3.RD WARNING / 3.È AVERTISSEMENT

MIRIODOR have dropped from a four piece to a trio on this album. The violinist is gone yet this is still in a similar style to their previous self titled record. It's maybe not quite as samey as that one and thankfully it's about 30 minutes shorter too. So we get drums, sax and piano while each member doubles up on synths.

"Trans-Siberian" is a top three and it sounds great once it gets going. So much going on. It's darker 2 minutes in. Love this. Then it changes back to the previous soundscape. "Lizard's Language" is a short piece with prominant sax and a collage of sounds. "Attention !" opens with samples of spoken words then sax and a slow beat take over. "Jerusalem" is a top three track for me. I just really like the sound of the sax, piano and drums on this one. "Procession" is another sax driven tune. Piano and drums lead 2 minutes in though but the sax returns quickly. "Vision" is haunting at first then experimental before the sax arrives. It's a little crazy 1 1/2 minutes in.

"Glimpse" is a sax dominated piece. "Solace" is a little more laid back as sax and piano lead. "3rd Warning" is a top three. I like the sound here. A calm before 1 1/2 minutes as the sax cries out. A great section follows. "Standing" is more of that sax, piano and drums while "Viking" is uptempo with dissonant sax until it settles back. it's intense again late. "Free Fall" is interesting the way the sax cries out on and off throughout. Cool sound.

A low 4 stars but worth that rating in my opinion. The debut was amazing and what would follow this record is where they start to really impress again. Still if your into sax led instrumental music you can't go wrong here.

At the fall of 1988 Miriodor took part at the Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville and in 1989 they made a significant tour in Europe, visiting France and Belgium.Next move was to enter the La Prairie Studios in March 1991 and work on their next album.Being their third work this was entitled ''3e avertissement'' (''3rd warning''), released the same year on the Cuneiform label.

While not much has changed stylistically speaking compared to the previous album, it seems that the Miriodor trio worked and played in a more tight and consistent enviroment.They appear to be comfortable with the sampled instrumental parts, the talent was always there and the result was a great R.I.O./Fusion album, filled with deep orchestral moves, dramatic sax work and heavy use of synthesizers.Tracks are pretty short, but with so much going on a longer running time would have resulted a more tiring effort as a whole.Cleverly enough, not taking advantage of the CD's extended time, they presented some 45 minutes of beautiful, orchestral music with jazzy influences and more modern touches, highlighted by the intense sax/keyboards interplays, the flawless drumming and the endless breaks from dense instrumentals to more atmospheric deliveries.Melodious themes appear to have returned and be a decent part of Miriodor's music, combined nicely with strong dissonances and complex arrangements.Despite the limited instrumentation, the executions are always powerful and passionate with some romantic, laid-back interruptions, fronted by a frenetic Sabin Hudon on sax and the cinematic use of synthesizers.Propably a more natural sound would have been even better, but even so this is high-class RIO with certain Fusion touches.

Very serious, but always well-crafted music, showing Miriodor return to top level.Even if R.I.O. is not among your cups of tea, this one deserves some careful listenings.Great to fantastic material, highly recommended.