ARACHNOID

It's hard for me to pinpoint exactly where to start for this record, mainly because it's strangely great in nearly all factors. Literally, how do people manage to be clearly inspired by many artists and have a sound this unique? And no less in 1979. These French rockers of this band known as Arachnoid takes it's foundation all the way back to 1970. It's very dark-sounding with some impressive dynamics between chilled-out sections and wild blaring technicality woven into this nice gem. It's quite experimental while also retaining a sense of urgency and direction. You can hear how the band was attempting to make something completely different from anything at the time, and arguably to this day nothing comes close. The closest thing I know of to this record would be Island's sole album, Pictures, which came out two years earlier. Moving on, it's full of uncanny tones and rhythms that constantly push forward in development. The speed these men play at is also skillful in the overall playing and execution of each song. If there was one main con, however, sometimes I felt that they could've spliced in more material in the songs, because each song has a large portion dedicated to keyboard and piano playing with low ambient noises in the background, and while I do enjoy these, sometimes that and the fact that the music can get repetitive can feel a bit dry.

Before I move onto the current album, I would like to give my appraisal to everyone who played on this album, but especially singer Marc Meryl. I have seriously never heard anything like his singing in my entire lifetime. The album begins with La Chamadière, which is a sprawling thirteen-minute-long suite. It has all these gloomy elements that really stand out on the album for the rapid pace and intensity of the parts inside this track, with the occasional screaming and singing coming from Marc. The scary form this song takes is just brutal in the song, especially with the type of music they are trying to play. I enjoyed how they put themselves out there in terms of experimentation while also staying true to a rock and jazz format. This is my personal favorite song on the album, and I highly recommend it even if you're not going to listen to the album. Piano Caveau is the ending song on side one, with a clearly defined classical feel compared to the opening number. It has more traditional piano arrangements, with fewer drums and more percussion in the background at some points. It's another strong song that holds true to the music present in the first song while also having its own unique charms to it, such as more emotional moments added into the isolated piano movements.

Side two begins with a melody of two compositions known as Toutes Ces Images and Segamisec Setout. This track continues the trend of stripped-down keyboards combined, but now with some dramatic vocals, which just hits differently with the different melodies being added to it. The restrained and muted guitar at parts also makes it feel uncomfortable and haunting. After this, it becomes more rock-oriented, with an actual comprehensible sound and something that comes close to normal riffs, of course, with a progressive twist. It feels as though it becomes a maze of different turns into zeuhl and eclectic prog that still one-ups into the category of symphonic prog, and it essentially assumes the position of a never-ending roller coaster of madness, which I just love. La Guêpe is next, and you could argue it's a continuation of the last song. Here, however, there is a much more defined fusion power that is present here. Mainly, instrumental music that is carefully structured and carried out dominates this one and creates a whole new face for this band. I also appreciate the more advanced drumming techniques used, with there only being real drumming on around half of each song. Sometimes it takes a similar approach to Sailors Tail by King Crimson took, but with anxious vocals being just as powerful as the guitar solo found on that song. The final song on this thing is another mixture of two short configurations called L'Adieu Au Pierrot and the simply titled Final. It's much more melancholic and serves as a closure to this outstanding yet obscure piece. It has a buildup all the way up until the end for a final climax that sums up what the entire album has been like perfectly.

In conclusion, this is an incredibly interesting and strong album! It has all the elements a perfect progressive rock album would need but just barely falls short. Some of the material found is just mind- blowing in so many ways while also having a good level of detail in each song. It has all of these great qualities, but some of the repeating patterns of musical elements can make it difficult to truly love it all the way through. I can't believe it took me a year to truly figure out how good this was, and I highly recommend it if you're looking for something similar to the description I gave. This is a strong 4/5 for me.

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