British rock band Marillion, founded in 1979, have, over the course of 17 albums, become one of the most commercially successful neoprogressive 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 behaviour: Love and Fear, and all the good stuff comes from love”.

“F E A R” sees the band taking on the big themes but they do not see it as their place to preach to people. “The New Kings” looks at the ravening beast that modern capitalism seems to have evolved into, “El Dorado” examines the notions of political entitlement and the modern challenges for the UK, “The Leavers” examines the impact of a transient life on the road for those constantly waving goodbye. The job is simple, says Hogarth, “We use the amazing privilege of having both a platform and an audience to encourage people to look in the mirror and ask themselves the big questions – by doing just that ourselves”. The album artwork shows the acronym “F E A R“ embossed on a gold ingot, and the songs themselves bear the hallmark of true quality.