ELECTRIC ASTURIAS: FRACTALS

ASTURIAS are a five piece band out of Japan led by the bass player who composed and arranged the music here. They have changed their stripes a few times as a band with their early stuff sounding Neo to Oldfield-like then they disbanded before returning as Acoustic ASTURIAS which I've heard and am not a fan. Then beginning with this 2011 album they became Electric ASTURIAS. Confused yet? Well the electric version here sounds so much better than the acoustic style they used prior to this. The guitar, piano and violin tend to be the solo instruments while the bass and drums offer a great sounding foundation. This is all instrumental and has flavours of Symphonic and Jazz but I would simply call this Progressive Rock. The one thing I gathered from the two acoustic albums I have by them is how well this band plays. So add some electricity and yes things are looking up.

Top three would include "Castle In The Mist" which opens with some quiet piano before the violin starts to rip it up and the bass and drums kick in. The guitar replaces the violin but they will trade off along with the piano. "Moondawn" is another gem that hits the ground running and how about the guitar. Organ's turn then synths leading the way. I like when it settles with random drum patterns and some killer guitar expressions before 3 minutes. Some jazzy bass too joins in then the violin along with huge bass lines. So good! The album ends with a 3 part suite called "Suite Of Fate" and the last track called "The Lancer" makes my final top three. Piano only to open before drums, violin and bass join in before 1 1/2 minutes. It then picks up with the guitar soloing. Oh my! Organ too then the violin returns but the organ and guitar aren't finished yet. A really enjoyable album that clearly was well thought out and it doesn't hurt to have some real players creating the music here.