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Rak - Lepidoptera CD (album) cover

LEPIDOPTERA

Rak

 

Symphonic Prog

3.87 | 54 ratings

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apps79
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars From the ashes of Swiss prog band Thonk comes this act, headlined by ex-Thonk keyboardist Mark Grassi and grounded in the Solothurn area. Dave Thwaites on vocals, drummer Mike Liechti, guitarists Sam Siegenthaler and Tobias Reber completed the original Rak crew.Their debut ''Lepidoptera'' saw the light in 2004 on Circle Records.This was a double-concept release with the first story refering to the migratory journey of a monarch called Butterfly from North America to the South and Mexico and the second one telling about the life journey of a girl who is forced to change to survive and escape a life of fear, abuse and brokenness.

Musically the album goes along the lines of bands like SPOCK'S BEARD, MAGIC PIE or MARS HOLLOW, an effort by the group to come up with a refreshing sound of the 70's Classic Prog style.The musicianship is much driven by the diverse keyboard work of Grassi and the dual strong guitar lines of Siegenthaler/Teber and moves from great and bombastic organ-led Heavy Prog cuts, always with a modern edge, to Neo/Symphonic pyrotechnics with synths and guitar solos on the front.The nice amount of powerful breaks and the overall dynamic performance are sure to satisfy lovers of huge prog sounds.A few electronic beats and smooth ballad-like moments added let the album breathe sufficiently.Of course this is not the most original touch on prog's community, influences by the masters like GENESIS and E.L.P. are more than evident, the singer though has a decent and very expressive voice unlike many bands of the modern prog age.

''Lepidoptera'' belongs among the good albums of the new progressive movement.Without being anything close to a masterwork, it remains a work full of well-executed arrangements and a deep conceptual atmosphere.Any fan of Classic Prog, Neo/Symphonic Prog or Retro-Prog should give Rak a try.

apps79 | 3/5 |

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