CORVUS STONE

How to start with a review of Corvus Stone? I really wanted to write one, but this is not a cd which you can describe in two words. I also won't review each song individually, as there are 21 on the cd.

The title of their CD is called after their band name: Corvus Stone. If you look at the artwork, you already realize that you have something in your hands where has been put lots of work into. This is not something of which you find millions of it in the stores; the artwork is so unique and more than worth the price of the cd. It's the band's representation of their originality, and brings people immediately into the right atmosphere of the music. It's like you enter a complete new world. What's happening there in that world, you will probably think? Well, let me tell how I experience it, because that's what you could call them: a total experience. It's like you always want to take a look behind the corner for with what they will come up next.

Pasi Koivu's keyboard, Colin Tench's guitar and Petri Lemmy Lindström's bass show the high level musicianship of this band. In some tracks you can hear the brilliant drum work from Robert Wolff which brings their music again to another dimension.

Some tracks sound exotic, some are hot and swampy (Corvus Stone, with much jazzy influences), others have very classical influences and you can easily imagine yourself in their world at that time. Although the cd is mostly instrumental, there is the track 'The Ice King' sung by the absolutely brilliant voice of Blake Carpenter. His voice really sticks to the track, it's like it has been written for him, waiting for him. This is one of my favorite tracks.

There are also moments that you really have the feeling that Starsky & Hutch ended up in Mexico. There is a track (Jussipussi - who came up with that title??? I love it, very original) where you can hear Frank Zappa walking through it, but it's not Zappa. It's not a copy. These guys don't copy, they're writing one track after the other, and it comes out fluently. One can hear that these guys love what they're doing.

You even can dance on some tracks (Moron season, also one of my favorites), which you don't expect from this kind of music. It starts calm, but after nearly a minute you'll hear ting ting ting and the hell breaks lose! What a great track!

Some tracks are really epic, some are perfect as soundtrack for movies. The tracks vary from funny to dramatic. Hauntingly passages, sometimes tickling, sometimes shocking, surprising, grab you by the throat or carry you away. This is not prog in the general accepted meaning of the genre, it's not classic rock, but it's a mix. It's Corvus Stone, and these guys are unique with their sound!

I rate these guys very high, and I have given them 5 stars. Why? I like their guts, their originality and their musicianship very much. I also think that this music has a wider public reach than one expects. that doesn't certainly counts for all the tracks, but there are a few who could end up as a big hit. I really hope that these guys will have their breakthrough.