CONQUEST OF THE PACIFIC

Armenia is maybe not the most known country in the world. They have a football team and a large part of their population was massacred at the end of the first world war. That's about it. Oaksenham is about to give me another thing to remember about Armenia. Their first and only album is a superb example of innovative, still classic instrumental prog rock. Most reviewers are raving about the superb opening track Water Spark. That is a truly genious piece of music and goes straight into Top Ten of the best instrumental prog rock pieces ever. The rest of the album follow this trend. Never dull, never cheap. Always playful and experimental. The two GENTLE GIANT tracks proves that. Oaksenham's version of On Reflection is as good as the original version. Different, but still in the same class.

I should now mention the references to this music because very few has even heard about this band. Let alone listened to this album. The references are JETHRO TULL because of the guitars and the flute. Oaksenham does a lot of flute, to say at least. This is also due to this being Armenian folk music. Apparantly, this album is also partly an Armenian folk rock album. In that case, I would very much like to listen more to the music from this country ! Another obvious reference is GENTLE GIANT. Mostly because their version of the two GG tracks are stunning. GRYPHON and YES are also obvious references. I would also add some fusion and classic chamber music into the mix. A solid dosage of heavy guitars is added on the top of this mix. Therefore, I would also like to mention the classic American band CATHEDRAL and their Stained Glass album as a very good reference for Oaksenham.

The result is the very complex and melodic music on this album. This is truly symphonic prog. This is truly awesome. It is one of those albums you should have. If there is an Oaksenham Appreciation Society out there, please include me among it's members. I am thrilled about this album.

4.5 stars.

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