British rock band Marillion, founded in 1979, have, over the course of 17 albums, become one of the most commercially successful neo-progressive rock band of the 1980s and are still one of the most outstanding representatives of their genre. As the first of their peers, Marillion have started to embrace the potential of the Internet for both their commercial approach and to interact with their audience. They have sold more than 15 million albums. This, the band’s eighteenth studio album, features 5 brand new tracks – consisting of 17 parts – and the feeling within the band themselves is that they may well have produced their best ever work. Marillion has certainly not mellowed with age: Whilst the album title itself is certainly provocative, it’s not meant to be offensive. The title itself features as a line in the track “The New Kings” and is delivered as a plaintive falsetto. Steve Hogarth said, “We’ve used ‘F E A R’ as a title with some relish, but only as it shows that we haven’t shied away, but it’s said with sadness. There are two basic impulses behind human behavior: Love and Fear, and all the good stuff comes from love”. SACD