Mark Mangold: keyboards, drums, vocals
Terry Brock: vocals, guitar, mandolin
Randy Jackson: vocals, guitar
John Bivona: guitar, bass
Mark Hermann: keyboards, drums, vocals

The Sign started out as a real supergroup, with Mark Mangold (Drive, She Said / Touch), Randy Jackson (Zebra), Terry Brock (Strangeways), Billy Greer (Kansas / Streets) and Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow / Black Sabbath). Their first album, “Signs Of Life” (2000) caused something of a stir in the world of melodic rock/AOR and was generally received as one of the best CD’s of the year. It told the story of Aryon, a girl who wakes up from a coma and starts re-discovering her inner self and the world.

Now they’re back with a second album, a new, Angel-like logo (just look at it upside-down), and a new line-up. Keyboardist Mark Mangold now also plays the drums, Greer has been replaced by Mark Hermann and John Bivona (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) has been added as a second guitarist. The album continues the story of Aryon’s mystic search.

I was fortunate enough to see The Sign live on one of their rare live performances at the Lokerse Feesten here in Belgium, earlier this year (without Randy Jackson, but with Tyketto’s Danny Vaughn as guest singer). They previewed some of the new songs there, and I have to say, these tracks didn’t really come across very well on first listen.

Listening to the album, it is now clear why: this is not an easy album. Contrary to “Signs Of Life”, this one really sounds like a concept album as well: the songs flow into one another, themes are repeated, there are a couple of short tracks that function as a bridge between songs and there are some instrumental intermezzos. There are no instantly catchy tunes like “Crossed The Line” and “Aryon” from the first album. This is a CD you really have to sit down and listen to as a whole.

Like the first album, “The Second Coming” is mostly pomp rock/AOR, with a slight progressive twist, comparable to Kansas in their Steve Morse days. It strays away a bit from that direction at times: “Motorcyle Messiah” is arguably the heaviest song in their catalogue and “Black Mountain” has a strong Led Zeppelin-vibe. It’s always difficult to single out the best tracks on a concept album like this, but for me “The Morning After”, “Flame Of The Oracle”, the emotional ballad “Keep On Breathin’” and the stand-alone track “Maniac” are the most impressive moments on the album.

The performances are outstanding. Terry Brock, who once very nearly joined Deep Purple (before Joe Lynn Turner got the job), is great, as always, with his Steve Perry-like voice. The contrast with Randy Jackson’s singing works really well. Mark Mangold shines with his keyboard playing.

A bit different from the fantastic first album, but don’t let that keep you from trying it out. It takes a few more listens to really appreciate it, but you’ll find out “The Second Coming” may not be quite as good as its predecessor, but close.