BROKEN

MAGENTA is a band that keeps surprising me in a good way, first they hit the world with the symphonic "Revolutions" which was a breeze of fresh air for those of us that keep living in the shadow of the wonderful 70's, then came "Seven" with a Neo Prog' approach but without betraying their symphonic roots and now is the turn for "Broken", a more eclectic release that covers all the stages of the short MAGENTA career.

The first two albums were full of epics, in "Broken", the band plays shorter tracks but without loosing their essence. Who said all prog' songs must be longer than 5 minutes?

It's obvious that the band has developed a genuine unique sound even when we can listen the reminiscences of the 70's big prog' bands, but they turned more aggressive, with the opener track "Broken" a short story about vampirism, powerful rock song where all the members of the band are perfect, specially Christina with her impeccable voice and surprisingly Matthew Cohen who always stayed in the back, but now he takes a lead role supporting the melody and structure of the song with his strong bass, properly backed by Alan Mason-Jones and his precise drumming.

Let's not forget Martin Rosser, who complements Chris Fry and Rob Reed with his unique guitar style, seems like he plays from the dark hidden somewhere between keyboards and the lead guitar, but his contribution is crucial for the sound.

Not convinced if this track is 100% progressive rock but surely is first class rock with prog' tendencies and a stunning keyboard. Chris Fry's guitar reminds me of a Peruvian band called FRÁGIL, strong but somehow mysterious, a perfect mixture.

But the prog' fans will be pleased when they listen the third track "OPUS III" A short baroque church organ solo by Rob Reed that may become the symbol of MAGENTA, pure prog mixed with classical music that would make Johan Sebastian Bach proud of his legacy.

Opus III is simply perfect from start to end, leaves the listener with the honey in the lips wishing it could last at least 5 minutes more, but when a band leaves the audience asking for more you can be sure they're in the right path.

The rest of the tracks are also great but different to what MAGENTA has offered us before, Call Me is an excellent Power Ballad, Lemminkainen's Lament is more melancholic and the string mix of Sloth (from Seven) is incredibly beautiful.

A must have for any prog' fan because "Broken" proves that good music can be released in the XXI Century.

Even when Revolutions is more brilliant I will give "Broken" 5 solid stars because they are proving a band can evolve without selling out to mainstream just to get more profit.

MAGENTA fans are waiting with impatience their next release, and as I said before, if the audience keeps asking for more, you must be sure the band is going in the right path