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| Arena, 2020. L-R: Kylan Amos, John Mitchell, Mick Pointer, Paul Manzi and Clive Nolan. |
Arena are a band I have been dabbling with for some time, but unlike some of the related bands, I may not be getting all of the CDs since it gets expensive to go after all these every time I bring someone new into my collection. Mick Pointer, late of Marillion, and Clive Nolan, also of Pendragon, started the band in 1994, and there have been several different lineups ever since, which have included John Jowitt of IQ and Jadis; John Mitchell of Frost*, It Bites, Fish, and now Asia; and former Landmarq and Threshold frontman as well Headspace and Rick Wakeman band member Damian Wilson (his joining is what got me to buy the most recent studio album, The Theory of Molecular Inheritance). Paul Manzi left in 2020 to join the Sweet of all people, which some may consider selling out, by going from a complex prog band to a latter day lineup of a glam band from the '70s. Pointer still plays his old bands music on occasion, proving that he's no Pete Best. Mitchell and Nolan have also worked the late John Wetton of Asia on his 2003 solo album Rock of Faith, and the former on Wetton (Geoff) Downes Icon.
Arenas dark lyrics and layered sound design resonate with me and many listeners. The band have been independent from the start, managing themselves and running their own label. They have built up a cult following spanning over three decades. Like other artists with simplistic names, they get confused with obscure artists of the same name on Amazon, where I stream them, Spotify and maybe even indie specialists emusic. Look for the Verglas label, or at least what you know is the real Arena on these services, given the generic nature of the name. No word yet on the next studio album. At least I can easily stream the band at home as I can on the go, but that will be the next post, this being the first in 2026. I guess it comes from getting bored of the other bands and despising current mainstream rubbish.
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