a lesson of history that some of our gobbier leaders might do well to reacquaint themselves with.

Keepers of the Light kicks us off. From the start, full of life and sound, the twin pronged guitars competing with the synths in a glorious celebration of accession, the rhythm section keeping matters going along, and then Bramald starting an album full of quality vocals. Well-constructed, the drums especially thumping out the message, the voice reaching impressive heights. I like the change to a slower chugging pace halfway through, the drama palpable with an emotion laden guitar solo set against the synths. A very solid start to proceedings.

The Days That Never Were has such a gorgeous delicate start before the room filling sound hits us. The duet between voice and piano, with the remainder of the band in the background, is to die for, the words of justice being meted out and recrimination carrying a powerful message. The heroine is now a supernova. What I love about this track is the ability of the band to carry across the powerful story in such a contrast in musical volume. Heavy is the heart of the leader, ascending to the clouds, reshaping her society. At its heart, a track of optimism, looking forward to a new dawn, but written from a propogandists viewpoint, perhaps?

The first epic is Panopticon (a circular prison with cells arranged around a central well, from which prisoners could always be observed), and we have an official video for you to drool over! It is embedded below. At this point in the tale, the Empress's domain is discovered to be a paranoia-inducing, all-seeing prison, in which our protagonist finds himself under the looming gaze of the sinister Watchman and his tower. Can the Prisoner escape the Panopticon, reveal the truth, and bring down an Empire built on false foundations? The soundscapes produced are lush, and I love the guitar work in the introductory passage which itself leads into a prog fans’ organ infused delight as the main song asserts itself, full of dark intention. Bramald is a master storyteller here, and the room again fills with sound as the panopticon main theme sings from the speakers. The instrumental passage five minutes in is a joy before Bramald emotionally tries to hide from the watchers’ gaze and plot the empire’s fall. The final third of the track is simply a delightful romp and ultimately a story of hope as the afflicted drag themselves away and prepare to fight authoritarianism.

Fall Through Time is twelve minutes of proggy goodness. The opening passage has a touch of the classic psych to these ears, and the lyrics scream to me of parallels with modern day media manipulation, lies by the establishment, realisation on the part of the ordinary citizen, standing on the precipice, wondering how far we can fall. The rhythm section on this thumps at you, the riffs swirling around Bramald’s voice, in parts very catchy almost FM rock in between some very thoughtful, brooding music. I do enjoy Hagan’s work on this track, especially the descriptive piano and the change in tempo at the eight-minute mark is as unexpected as it is welcome for its cleverness, a far darker set of notes invading our consciousness, a crisis of being, the cry of “how did it come to this?” one us veterans of political campaigns of yore ask ourselves repeatedly in the real world. The closing passage carries with it a contender for guitar solo led noise of 2025 – superb.

The One is the lead single from the album, and I played it recently on my radio show. It is embedded for you below. From the opening guitar notes to the closing fade, it is a commercial progressive rock delight, the truth of the regime now exposed, Bramald putting in one hell of a vocal shift on this in a track which sings in a blaze of glory and infused with an overwhelming sense of 1980’s rebirth of prog.

We close with After the War, over fourteen and a half minutes long. The piano is again fine as we start, the lyrics full of regret, wondering what they were fighting, and indeed living, for. What strikes you here is just how good this collective of musicians’ sound. Bramald crackles with emotion as he exhorts them to run away from him, their death. As the middle of the song starts, the piano heralds its arrival with deadpan notes, the guitar ghostly, the percussion jazz infused leading into a veritable tidal wave of sound leading into the breaking dawn, the population hiding in their barricaded houses, McAuley specially making a thunderous bassline, the guitar solo forlorn in its aftermath beauty, the empress hiding in her tower. The final three minutes build up to a crescendo, the guitar solo leading the way with a soaring passion providing us with the finest epic end you will have heard since the halcyon IQ days.

Scissorgames was a very strong debut. Empires Must Fall, its successor, sequel, and the band’s sophomore album simply blows your wig off. Pretty much essential progressive rock.