MAELSTROM

MAELSTOM were a five piece band out of Quebec who managed to at least record this album but sadly were unable to get a label to release it. This was recorded in 1976 and thanks to Prog Quebec this finally got an official release 40 years later in 2016. My hats off to the province of Quebec my neighbours to the east who are like a mini Europe over there, or mini France might be more accurate. Anyway they certainly blew up every other province here in Canada in the 70's for creating the music we love. This is another unearthing and I'm sure they will keep discovering these one offs from Quebec, at least let's hope so. We get an emphasis here on marimba, vibes and xylophone which was common with a lot of Quebec prog bands. The guitarist adds sax and lead vocals plus we get drums, bass and keyboards. Vocals are a focus for sure and he's a great singer singing only in French. This is in the Symphonic style.

A 36 1/2 minute album with six tracks is just perfect. The opener gets us warmed up with the energy and vocals. Love that percussion to open and close the song that sounds like a galloping horse. I prefer the mellow passages on this one. Not exactly a favourite but the next track is. That would be "Chanson D'un Troubadour" a proggy track with organ and guitar standing out and I love that bass. "Porte-Bonheur" is another top three opening with vibes and reserved vocals. Love how this sounds. Some cool vocal arrangements on this one and as usual tempo changes are standard. Beautiful sounds 5 minutes in and check out the passion as he sings those wordless melodies late. There's so many amazing moments on this album.

The title track is a little folky with vocals to match. Not big on this one but "Solitude" the next tune is my final top three and absolute favourite. Reserved vocals and acoustic guitar to start some sax here too and pulsating organ. How good is this! Tempo picks up around 1 1/2 minutes in with organ leading the way. So good as the bass throbs. Just a killer track right here. Check out the guitar before 3 minutes. More sax at 5 minutes as we get that theme repeated with the organ pulsating with vocals, bass and drums. "Legende Pour Le Futur" is the 8 1/2 minute closer, the longest one on here. They slow it down at times but the tempo is always shifting. Gotta love that sax and the vibes or marimba or is that xylophone?

Anyway just an impressive release that will no doubt bring a lot of appreciation to those fortunate enough to hear this.