It's a 4.5 star for me for the latest Nuovo Era offering. Two tracks at around 36 minutes and 16 minutes,so plenty of time for the band to showcase their talent. The title track at 36 minutes certainly doesn't feel like it. The 20,000 Leagues theme enables some watery effects - a bit less than Vangelis Oceanic! - to demonstrate the theme of the piece. Mellotron is omnipresent - always a good thing ! - and vocals are in Italian,though the piece is mostly instrumental. There are various mood changes throughout,but multiple keyboards lead - one synth effect I'm not entirely keen on ( starts the track and appears now and again) The playing is superb -some hints of Hackett,Gracious ( Heaven) , King Crimson ( finale) and other classic RPI bands. The mellotron is marvellous and elevates the piece when used. The 16 minute track is more aggressive and gives the lead guitar more room. Another enjoyable track. It will probably be in top 10 albums of the year for me

What is interesting about early Black Sabbath is the progression within their first three albums, with the debut introducing that doomy, murky and menacing sound, 'Paranoid' being the more straightforward, tight and aggressive heavy metal offering, while 'Master of Reality' from 1971 captures that delightful evolution of the band into what could be called heavy-psych stoner-doom rock, or the perfect combination of all of their influences. And listening to this incredible album, one necessarily contemplates its inherent qualities - Sabbath's third studio album might as well be their heaviest work ever, replete with dirty, gnarly riffs, a vehement rhythm section and a flawless vocal performance from Ozzy. Of course, both Iommi and Butler downtuned their instruments for this album, achieving a stark, gritty heaviness that oozes all the doom and gloom you might desire on a Sabbath album. This project is another immensely influential record from the early 70s that undeniably informed generations of doom, stoner, sludge and heavy metal bands to come.

And not only this, but 'Master of Reality' happens to be the shortest studio offering from the band - with more time on their hands following their tour of 'Paranoid', a heftier budget and the experience of two massive studio albums prior to this one, it is no surprise that this album is as neat and consistent as it is. Containing just six songs proper and two shorter instrumentals, one might marvel at how substantial 'Master of Reality' is - the guitar work of Iommi is brilliant and here he delivers some of the most relentless licks and most unexpected twists of the entire Black Sabbath catalogue, simply neat and to-the-point playing that is delightful to listen to. Butler is frenetic on this album, his bass tone is so gnarly, infectious and prominent - exactly what you need from a metal album - and these two instrumentalists really seem to have constructed a relentless, sludgy sound that soon enough became so impactful for the genre. The record is exuberant as it is exploratory and unpredictable. Hard-hitting numbers like 'Sweet Leaf', 'Children of the Grave', and 'Into the Void' are contrasted by the oozing malevolence of mellower songs like 'Solitude' and the Iommi piece 'Orchid' (which is excellent, by the way). Then we have the more experimental tracks like 'After Forever' or 'Lord of This World', with the band trying out some different tricks. In a word, everything about 'Master of Reality' is remarkable - the quality of the material on here, the sound and the production, the songwriting and the overall direction of the album - it is the perfect Sabbath collection.

Review Nº 899

Camel is a British progressive rock band that was formed in Guildford, Surrey. The band was born in 1971 when former The Brew members Andrew Latimer (guitar), Andy Ward (drums) and Doug Ferguson (bass) recruited Peter Bardens (keyboards). After an initial performance to fulfil a deal under the name On, they changed their name to Camel and held their first performance on December 4th at the Waltham Forest Technical College in London. Camel is considered one of the founders and one of the best and most influential bands of the progressive rock movement, in the 70's. They're one of the few pioneer progressive rock bands that are still in activity nowadays and that practically never ceased their activity. Camel had three phases, their golden era in the 70's, their phase in the 80's and their reborn phase in the 90's.

"On The Road 1982" is the fifth live album of Camel and was released in 1994. This is another official live bootleg from Camel. It was recorded during their 10th Anniversary Live Tour on 13th June 1982 at Congressgibau, in Den Haag, Holland. As Andrew Latimer says on the sleeve notes, this 10th Anniversary live show was recorded for broadcast by a Dutch radio station but unfortunately the original tape was lost. Although and fortunately, their sound engineer taped their live performance through the mixing desk. It brought to the day light that recording, doing a true remarkable job.

The line up of "On The Road 1982" is Andrew Latimer (vocals and guitar), Andy Dalby (guitar), Chris Rainbow (vocals, keyboards and 12 string guitar), Kit Watkins (keyboards), David Paton (vocals and bass guitar) and Stuart Tosh (backing vocals and drums).

"On The Road 1982" is a live album of Camel that has fourteen tracks. The first track "Sasquatch" was originally released on their ninth studio album "The Single Factor". The second track "Highways Of The Sun" was originally released on their fifth studio album "Rain Dances". The third track "Hymn To Her" was originally released on their seventh studio album "I Can See Your House From Here". The fourth track "Neon Magic" was also originally released on "I Can See Your House From Here". The fifth track "You Are The One" was also originally released on "The Single Factor". The sixth track "Drafted" was originally released on their eighth studio album "Nude". The seventh track "Lies" was also originally released on "Nude". The eighth track "Captured" was also originally released on "Nude". The ninth track "A Hearts Desire/End Peace" was also originally released on "The Single Factor". The tenth track "Heroes" was also originally released on "The Single Factor". The eleventh track "Who We Are" was also originally released on "I Can See Your House From Here". The twelfth track "Manic" was also originally released on "The Single Factor". The thirteenth track "Wait" was also originally released on "I Can See Your House From Here". The fourteenth and last track "Never Let Go" was originally released on their first eponymous debut studio album "Camel".

Many consider the early 80's to have been the darkest Camel's hour, in which I include myself. Yet, there are some good works of the band and this live show still proves that they had plenty to offer yet in the live arena. Perhaps the biggest reason for this official bootleg success is the phenomenal keyboard performance of Kit Watkins, known by many as the leader of Happy The Man in the late 70's. Most notable are his solos on "Captured", "Wait" and "Hymn To Her". With no less than four songs from "I Can See Your House From Here", fans of that album will be pleased to finally hear some of the best tracks represented here. Latimer is his usual self, always playing lead melody lines and embellishing them with his patented touch. This is why Camel diehard fans will want this release. But, they will also have to suffer through Rainbow's strained and nasally vocals. Bassist Paton and drummer Tosh perform adequately, but nothing noteworthy.

Conclusion: Again we are in presence of another official live bootleg from Camel. Camel is one of the bands with more live bootlegs. "Camel On The Road 1972", "Camel On The Road 1982", "On The Road 1981", "Camel 73 ? 75 Gods Of Light" and "The Paris Collection" are all live bootleg albums. But, what impresses me most is its quality. All have high quality for bootleg albums. "On The Road 1982" is generally considered the weakest live album of Camel. Still, "On The Road 1982" is a good live album, with a good sound quality and a very professional live performance. It has also an interesting and honest choice of songs from the repertoire of the band, for an album recorded in the 80's. I can see some similarities between "The Single Factor" and this live album. Both are considered the weakest albums released by the band, but both are, in my humble opinion, two good albums. Camel doesn't have weak albums. Even their albums released in the 80's are good. Unlike many other bands, their albums from the 80's are good or even better than many others released at the same time. Of course, the songs chosen for this live show aren't the best representatives of their musical career. Almost all the songs, nine, were taken from their two less good studio albums, "I Can See Your House From Here" and "The Single Factor". But, "On The Road 1982" has quality enough to be considered a good live album.

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)

Here Ian is leading and orchestrating a rather animated expanded lineup of musicians through some pretty dynamic and experimental music.

1. "Origins" (2:56) opens like another experiment with electric technology noises (and bass clarinet), but then turns kind of Canterbury/avant garde with the joinder of NORTHETTES-like vocalist Norma Winstone singing her wordless vocalese track counter to the rest of the weave's clarinet, bass, electric piano, percussion, trumpet blasts, and saxophone. Then there is the solo drum (tom-toms) finish. Interesting but I'm certainly glad this is not the direction Ian has chosen for the whole album. (4.375/5) 2. "Dance" (8:17) thought the bass and drums remain fixed in the current of funkified Jazz-Rock Fusion, the rest of this song's musicianship (and, especially, melody-selection) shows drifting over into the less-pleasing and more harmonic- and mathematical world of Avant Garde music. It's still a great song, it just doesn't have the warm, friendly melodies that we've become spoiled by in the radio-friendly pop world. (18.5/20)

3. "Ariadne" (7:47) opens with a prolonged Hohner electric piano introductory section from Gordon Beck: over three minutes worth! What an odd-sounding instrument was the Hohner! Finally, at the very end of the third minute, Gordon directs his keyboard play into establishing a chord progression that the rest of the band (drum and bass) can join to launch the fabric over which the winsome voice of Norma Winstone can sing. Norma has a voice and style that seems to meld Dusty Springfield and Barbara Gaskin together (though the most fitting doppleganger to my ears is KOOP's 2003 guest vocalist, Yukimi Nagano). There is a lot of feeling of bluesy lounge music coming from Gordon Beck's keys, which feels dated to me, but the vocals elevate the song to a classier level. (13.25/15)

4. "Arena Part 1" (1:42) free jazz from Ian, Gordon, and Brian. (4.25/5) 5. "Arena Part 2" (5:13) rising out of the chaos of "Part 1" comes a sunrise of insidious power as Kenny Wheeler, Norma Winstone, Tony Coe, two drummers plus Trevor Tomkins, Paddy Kingsland and Roy Babbington join in. I like this! The song then closes with 45 seconds of more-organized "chaos" from the opening trio. (9.25/10)

6. "Exultation" (6:01) trumpet and two saxes lead the way over a thick rhythm section and Norma Winstone's constant wordless vocalese woven thickly into one. In the third minute David MacRae gets the first real solo on a very "dirty" Fender Rhodes over a funky groove that eventually melts away into something a little more chaotic in the fourth minute before reconstituting into a pretty awesome groove for the fifth minute. Dave's Rhodes rampage continues while the two drummers duke it out beneath (which eventually gets cut off by the bleed into the next song). Weirdly wonderful. (9/10)

7. "Naxos" (12:17) pensive and disciplined with a lot of potential energy being pent up like the wild animals that populate Miles Davis studio recording sessions. As a matter of fact, the similarities of this song to the musics that came out of those 1969 sessions of Miles' are quite striking. It seems as if the entire cast is on the prowl, even Norma: the two drummers and bass seem particularly eery in their skulkiness, while keys players bounce and pounce around and the horn players run sometimes frantic though youthful circles around one another like playful lion cubs. Overall, there is not a lot of meat or grist here, just a lot of pent up energy seeping away, never really finding satisfaction or resolution to their hunger-rooted hunt. I do, however, give Ian and crew big credit for establishing and maintaining a mood with far greater interest and allure than any of those Miles albums that Teo Macero created. Also, big praise to Norma Winstone for holding her own while prowling around with the trumpets! (22.5/25)

Total Time 44:13

There is definitely a new, angular, less-Western, pop-oriented component to the music on this album than on Ian's previous releases. It's as if he's lifted his foot that was imbedded in the fecund world of cute 1960s jazz-pop melodies and moved it into a boggy turf of Avant Garde chromaticism while at the same time loosing his collaborators into greater freedoms for individual expression (within the parameters of his direction, of course).

A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of experimental Jazz-Rock Fusion. I love how Ian is still forming, pushing, experimenting: he has yet to settle into a groove, yet to allow himself or his music to become pigeon-holed.

— First review of this album —

This is a masterpiece. Meticulously crafted, with a strong voice, gorgeous, uplifting and an immensely satisfying start to finish journey. It is rich in faith base, Celtic and Progressive Rock. It's an album I can't wait to hear again and again for everything from nuances to jaw dropping explosions. I can't remember being so excited by an album. I was fortunate to hear samples of the work in progress, for instance the immense layering of Sally Minnear's vocals. The elements all combine into a symphony of sounds that (at any rate my) ears 'believe', as I say sometimes gobsmacked. Part of the masterpiece is the variation in styles throughout the work. Oh there's a heavenly classical track, Dave to me is giving me Vaughan Williams as he has in the past, but watch out there's more to that track. A great mix of long and short, each track strong, each with it's own story, and an overarching theme that leaves you pondering and searching within. I personally don't know of an album so rich in Scottish and Irish Gaelic. Stellar contributions from all members who have given their best to this album, vocals, bass, acoustic instruments, blown instruments, drums and percussion .... and Dave soars with stringed instruments and keys through it all. This is a very special - again I say - meticulously crafted - concept album. I hope many get to enjoy it

It's 2025 and HAPPY FAMILY are back! I first became aware of this four piece powerhouse out of Japan in the summer of 2007. I picked up both of their 90's records and was immediately drawn to that intense angular guitar, monster bass lines and upfront drumming. Funny that it's the keyboards this time that made me take notice. The band recently mentioned that after that European tour for that comeback album released in 2014 called "Minimal Gods" they were burnt out.

It took an offer from Cuneiform Records boss Steve Feigenbaum to participate in Cuneiform's 40th anniversary celebrations to ignite that spark. The spark became "4037" a 21plus minute Ep with four tracks all written by a different band member. The "40" stands for Cuneiform Records 40th anniversary, while the "37" is how many years that HAPPY FAMILY have been in existence. I do understand that there is a full length album on the way, but this small package is dynamite. Very heavy and bass led for the most part. And you angular guitar fans will be happy. I mentioned earlier the keyboards, and the electric piano on here is great! Some organ as well but plenty of the electric piano.

I'll be honest that opening keyboard melody on "Pygmalion" that is repeated does not sound like HAPPY FAMILY. Thankfully I had nothing to worry about but this is different. Electric piano a minute in goes off. So much depth and power until that spacey calm 2 minutes in that is joined by angular guitar lines. Piano ends it. "Hypocrisy" was written by the bass player and that is no surprise once you hear this. Those first 2 minutes are incredible then the guitar lights it up followed by the keyboards. Crushing bass throughout.

"The Flying Man" was written by the keyboardist. And we get some stomping piano early along with bass. Angular sounds then a calm with piano leading. It kicks in hard before 4 minutes before turning angular again. "Itchu" is the drummer's track and the most experimental. Gotta love the opening bass line. And later before 1 1/2 minutes. Keyboards lead for a while and the drumming is off the wall. A difficult avant sounding piece.

This is such a consistent band. Every recording they have put out is of the highest quality. Whether you like them or not is another story, but here's another one that keeps up their standards. A solid 4 stars.

IQ return with Dominion six years after 2019's Resistance? a new album from this legendary band is always a special event.

How does Dominion compare with some of their classic albums such as Ever, Dark Matter or The Road Of Bones? Has the wait been worth it? The answer to that is an astounding yes.

This new album definitely expands upon the hard-hitting and melodramatic neo-progressive style developed on their previous two releases, The Road Of Bones and Resistance.

The album title and some of its lyrical themes are inspired by the 1933 poem "And death shall have no dominion" by Welsh poet Dylan Thomas. Peter Nicholls shared that "Dominion" is about making the best use of the time we have to create the best possible life.

The album starts with the 22 and 1/2 minute "The Unknown Door" which, like any IQ epic, doesn't feel like it's that long. It has atmosphere, melody and weight. It's followed by the shortest track "One of Us." Which is a lovely acoustic guitar-driven ballad a relationship gone wrong. Holmes' acoustic work is reminiscent of Jimmy Page.

The song that follows, "No Dominion", is extraordinary. My favourite track on the album, this incredible six minute song has remarkable keyboards by Neil Durant and is blessed by a brilliant Mike Holmes guitar solo. I feel that a more definite climax would have suited the song better In every other respect, this song is just wonderful.

The eerie "Far From Here" follows and is a masterclass in balancing obscurity and beauty. The song's complex structure and awkward changes feel both unexpected and perfectly in place. The lyrical content is expertly woven, exploring themes of loss and longing.

Never Land, The last song on the album deals with loss. Peter Nicholls appears to be emphasising the importance of taking control of our lives wherever and however we can. Words to live by indeed.

With Dominion, IQ once again proves why they remain one of progressive rock's most vital forces. As with any masterpiece this will take repeated listens to appreciate.

Recommended tracks: One Of Us, No Dominion & Never Land.

The War Of Tarkus

Emerson, Lake & Palmer had all the media attention after their bombastic self-titled debut. The band found themselves with everything in their favor: the hit Lucky Man was one of the most listened-to songs in the U.S. and much of the world, and the album was a surprising commercial success for such non-mainstream music. With momentum on their side, the band seized the opportunity to do something more ambitious. With carte blanche from the label, they began working on something bigger, something conceptual: an idea by Greg Lake and Keith Emerson the story of the iconoclast Tarkus, an armadillo-tank hybrid who battles his nemesis, the Manticore. Defeated, Tarkus evolves into his aquatic form, Aquatarkus, and returns to conquer. The concept explores the futility of conflict, all expressed through a 20-minute piece that became the centerpiece of the album.

The title track was built around a 10/8 rhythm Palmer improvised backstage. Emerson composed the suite in less than a week at his London flat. After another six days of rehearsal, the band recorded it. The piece includes a brief motif from Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3 and features a Moog "snorkel" effect in "Aquatarkus," inspired by Emerson's passion for scuba diving.

Side two features six unrelated songs. Jeremy Bender channels honky-tonk and Stephen Foster, while "Bitches Crystal" blends 6/8 boogie-woogie with Brubeck-style jazz. The Only Way (Hymn) includes themes by Bach and controversial lyrics recorded on a pipe organ at St. Mark's Church in London using a mobile studio. It's followed by the contemplative "Infinite Space (Conclusion)," a piano-driven piece meant to contrast the intensity of its predecessor.

Led Zeppelin loosely inspired A Time and a Place, which was recorded in just a few takes and has a heavier, more direct feel. Are You Ready, Eddy? was an impromptu jam recorded in one take to celebrate completing Tarkus, drawing inspiration from Bobby Troup's "The Girl Can't Help It." The title refers to engineer Eddy Offord, and the track includes playful spoken lines like Palmer mimicking a sandwich shop worker with a Greek-Cockney accent which baffled many American fans.

Two outtakes were left off the original album. Oh My Father, an emotional acoustic ballad by Lake about the loss of his father, was withheld for being too personal, though it appeared on the 2012 reissue. Another track, Just a Dream, was recorded during a session without Emerson and Palmer. It featured Lake on piano alongside Gary and Tris Margetts of Spontaneous Combustion, and offered a more introspective tone that could have balanced the album's dense, keyboard-driven style.

The album was well received?though not as widely as their debut?but it reached number one in both Italy and the UK. Many bands across Europe found inspiration in ELP's bold fusion of classical music and hard rock, drawn to the sheer virtuosity of its members. The striking cover art was created by Scottish illustrator William Neal, who also designed a comic-style gatefold that visually narrates the Tarkus story. The eleven-panel sequence begins with a volcanic eruption, from which Tarkus hatches, and follows his battles against cybernetic foes, culminating in a dramatic fight with the Manticore, who wounds him and sends him bleeding into a river. Eddie Offord's production is impeccable, and the mix remains one of the technical highlights of ELP's career.

1971 was undoubtedly the year of Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Not only did they release Tarkus, but also the ambitious live album Pictures at an Exhibition. While Tarkus was a triumph, it left the label uneasy?there was no new Lucky Man. That pressure strained the band's relationship with the label and pushed them to seek greater independence. Still, with Tarkus, they delivered another masterpiece, solidifying their place as the most important progressive rock band of that moment.

The musician now known as the drummer for Wayne Shorter/Weather Report and Roy Ayers and McCoy Tyner has an abundance of energy and creative ideas needing expression. This is the first of many albums Al would produce as a composer and bandleader.

1. "The Essence Of Mystery" (4:55) a most excellent demonstration of Third Wave, "peak era" Jazz-Rock Fusion with understated yet-highly proficient and sophisticated performances from everybody involved; nobody tries to outshine or outdo the others, everybody seems in complete synchrony--which I love. A top three song. (9.5/10)

2. "Funky Finger" (3:40) straying into the territory of vocal funk à la Earth Wind & Fire, Al feels the need to do his Vernon White-Philip Bailey funk vocals over some great funk music. I can't remember Buster Williams' bass being made to sound this funky before (Buster like to remain loyal to his upright double bass) so it must be Wilbur Bascomb, Jr. (8.875/10)

3. "Crying Angels" (5:23) now straying fully into the swampy forest of Herbie Hancock's Mwandishi territory, Fender Rhodes and heavily-reverbed soprano sax notes float above the grounding hits of timpani and bass for the first 80 seconds of this. Then the band shifts into a wonderfully seductive funk track over which Buddy Terry's sax continues to explore Wayne Shorter territory as Larry Willis' rich electric piano and Al's drums do their best job of channeling the funk of Billy C. I love Al's tabla and percussion work in the side tracks: as simple as they are, they add a lot to the rhythm track and hypnotic mood set by the song. (9/10)

4. "Why Can't We Make It" (3:27) here Al is trying to channel some of his 1960s pop influences, most notably, Sly And The Family Stone, as well as (formerly "Little") Stevie Wonder--coming across as quite similar to a sound that Narada Michael Walden would pick up and follow for the second half of the 1970s. (8.75/10)

5. "Macrobian" (5:14) on this song it feels as if Al is funneling in his influences and memories from recent work with pianist McCoy Tyner as well as some of the synthesizer and mood explorations of Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, and Lonnie Liston Smith. Nice tune. (8.875/10)

6. "Spring Water" (6:27) taking the express avenue toward Smooth Jazz, here Al lets Larry and Buddy steer the music into what sounds more like the music of Jay Beckenstein's Spyro Gyra. Al's drum and percussion play is rather rudimentary and straightforward. The most enjoyable instruments for me are Larry Fender Rhodes and Wilbur's bass. (8.667/10)

7. "Sunflower" (4:27) steering the ship into a more Latin territory never seems to go wrong for any aspiring crossover or fusion artist, and it works here for Al and crew. Though Al's play on the percussion tracks is, once again, rather rudimentary, it works exceedingly well within the weave of the rhythm tracks. Wilbur's electric bass and Larry's "dirty" electric piano are both at their peak both expressively and for elevating the whole group sound. As a matter of fact, this might be the peak song on the album. Definitely a top three song for me. (9.5/10)

8. "Thank You Lord" (4:02) a fairly mellow, almost Smooth Jazz piece with simple vocal-like lead melody coming from Buddy's soprano sax over laid back and mellow funk-lite rhythm track. Not boring but nothing really new or special here, just conmemorative. (8.75/10)

9. "Antonia" (4:40) a high speed vamp over and within which Al and his compatriots take turns powering along some interesting lines at impressive speeds--especially Al--on multiple instruments. (9/10)

Total Time 42:15

Never one very impressed with Alphonse Mouzon's skill or compositional prowess, I do, in fact, like the overall feel of this album. The flamboyance is not all in his fashion/clothing sense.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic "Second Wave" Jazz-Rock Fusion.

There are artists that can become not just occasional lovers but true long-term partners, proving the value of consistently extolling the virtues that can exist between musician and fan. One cannot exist without the other, a truism maintained since the first petroglyphs were carved in subterranean caves. So, it is and has been since my 2016 encounter with the debut ESP project "Invisible Din" that featured the thunderous drumming exploits of Mark Brzezicki (one of the UK's primo percussors). I was immediately and thoroughly seduced there and then, by the impeccable melodies and the rhythmic cyclones within the grooves. On the sophomore (and still my favorite)"22 Layers of Sunlight" , the duo led by multi-instrumentalist Tony Lowe added the angelic voice of Peter Coyle whose shimmering voice sealed my fate. There and then, again. Mark did leave after this sultry recording, and Peter came in for Anarchic Curves (2022), though six more deliriously consistent releases continue to adorn my collection, with 2024's "Silver Waves -Astral Dreams" winning my album of the year award. Both Brzezicki and Coyle are back to the fold, and all can rejoice at our continued good fortune. Peter returned on Anarchic Curves (2022), and both collaborators are in fine form here.

What makes this band unique is Tony's talent in imagining gargantuan melodies in his fertile mind and then producing, arranging and playing all the necessary instrumental to fit that vision, a remarkable attribute, gained through decades of work experience. The effortless glimmer is immediately stamped on the proceedings, explaining the album title rather precisely with both the breezy voice and rhythmic pulse front and center, on the jazzily atmospheric "Mystical Tangle". Its intoxicatingly addictive, smoothly penetrating and serving as sonic balm for the ears, the chorus being seared onto the brain without any pain or mercy.

Seamlessly venturing in more somber electronic realms, with glinting Saharan thematics amid the orchestrated dunes of sound, "Resurrection (On the Forest Floor)" elevates the musical content to mirror the ambivalence of rebirth and decline, with windswept reflections clearly evoked in the desolate lyrics. The percussive percolations are hypnotic , the title gloomily repetitive, the whole atmosphere other-worldly and adventurous, a thrill for any set of ears, seduced into amazement.

Few bands can master melodic ambience better, an uncanny ability to somehow incorporate constant change and evolving sounds, wrapped in the softest sonic blanket one could possibly wish for. Densely symphonic without any need for bombast or overplay, "Coalesce" is crushingly beautiful throughout its run, yet the drum undertow beats like a passionate heart, impressed by the thrill of it all.

Tony understands pace and flow, having been a producer for many famous artists, that the curious can look up, so it should not come as a surprise that "Network of Ghosts" serves a more accessible groove, buoyant and unrelenting, with some gritty rhythm guitar riffing that leaps out of the mix, I cannot help detecting a delicate Bryan Ferry tinge, "Which Way to Turn" off the Mamouna album. Mark pummels his kit with deft propulsion, and Peter sings with a warm and expressive delivery that 'signal to ratio', a prefect set-up for the next epic track.

"Velvet Crunch" spans 9 minutes and is undoubtedly the cornerstone of this release, an proficiently crafted progressive expanse that points the spotlight at more specific instrumental complexities, way beyond the anticipated luxuriant symphonics, a forest of sound where the electric guitar gets to express itself more overtly, alternating between panes of obscurity and slivers of sharp sunlight, a trait Tony owns in spades and showcases in varying degrees of subtlety. The pace eventually heightens to a near gasping for air frenzy, the vocals soaring majestically, the synthesizers flickering in intensity and the impressive polyrhythmic drums unleashing its vivacious vehemence. The raging guitar exhortations at the end are simply stunning.

Plunging back into the gloomy foliage of "Prophets of Decay", one is transported back in time to some Middle Ages scenario, chanting Viking warriors banging their war drums , clamoring for the tribal council, to desperately uncover the fate of nature's uncompromising ways. This extended piece evolves surreptitiously into a more traditional mode, where the suave electric guitar gets to show off more effusive qualities before reigniting the somewhat Gothic chants of the beginning, and getting swallowed up by the unforgiving and impenetrable foliage of time and space. Cheryl Stringall provides some added lush keyboards to the mix.

"The Touch and Timing of the Sun" concludes this exotic set-list on a very high note, the experimental intro recalling the work of one of my favorite musician producers of all-time, the underrated Tony Mansfield, a pioneer of intricate sonic manipulations that should have garnered him much valued praise. This is easily the most progressive piece, a profuse abundance of layered synthesized orchestrations, slashed with silvery guitar streaks and astral bass lines, rummaging organ bursts, punchy rhythmic convulsions, and enough vocal panacea to cure Mother Nature's ills (and there are way too many!). The insertion of dissonant sounds is nothing more than the coup de grace needed to slay even my slightest apprehensions in declaring this album as another masterpiece of modern music.

One can throw in a comment about the beautiful artwork and the pristine sound, if you wish, but this album (and the ESP discography) leaves behind the notion of simple convenient art and, instead enters the world of medication for the body and the soul. The times currently call for exactly this kind of soothing panacea.

5 silky crackers