THE ROLLING COURT MASSACRE

I'll first start this off by stating that this is one of my favourite bands. They have a rawness, combined with complex music, good use and variety of time signatures, that make them - by my standards - top 5 when it comes to the musical side of it, and i simply love their lyrics!

This ia an album that is actually a rock opera. So to get one thing clear, this albumed cannot be enjoyed truly, without the lyrics at hand.

The album starts of with the opening scene, when you can clearly hear that a gun is fired, then it breaks into an accoustically driven, folkish melody, which eventually goes out in flames. From there on, we have a vocal piece, where a woman called Aunt Mary is being arrested, after some talking, music starts, in the style as the opening song, and there is a dialogue between Aunt Mary and Chief Inspector Gene van Damn - and implied by the lyrics, perhaps an ex-boyfriend - and the song ends with her being dragged to The Rolling Court where she is to be trialed.

After a short introduction to the case, witnesses of her obscenities are on stand, giving their testimonies - all while music is played in the background. This is the song where the main theme of the song is being introduced, and this theme is nicely fitted into the overall sound of the record. It is a beautiful mix between guitar and mellotron/organ and the theme is one of the main spectacles of the record.

The next song is bit of a puzzle, suddenly we hear something reminicent of a drum-machine, but i have been assured by secure sources that it is just the drummer playing in an insane tempo. There is also some oriental guitar plucking in there. Mix this weird time signature with a vibrant mellotron, and you have one crazy, but excellent track. All the while, Aunt Mary is confessing her actions, but not regretting any.

For the next piece, the testimonies goes on, while the music is, once again a nice mix between guitar, organ and good drumming.

Now comes the end of act 1, and we have the introduction of a flute. It is a short piece, where the judge proclaimes that there wil be a break, but that there is no time to use the WC. This is followed by an instrumental, signaling the pause. This is a nutty tune, with people chatting, pictures being taken, while the band plays a jazzy, muzak, elevator song, joined by an accordion

From here on, the music is the same style, but it is clear that is increasing in intensity, and that there is a climate to come. You get some more testimonies, accompanied by great music. This is my favourite part of the record, and it can't be explained in words, it has to be heard. The music is the same style, only more intense and - i would say - more harmonious. I'll just skip the words, and let others hear for themselves

Track 12 has some excellent drumming and track 13 - the closing piece - has some excellent interplay between the mellotron and guitar. In Track 11 and 13, the main theme is again reintroduced and played beautifully around. And for the lyrics, I will not reveal how it ends, I won't take the fun out of it.

This is an album that I urge people to hear! It is one of the most accesible, but best albums that Procosmian has made, in my opinion. If you are keen to get into this band - which i promise you that you won't regret if you do - this is a good start.

The story is FANTASTIC, the music is splendid, and the vocals are doing an excellent job telling this story! I for one, love the voice of Hebbe Santos!

5 big stars from me!

This Norwegian band with the unusual name was formed in 1995 in Trondheim as a quartet with Geir Larz on guitar/drums/vocals, Erik Andas on bass/vocals, Ole Peder Teigen on keyboards/vocals and Oyvind Eriksen on lead vocals.They established their own Langt Lem Records and their first three releases were all pressed in vinyl format, thus they are quite rare.With each album the band introduced a new member to the public and by the end of the decade they featured also female singer Heidi Santos Larz and Mette Jensen on flute.All members used obscure nicknames like Pornographic Johnson, Eric The Awful etc. and in 2001 they came up with their fourth album ''The rolling court massacre'', the first time an album by the group was also released on CD, introducing another flutist, Boddus Lut.

The album is divided in two long, multi-parted suites, about 25 minutes each, delivering the strong vintage influences of the group, which sounds a lot like legendary acts such as YEZDA URFA, GENTLE GIANT, THE MUFFINS or MAELSTROM. Procosmian Fannyfiddlers play a quirky Progressive Rock with dominant Folk and symphonic influences, although their sound is generally offered as a Fusion of different styles.The music is complex with endless thematic changes and complicated textures, full of impressive interplays, delicate, rural instrumental lines and more grandiose, keyboard-based preludes.This whole charming package is colored by over the top, sarcastic and humourous male and female vocals with a very ZAPPA-esque approach, while another band close to their style is Americans RASCAL REPORTERS.The different movements are nicely connected with dense instrumental passages and sudden breaks, often flirting with a chaotic atmosphere, and the armour of the group includes heavy flute doses, plenty of Mellotron and organ waves as well as electric guitars and mandolins.The female-fronted parts have also a nice and ethereal Scandinavian flavor, quite useful for the flow of an otherwise very complex album.However, the music is at moments fantastic, equal to the Prog league's monster names, with frenetic shifts and technical efficiency, delivered in trully retro-drenched stylings.

Unknown but trully talented group, offering an emphatic and devastating Prog/Symph/Folk Rock with plenty of interesting moments.Requires a respectable number of listenings, but its value is guaranteed at the end.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.