ECHOES FROM THE EDGE OF THE MILLENNIUM: 1987-1999

I have MAGUS' 2002 release "The Garden" which was pretty good so I thought i'd check out this 1999 compilation release of tracks recorded between 1987-1999.These are mostly re- mixed and previously unreleased songs so this is definitely of interest to MAGUS fans. Cool album cover as well.

"Traveller" is spacey as this beat comes in reminding me of early PORCUPINE TREE. The vocals are almost spoken and don't arrive until after 5 minutes but they're brief. "Waterfall" has this electronic beat as atmosphere, bass and guitar join in. "Sandman" has these heavy outbursts that come and go then organ,bass and drums come in before a minute. Spacey synths too. It's spacey with acoustic guitar before 3 1/2 minutes then it kicks back in. "Until The Sun Burns Out (Part 1)" opens with sampled words like from a news report. A nice heavy rhythm comes in before a minute. Percussion and vocals follow. It's spacey with those word samples again for the last minute. Cool tune. "Messiah" has a beat with spacey synths and guitar. It kicks in and picks up around 3 minutes. A spacey calm after 4 minutes to end it. "Children Of Dune" is a short piece with mainly guitar and a beat. "Incubus" has a heavy and catchy beat with guitar.This is short as well.

"She's The Lady" features strummed guitar and vocals. It's ballad- like really. "The Earth's Sharp Edge" has vibes, a beat, guitar and spacey synths early on.The guitar starts to solo 2 minutes in.The beat stops and we get this spacey soundscape.The beat with guitar is back after 5 minutes. It turns surprisingly haunting 6 1/2 minutes in to end it. "Spanish Waters" is my favourite. I love the guitar as it reminds me of OPETH during their mellow sections. A beat with chunky bass joins in then vocals. It's fuller before 3 minutes. "The Infinite" has these spacey waves with sparse piano. I like this a lot as well. "Rif (Edit)" is the longest track at 12 1/2 minutes and I really like this one as too. A beat with synths and more to start. Great sound when it gets louder after 2 minutes. It calms right down before 8 minutes and waves of sound come and go. A beat with guitar takes over then it picks up 9 1/2 minutes in. A nice guitar solo a minute later. "The Last Flight Of Saint-Ex" is spacey with a beat. "Highway 375 (Revisited)" is again spacey as an electronic beat joins in. A calm before 5 minutes with some atmosphere.

Yes I used the word "spacey" over and over again as there is a definite psychedelic flavour to many of these songs. Like a modern Psyche / Pop record almost.