UNIT WAIL

There has been a major disruption of the band at this point with ex-Shu-Niggurath founder Franck Fromy being relegated to a mere two tracks (designated merely as the soloist) on the album with keyboardist and main songwriter Vincent Sicot-Vantalon picking up the vacant guitar slot only not really performing up to Fromy's high energy standards. In addition ÉGARÉS finds the surprise addition of ex-Art Zoyd trumpet player Jean-Pierre Soarez The album features nine tracks that clock in at around 46 minutes and despite the continuation of the basically stylistic approach laid down on "Pangaea Proxima" which showcases the band's unique mix of Shub-Niggurath, Univers Zero, heavy 70s King Crimson varying traces of zeuhl inspired rhythms, ÉGARÉS is a noticeably less impactful album in relation to the excessive wildness the previous three efforts.

Noticeably absent are the excellent guitar contributions of Fromy and while Vantalon can get the job done as far as keeping the rhythmic aspects going, his forte clearly isn't in the guitar playing department. It's clear the band is giving it their all in crafting an album as worthy of soaking in as the previous three but the quality marker has clearly fallen a few notches despite a noble effort to spice things up with more clever moments of psychedelic keyboard events, moments of super funky bass and excursions into where the sonic textures of the trumpet can lead but none of it seems as satisfying as the unabashed noisy skronk-fest that constituted the band's first three albums. While not inherently bad per se, ÉGARÉS very much feels like a band that lost a key member and is grasping at straws in how to fill the void. Unfortunately the void wasn't filled. The album is noticeably tamer with less freneticism and more moments of just straight forward avant-prog moments. The guitar tones that Vantalon implements are also much softer and tame in comparison which makes the album feel like its lost that edge.

OK, i see that perhaps i had it all wrong and that the title ÉGARÉS actually refers to LOST after all as the band truly does sound like it lost some ground and is struggling to regroup. It could be that the band's formulaic run has simply run its course and Fromy lost interest as any particular band sound especially of the instrumental ilk does become stale after a while if considerable effort into reviving and infusing new creative efforts aren't pursued. On ÉGARÉS the members of UNIT WAIL seem like they're all basically performing business as usual and the moral has been upset in a major way. This is definitely the least compelling album of the band's four album run in their canon and more easily understood once it becomes clear of the crack in the chemistry that made UNIT WAIL an extremely well-oiled machine. It's an OK album that is perfectly listenable but in comparison to its predecessors seems like the band has lost its footing in many ways.

Not deviating significantly from the previous releases, BEYOND SPACE EDGES offers some new synthesizer tricks that sound inspired by Ozric Tentacles and bassist Adrian Luna offers a return to some of the Jannick Top inspired zeuhl bass grooves more prevalent on the the debut than the sophomore release. Once again this is dark sinister sounding noisy affair with Franck Fromy offering his best Frippian guitar antics in conjunct with the sporadic drumming frenzies, dueling synthesizer motifs of atmospheric construct and strange keyboard dominated extravaganzas.

As unpredictable as ever UNIT WAIL delivers a never-ending series of musical variations and not necessarily on a theme. This band seems to have mastered the art of random steering through the chaosphere of sound and simply tames it as it haphazardly navigates through it. Somehow these five members always find the exact proper way to simply dive into a groove or a riff or a sustained atmospheric presence and then just decorate around the edges until a bonafide avant-garde composition is born. "Polymorphous The Wise" offers something completely new for the band however with the addition of vocal contributions albeit completely nonsensical and in the context of a knotty avant-prog darkness that represses the gloomiest and darkest chapters of Fromy's Shub-Niggurath days.

While any UNIT WAIL album is a veritable smorgasbord of strange crazy complexities that deliver nightmarish atmospheres, time signature crazy complexities with guitar riffs and fireless bass grooves whizzing any which way along with the percussive paradigms of post-apocalypse pandemonium, BEYOND SPACE EDGES seems just a tad more in the arena of psychedelia as evidenced by the trippy album cover and wailing synthesizer tones and oscillations that seem to lurk around every corner but once let into the forefront offer a freaky cosmic venture into the early world of Krautrock. However like other UNIT WAIL albums, BEYOND SPACE EDGES also engages in the skronky guitar, bass and drum interplay that continues the frenetic display of organized chaos.

With another round of ingenuity wrapped into a ceaseless fire of chaotic bombast, psychedelic escapism and the pulsating pummeling of the senses, UNIT WAIL delivers yet one more installment into its ceaseless explorative nature where seemingly no time signature is left untapped and no contrapuntal weirdness has been not considered. The band's explorative nature is taken even further with the closing "I See Earth" which offers guest cellist Ana Carla Maza to delivers some of the most riveting and nerve-wracking sounds ever crafted on an instrument that is more often known for its stabilizing effect on a song structure. Once again UNIT WAIT delivers a successful batch of bantering little scalawag deviant mutants of sonic creation that will surely please the most adventurous music listeners out there. Demanding as hell and as cuddly as a porcupine, UNIT WAIT dishes it out with gusto!

Once again all the music was written by keyboardist Vincent Sicot-Vantalon but the overall equation has been skewed with a greater variation in keyboard tricks and atmospheres and what seems like a greater effort to offer more extreme variations of avant-prog time signature workouts. Likewise the guitars are set to a heavier riff oriented mode instead of being confined to the odd background instrument that delved into complex contrapuntal weirdness. With an already demanding and varying debut, RETORT shows just how creative this team of imaginative musicians really was to craft a continuous flow of spicy tracks that offer so many differing stylistic approaches.

Featuring 10 tracks at around 43 minutes of playing time, the tracks are generally set to about 4 minutes but each delivers an array of intricate ideas crammed into each and every cadence. Each instrumentalist has his moment to shine whether it be the guitar-drenched opening "Kakdamon" or the bass slapping ferocity of "Numinosity." Noticeably more subdued is Vantalon's keyboard style this time around and even though it permeates every nook and cranny of the band's overall sound, the keys and synths just seem to take less prominence overall with the lion's share of emphasis going towards Fromy who delivers a veritable mix of mid-70s King Crimson and 90s Anekdoten under one roof.

Perhaps another aspect of RETORT that sets it apart from its predecessor is the fact that many tempos have been increased to make this a truly heavy rock experience for the majority of the album rather than the occasional deviation. It's clearly the same band as the chemistry seems locked in with each instrumentalist finding his way throughout the mix. Somewhat less active this time around is drummer Philippe Haxaire whose drumming seems a little bit more kept on the leash. While not completely devoid of throwing out some serious chops here and there, his role seems to have gravitated more towards rhythm keeper. In fact the entire band sound seems just a little more honed this time around.

There aren't a substantial number of differences to distinguish this album from the debut but they are noticeable to an attentive listener. It goes without saying that if either of these albums appeal to your sensibilities then the other will although having a preference is understandable and personally i think i slightly prefer the debut for whatever reason. It seemed a little more free in its approach whereas this one carries a bit more structure. Of course that all depends on tastes but overall the musicianship is basically delving out the same avant-prog splendor only with less traces of zeuhl this time around and more emphasis on Crimsonian guitar heaviness with discordant feedback and all the strange soloing techniques Fromy can muster up. Overall RETORT is a deliciously dark example of deviant rock that suits my tastes quite well and an excellent followup to its already irresistible debut.

The primary difference between Shub-Niggurath and UNIT WAIL is that in this band Vincent Sicot Vantalon wrote all the material and offered his own take on the darkened detached world where zeuhl, avant-prog and heavy prog collide. Delivering more of a comic space rock approach in the context of zeuhl inspired rhythms that commingle with Frippian guitar abstruseness and layers of double keyboards, UNIT WAIL debuted in 2012 with its debut PANGAEA PROXIMA which featured 12 instrumentals that were relatively short instrumental compositions in terms of prog grandiosity with a total playing time of just over 44 minutes.

Having taken the best aspects of Shub-Niggurath and adding a few tricks learned on his short stint with 000 that flirted with the space rock additions, UNIT WAIL delivered a powerhouse of a debut with an excellent array of creative compositions fortified by seasoned veterans dishing out some of the most demanding instrumental interplay that the prog universe can offer. The album finds a brief cameo from James Huggett of Combat Astronomy on the track "Ombos" but basically this quintet really rocks the house with a gloomy mix of synthesized motifs that craft the main frame and allow the intricate bass work, angular guitar moves and jazzy drumming frenzies to drift on from one extremely creative track to the next.

The beauty of UNIT WAIL is they really nailed down their own distinct sound on this debut. While hints of Jannick Top inspired bass and Frippian guitar moves are ubiquitous, the oddball space rock cosmic detachment of the atmospheres keeps everything feeling like a strange horror soundtrack in many ways akin to some of the film scores that Goblin cranked out in the 1970s only not in terms of musical delivery but rather the overall emotional pull into that head space. The interesting differentials in the instrumentation is quite unique with busy keyboards dancing with funk inspired bass grooves while the guitar slinks around on its own timeline in any way it chooses like an avant-garde performer given license to exercise true unbridled musical freedom. Always on top of his game is drummer Philippe Haxaire whose fiery performances don't offer a lot of percussive sounds exactly but rather creative excesses within a limited number of skins to pound.

The dueling synthesizers offer the most diversity which sometimes dominate in the forefront and other times sort of just take a back seat to the whizzing virtuosity of the other members to strut their chops. Despite the virtuosity around every corner, UNIT WAIL is not just a technical circus of prog musicians impressing with their chops of steel but rather the compositions deliver an impending gloom and doom in a more cosmic manner as opposed to some of the 80s bands that delivered a depressive behind the occult scenes sort of approach. This is a type of wild and uncommercial music that will totally to appeal to those drawn to the dark and surreal album cover art.

It's otherworldly as if it emerged from some planet that self-destructed leaving a society only to exist in ruins. Keep in mind i'm reviewing the 2016 remastered version of PANGAEA PROXIMA therefore i've never encountered the original 2012 edition which presumably was of a shoddier production value. It's the music what counts and this is so up my alley. UNIT WAIL is one of the most interesting zeuhl / avant-prog / heavy prog acts of the modern era for sure. The creative collaboration between Fromy and Sicot Vantalon seems to be the absolute perfect chemistry for this creative ooze of oddball music. So far the band has released four albums. I hope they keep doing so.

It really isn't until the final two tracks which happen to be the longest ones on here that I feel the band returns to more of that sound that I like. A lot of the music is dark and metallic you could say and while the trumpet does add quite a bit I just wasn't that impressed overall. A lot of atmosphere here and I like the electric piano when they use it. Let's look at the two I like beginning with "Le Sas" at 7 1/2 minutes. A drum intro gives way quickly to guitar, bass and more. It calms right down around a minute in but it's very cool sounding with the drums and atmosphere. It turns experimental then a change as drums and guitar take over. Electric piano replaces the guitar but the guitar is back quickly. Nice bass here and I like when they amp it up around 5 1/2 minutes.

"Le Monde D'en Dessous" ends it at 8 1/2 minutes and my favourite song on here. Fromy opens with his inventive guitar leads before it settles in with lots going on. It's heavier after 2 minutes then trumpet arrives before 3 1/2 minutes. It kicks in again at 5 1/2 minutes plus the tempo picks up and this continues for the next 3 minutes to the end and it's my favourite section on the album.

I highly recommend "Retort" my favourite from this band where Franck does all the guitar work. The debut is next with a bit of a Zeuhl flavour followed by "Beyond Space Edges" then this one.

1. "Kakodeamon" (3:40) great opener! What a pace! Let's me know how these guys have grown: far more cohesive King Crimson-influenced Zeuhl. A top three song. (9/10)

2. "Peregrinatio" (4:11) kind of a continuation and variation on the opener with more synth and lead guitar inputs and more prominent "lead" bass. Mellotron is much more prominent--and ubiquitous--on these songs than on Pangaea Proxima. (8.5/10)

3. "Tertium Comparationis" (3:33) It's like that bass is talking to us! Electronica synth and Fripptonian guitars. After 90 seconds there is an unexpected quieting while TOBY DRIVER-like effected lead guitar plays some notes in the background. Then Mellotrons drench the scape as we return to the opening weave. Interesting. Perhaps this is where Toby got some of his impetus for turning back to 1980s techno-soundscapes. (8.5/10)

4. "Concupiscentia Effrenata" (3:28) sounds like a mix between OZRIC TENTACLES and some of jazz-rock fusion's more adventurous keyboard explorers (Herbie Hancock, Jan Hammer, Chick Corea, Edgar Winter, Moogy Klingman). Very jazzy. A top three song for me. (8.75/10)

5. "PumaPunku" (5:35) very CRIMSON-like. My other top three song. (9/10)

6. "Numinosity" (4:03) surprisingly sedate and straightforward (for a King Crimson-inspired song). (8.25/10)

7. "Agathodeamon" (4:07) love the 1970s-like harpsichord hits! Very cinematic with it's long start-n-stop first half and brief passages into fifth gear--like a car chase scene. (8.5/10)

8. "Coincidentia Oppositorum" (3:47) (8/10)

9. "Fixatio" (4:20) I still get a kick out this band's use of the "harpsichord" sound--especially when the music turns so dark and CRIMSON-like as it does here. Then there's the Jaco Pastorius tribute in the middle. (8.25/10)

10. "Aqua Permanens" (6:46) more harpsichord! More cerebral, methodic and NIL-like in its Zeuhlishness. I like the Jaco display in the middle of this one much more than on the previous song. (13/15)

Total Time 43:07

I don't know why, but bass and drummer Adrain Luna and Philippe Haxaire, respectively, are much more tame in this collection of songs than on the band's debut. As a matter of fact, the entire album's collection of music seems more sedate and controlled (and Mellotron-dominated) than the display of wild on-the-edge reckless abandon that Pangaea Proxima put forth. It's as if the band recorded the songs of Retort after the one night of wild amphetamine abuse explored on Pangaea Proxima.

I really have trouble rating this next to its predecessor as they are two completely different animals, wild and tamed--and yet only one year apart!

B/four stars; another very nice contribution to the 21st Century Zeuhl renaissance and a nice show of growth and maturity from this energetic, creative band. Highly recommended for lovers of Zeuhl and 2nd incarnation King Crimson (1972-5).

Line-up / Musicians: - Franck William Fromy / guitar - Philippe Haxaire / drums - Adrian Luna / bass - Vincent Sicot Vantalon / keyboards - Emmanuel Pothier / synthesizers

1. "Mesozoïc Cities" (3:22) more like Red-era King Crimson! They've got that polyrhythmic thing going on (though I'm not sure it always works). (8.5/10)

2. "Ombos" (3:39) paced a little more humanely to allow for proper brain processing, this one has some melody! (8.5/10)

3. "Télété" (2:41) drum and bass on display! Interesting use of harpsichord sound and 'tron! (4.25/5)

4. "Sargasso Sea" (4:03) atmospheric effects joined by TOE-like drums, ominous electric guitar strokes and Mellotron. (8.75/10)

5. "Outerspace" (4:57) almost European techno-dance music! Very creative synths, guitars, and bass. Great drumming--except it almost doesn't fit the mood of the rest of the musicians. (8.25/10)

6. "Humanoïd Fish From Encelade" (2:23) a very bizarre spliced-feeling purveyed by unusual sounds created by bass, guitars, and keys all played over the usual frenzied drumming. (4/5)

7. "Home of Nowhere" (4:31) slow and menacing, like a damaging walk through Tokyo by Godzilla. Awful bass solo in the fourth minute! Now this one could've used the drummer's usual wild drumming! (8/10)

8. "Magnétostriction" (2:38) angular guitar soloing over relatively slow and stable music. (4/5)

9. "Holocene Extinction" (3:35) The innovative bass sound on this catchy song is almost MICK KARN-like. (8.75/10)

10. "Shambhala" (5:15) the interplay of the Outer Limits-like lead synth sound and the wild MICK KARN-like bass sound and play definitely incurs smiles (and is impressively creative!). (8.5/10)

11. "Three Eyes" (2:23) more angular guitar soloing over a rather wide range of styles and paces (including prominent piano presence) makes for quite a multiple personality disorder. (4.25/5)

12. "Subdeath" (4:43) it does sound funereal--as if one were marching alongside Charon on one's entry into Hades. Nice use of demonic male voice in narration. (8.25/10)

Total Time 44:10

Very impressive musicianship throughout--especially from the drummer and bass player though the keyboard maestroes and guitarist are very creative. The problem comes from the gradual disconnect that I hear and feel between the music being cast by everybody except the drummer (which is very creative and spacey) and the homogeneity of the drummer's very aggressive sound and style.

B/four stars; an impressive debut and highly recommended listen for any prog lover--especially if you're into 1. the Red-era King Crimson style and sound palette, 2. into frenetic drum-centric music, or 3. very creative sound-making.

A 12 tracks release which in themselves contain mini-structures which can turn loose to recover themselves in different creative ways. So let me mention that this ways can turn from syncopated guitar Rock to Electronic Jazz tainted with Prog Electronic details and slapping or deep bottom basses marching along a frantic but masterfully unobtrusive drumming.

As told the use of minor chords and irreverent musical solutions impeccably performed exalt its obscure songwriting directions which of course are, if taggings permitted, a perfect trip between the Rock in Opposition, Avant Garde and Zeuhl sub-genres, all surprisingly tied and wrapped, most of the times, with the raunchiest and mostly undercovered inventive electric guitar I've have heard for a while. At close distance this effort's real deal is how well each member brings their best not only performance wise but amazingly by contributing in its music structures composition.

Expect a dark colored thrill, expect chaotic but controlled fun and mostly let yourself go!

****4 "too irreverent to praise for too good to ignore" PA stars

The lavish CD booklet reveals, by way of Martin Peronard's surreal and bent illustrations, a baffling story of space travel that the music presents, and with that burst of colour on the front cover, it shouldn't be surprising to find Unit Wail's most colourful release to date. The opening few seconds of `Imminent Take-Off', with its tease of Fromy's droning guitars and ambient synth trickles soon gives way to eerie and Mellotron moodiness, electric piano tip-toes and thick murky upfront bass throughout the mysterious and edgy `Niggurat on the Moon'. `Through the Wormhole' is an up-tempo thrash of Adrian Luna's chunky bass constantly leaping forwards and retreating back to the shadows, Phillipe Haxaire's skittering drums, rippling electronics and grungy guitar tantrums, the 'Tron taking on a maddening infernal evilness. Equally lightly psychedelic, jazzy and even gothic, `Psycho-Active Atmosphere' is a ghoulish delight that shimmers with pulsing and playful devilish bass and guitars that jangle with an 80's Crimson sheen, and `Deep Inside Megalopolis' towers with a gothic symphonic imposing grandness, mud-thick guitars and mucky bass delivering filthy grooves amongst phasing synth skies.

The album takes an interesting detour with the more genuinely Zeuhl-styled `Polymorphus the Wise', a creeping gothic nightmare with a twisted, mock-operatic guttural male wordless vocal from guest Sam Benzo slithering through murmuring stuttering bass convulsions and strangled guitars. `Crash on Planet X' plods with menacing danger, and the spacey `Terelithic Spaceship' bristles with ballistic bass eruptions alongside Emmanuel Sicot-Vantalon's shimmering synths and even some welcome (if fleeting) lighter themes. One of the longer pieces at over six minutes means `D.N.A.A.T.M' offers more of a sustained mood, moving back and forth between careful unearthly ruminations and wild manic outbursts, and it's mix of building and crashing drums, buzzing electronics, and guitar and bass distortion is very disorientating and satisfying, nice creeping organ too! `Engage Mutation' is simply a killer rock-out that proves quite accessible, and the disc closes on a further lengthier exploration, `I See Earth' with guest Ana Carla Maza's groaning cello and scratchy demented violin, a vacuum of distortion, electronic trickles and unnerving harpsichord. It's another interesting diversion that oddly doesn't really build to a suitably exciting climax, but hopefully the band continues to explore sounds like this on future albums.

This is a very solid and frequently thrilling new work from Unit Wail, with endless energy and constant manic tearing instrumental displays, and Adrian Luna's bass playing is easily some of the absolute best to appear on a progressive-related release in 2015. Comparing it to their previous albums reveals a bit of repetition and a feeling of `same-old' in just a few stretches, even if it still all sounds satisfyingly wicked and shows great variety overall. Perhaps the band could soon explore longer, drawn-out pieces more often and opposed to so many blasting little fragments that come and go in an instant (the majority of the tracks here run just over the three minute mark)? But `Beyond Space Edges' is a successful crossover of everything from Zeuhl, avant-garde, goth and psych, Mellotron freaks will love the orgasm of 'Tron dripping over every inch of the disc, and it proves a very addictive and hypnotic album that crawls under your skin and begs to be played over and over!

Four stars.

"Imminent Take-Off" has plenty of atmosphere to start then it kicks into gear just before a minute. "Ziggurat On The Moon" has a haunting mellotron intro as other sounds start to come and go. Things start to pick up but there's still lots of mellotron as the drums, bass and guitar impress. Some angular guitar lines 3 1/2 minutes in then the bass, drums and mellotron lead to the end. "Through The Wormhole" features lots of complexity as they start and stop on a dime. A change before 2 minutes as the mellotron rolls in. The tempo picks up a minute later as that complexity returns. "Psycho-Active Atmosphere" has lots of intricate sounds coming and going as the mellotron sweeps in and out. Sounds echo at times and check out the bass before 2 1/2 minutes. "Deep Inside Megalopolis" has some nice drum and guitar expressions. Some crazy electronics too at times. It's intense after 3 minutes.

"Polymorphus The Wise" has more of that high pitched guitar sounds as the bass and drums support. This is dark and ominous. Some strange vocal expressions before 2 1/2 minutes. When the vocals stop the mellotron and guitar offer a spacey soundscape. "Crash On Planet X" features more treated guitar, random drum patterns, mellotron and more. "Teralithic Spaceship" is my favourite. I really like the mellotron along with the keys and that dark sound. Some killer guitar work follows then back to that earlier sound. "D.N.A.A.T.M." has a cool sounding soundscape before it kicks into gear before 2 minutes. The guitar is so technical later on. "Engage Mutation" has some killer drumming and guitar work as the mellotron comes and goes. "I See Earth" has cello early on and it's quite experimental. It picks up before 2 minutes. Some nice bass before 4 1/2 minutes with spacey sounds and more cello later.

I still feel that "Retort" is their best followed by the debut then "Beyond Space Edges" which for my tastes just doesn't measure up to their other two recordings.