SILENCE...AU DERNIER RANG

I don't know why but I happen to like the dark side of progressive rock. If you don't understand what I'm writing about you should check Halloween out. Especially on their first two albums the band is sounding very dark. Maybe the reason why it sounds the way it does is the violin of Jean-Phillippe Brun. He plays his violin on top of the static keyboards which are reminiscent to IQ. Splendid ! On "Laz" the band combines the Genesis/King Crimson influences with musical structures from jazz. For the recording of their third album Merlin, singer Geraldine Le Cocq joined Halloween. Till then the vocals were the weak point of the band. Not only for the terrible accent on the English songs, but also because the singing simply wasn't good enough. Geraldine has a voice of an angel. She gives the complex music the emotion that it needs. With her wonderful singing voice she can turn a frog into a prince. "House with no door" is a song from Van Der Graaf Generator, even in its original form it's a nice track but Geraldine makes it the best track I've ever heard. But let's face it, it must be impossible to do a good job in a band that uses English lyrics as well as French lyrics. Tracks from their first two albums benefit from the new voice. Tracks form "Merlin" are sounding better in the studio version which isn't a surprise as this kind of music usually sounds better when you hear them at home. "March" is the other new track on this live album which consists of tracks from their first three albums. It seems like a leftover from "Laz". On the whole these live sessions are enjoyable. Due to the difference between the several Halloween albums "Silence." has a lot of variation which is a good thing for keeping the listeners attention. This excellent band should never be forgotten.