LE CRI DE LA TERRE

Eclat is a firey, fusion -based group from France who on their latest CD straddle the line between heavy guitar oriented jams (think Zappa, RFT) and a more symphonic approach where the keyboards dominate. In places they come across as a more intense Happy the Man. The sound quality to the disc is excellent with the rhythm section coming across very punchy. Only one song has vocals, a switch from their earlier releases. If you're looking for something that will keep your attention throughout, Eclat will be your cup of tea!

The French D.F.A.

Eclat is a French band who deliver a hard hitting mix of fusion and modern rock. The songs are mostly instrumental and features very tight percussion/bass and wonderfully lively keyboards. The centerpiece of the tracks are the elegant, wailing electric guitar leads, and the band reminds me a bit of the Italian group DFA with perhaps a bit of Rush thrown in. This album will appeal to fans of French symph/rock but I think also to the hard rock/metal fans as well, certainly to people who appreciate Rush. It's extremely energetic music which I believe will please many.

I couldn't agree with Finnforest's review of this album more. This is a mixture of guitar driven Fusion / Rock and keyboard led Symphonic. There is some guest violin on 3 tracks that really add to the my enjoyment of this album. Vocals on one track only. Very cool to see that the cover art was done by Paul Whitehead. He used to do a lot of the cover art for Charisma Records back in the seventies. Including some for GENESIS, VDGG and many others.

"Le Cri De La Terre" opens with a pounding drums / bass / guitar melody. Synths take over from guitar giving a calming effect. Piano takes synths place. Some chunky bass after 3 minutes followed by a beautiful guitar solo that goes on and on. Check out the piano later. Great opening track. "Eternite" opens with birds singing as piano comes in followed by what sounds like a male choir. Drums, guitar and a full sound take over. I love this stuff as the guitar is ripping it up. It calms down as synths wash and the guitar lays down some raw solos. Back to the full sound of earlier. Some beautiful piano melodies later. "Tri-Un" is a darker song with violin. The songs just keep getting better. I really like the mood that they set for this one. Eventually a change occurs as bass, drums and piano provide a different climate with each instrument standing out and impressing.The original melody returns to end it.

"La Vie Du Sonora" is the vocal track and the longest song on here. It opens with a wolf howling. A hopeful, uplifting melody comes in with vocals. It is contrasted throughout with a darker, melancholic section also with vocals. A tasteful and long guitar solo late. Nice. "La Porte... " is a short song consisting of piano melodies. "MR Z" opens with the sounds of birds and waves. This is so relaxing like being at the beach. The beautiful guitar melodies remind me of a Satriani song. Great track. "Energies" is a good song with lots of intricate sounds. Some fantastic interplay. Love the guitar late that lays down some blistering melodies. "Horizon Pourpre" hits the ground running. The bass is very prominant. Violin is lighting it up as well as the guitar. Check out the drumming and the pulsating keys. The guitar comes flying in before 4 minutes. The birds are back in the beginning of "Aurore Boreale". This is a synth led track that really does bring the Northern lights to life through sound.

A solid 4 star record that should satisfy a wide range of tastes.

The French band ECLAT bring to us in this release a very expressive mixture of Symphonic and Heavy Prog!

The sound presents some influencies of Minimun Vital (in your instrumental phase like in "SARABANDES"), although possess in a few moments a little more heavy approach, with some riffs of guitar and a rhythm section very pulse ( in my opinion a cleary Rush influence).

Great musicians in perfect balance, without great highlights for only one performance !!!

The best moments are tracks 1,2,6 & 8 .

To complete this excellent disc, a very beautiful and expressive cover. My rate is 4 stars with enthusiasm !!!

In their fourth studio release "Le Cri de la Terre", Eclat delivered their apex as members of the international progressive rock community. This album released in 2002 confirms guitarist Alain Chiarazzo as one of the most proficient ones in prog rock for the last two decades, with enough muscle and enough sensitivity as to lead the ensemble as a whole through a solid kaleidoscope of sophisticated rock. The robust dynamics elaborated by the rhythm duo of Ramousse-di Mondo and the combination of polishness and versatility provided by Thierry Masse on keyboards (as if he were a meticulously applied pupil of Watkins, Hammer and Bardens), the sonic spectrum of Eclat manages to be inventive to a very impressive degree. The namesake track kicks off the album with a fluid mixture of punch and catchiness: Cghiarazzo's guitar inputs fills the center stage most of the time, but Masse's keyboards do not pass unnoticed at all with its elegant synth layers and well- ornamented solos that alternate jazzy moods and classical tricks. With the equally powerful 'Eternité' (whose energetic vibe directly echoes the opener's) and the jazzier 'Tri- un', the listener is entitled to grasp an accurate idea of the dominant progressive particularity to be expected from teh remaining repertoire. The latter of the two aforementioend pieces features teh violin as a guest instrument, which adds an effective dose of extra color to the main melodic development. 'La Vie du Sonora' starts with a distant howling and soon reveals itself as the first sung track. Its main mood is one between standard jazz-pop and 78-81 Camel. It ca nalso remidn the listener of contemporary Minimum Vital, but the fact is that Eclat creates a more authentic progressive framework to the instrumental scheme. Ramousse states stunning bass flourishes somewhere in the middle, a thing tha tenables the track to feed its own musicality. 'La Porte...' starts with footsteps and a door opening, and then a cropuscular piano solo delivers a contemplative sonata; onca teh noise of birds in teh forest emerges, we witness the start of 'Mr. Z', a jazz-rock slow piece that makes the band certain about the need to explore their romantic side. Among Chiarazzo's excellent solos, there's some room for alternate synth and bass solso as well. 'Energies' is a piece that keeps true loyalty to its very title - it brings back the electrifying fire that the band had deliverd in fastastic terms on the album's first two pieces. It lasts 3- minutes, it really feels too short, but it is exciting to listen anyway. Are those Messrs. Jan Hammer and Allan Holdsworth duelling during the last minute? No, they are no ther than Masse and Chiarazzo. For those who couldn't get enough of the explicit intensity of 'Energies', next is 'Horizon Poupre', which provides a refreshing combination of symphonic prog and jazz-fusion in a manner that is Eclat's specialty. Once again, the guest violinist comes to help with the compeltion of the composition's sonic framework. The album's closer moves to a very different direction, a trend os progressive space-rock featuring cosmic synth layers and an eerie guitar solo. the oniric nature of this closing track brings an unexpected yet conveniently relaxing epilogue to this great album: "Le Cri de la Terre" is the culmination of Eclat's maturiry as a progressive voice of its own.