D'APRÈS LE HORLA DE MAUPASSANT

Yes my friends I cannot believe my ears... Yes this is the same Quebec band that use to do pop music ( but nice sophisticated pop) and that was classified in "Prog Related" just before they release their first prog album in 2004, the beautiful (but short) album "Black Dog There" and they were "upgraded" to Crossover Prog.

Here we have their first album in French. Because it is based on a very somber, sc-fi, supernatural novel, called "Le Horla" by the 19th century French author Guy De Maupassant. I will not try to explain the story here. Suffice to say that it is a very deranging and captivating story about an entity that infiltrate the soul of the narrator and its combat to kill it. This is a good candidate to be "google-ized " by my fellow English speaking progheads.

If the words are important, what is remarkable here is the music. My friend this is by far the best album by this band and a serious candidate for one of the best prog album of 2009 (and yes I know the new albums by Transatlantic, Magma, Riverside, Porcupine, Maudlin, Phideaux, Gazpacho etc.).

From the joyous beginning and naivety of the opening song "Overture" via the scary moments of "Incubus" and "L'eau, le lait, le vin" to the spacey, and mysterious ambiance of "Mont Saint-Michel" and "Un impénétrable mystère" and finally to the heaviness of the end in "Sous hypnose" and "J'ai Vu"; it is simply magical. in fact, the more we advance in the story, the heavier and captivating the songs are.

The musicians are top notch, a keyboard driven album with superb guitar solos, full of memorable melodies and riffs, the songs are really inspired, the arrangement beautiful and sophisticated. The emotion that I feel is just fantastic. I got shivers down my spine every time. I just want to turn it over and dive again into this nightmare.

An excellent release that all prog fans must give a serious ear. A big 4.5 stars.

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