CODE 18

Code 18 were formed as long ago as 2008 by Huis keyboard player Johnny Maz, and this their debut album has been some ten long years in the making due to other projects. The other members of the band are JF Rémillard (guitars) and Bönz (bass, vocals), along with various guest musicians including notably Johnny's Huis bandmate, Mysteron Michel St- Père. As one would expect from something coming from the Unicorn stable, this is an incredibly polished release with great production, containing arrangements which are aimed at promoting the voice and keyboards. There are various synth-driven small "Underludes" through the album, which work as a palette cleanser for the main courses, and these work really well in that respect as well as showing the sort of material Johnny may have released if left solely to his own devices, which is far more Tangerine Dream and krautrock in style than the rest of the album.

There are some lengthy numbers on the album, and this is where the band really shines, such as on "Waste" which is over fourteen minutes in length. Here we still have the vocals right to the fore, as they take Floydian influences, and throw them straight into neo-prog so one can hear influences of modern Marillion as well as IQ. One must make special mention of drummer Dan Lacasse regarding thing song. He is one of two drummers on the album but his work on this one is incredibly effective, providing a moving base for the guys to provide some solid riffs as they move through the sections. There is a lot of space within the album, which is good to hear, with strong clarity. It is an album that bears repeated playing, and proper listening, as the first few times I played this I was not giving it the proper attention and I let it all wash over me and I certainly did not get the full benefit. The more I really listened, the more I enjoyed it. Apparently, this has been released as a digipak with as 12-page booklet, but even without that, this is a very strong album which can easily be enjoyed. Let us just hope we do not have to wait quite so long for the next one as this is a very enjoyable neo-prog release indeed.

Canadian neo-prog group Code 18 has made quite an interesting contribution to the neo-prog of 2020. With members of Huis the band was sure to produce a good sounding record. Basically the sound of Code 18 has all the neo elements; Genesis, Marillion and ELP. They chose a more open sound though, with less compression than their contemporaries. The band has some great ideas when it comes to creating musical themes of exciting imaginative neo-prog. However, the opening song 'Crystal of Time' is already a clear example of why this album just doesn't stick as much as others do; the track has many exciting ideas, but sums them up in a rather 'unfinished' way. In comparison with Marillion - who at their best gave every musical passage a sense of meaning in a story - Code 18 fails to put their compositions to the task. The lack of an above average singer or lyricist doesn't help either. Having said all that; this album has a lot of great instrumentation to offer! I even like the synth-driven interludes. The guitarist offers great emotive lines and some fine fusion chops as well. The fourteen minute long epic 'Waste' offers some of the band its most imaginative music and reaches some great highs. A highly skilled band like Code 18 could easily produce a great album if they would write their music to support a great story. 'Human Error!' remains a genre-album that will surely please a lot of neo-prog fans.

Code 18 is a Canadian progressive rock band formed in 2008 by Johnny Maz (Huis). He chose Jean-François Rémillard to perform the guitar tasks and Bönz on bass and vocals. "Human Error" is a concept album that tells the story of two nations fighting for water, not cheerful when you know that no one will come out on top. We find Dan Lacasse (Nathan Mahl) on drums, Donald Prince (Nathan Mahl, Spyral Jones) on bass, Michel St-Père the jack-of-all-trades (Mystery, Huis) on guitar and Rachelle Behrens on vocals. Code 18 offers a new sound to set off in new symphonic musical meanders. "Crystal Of fire" in a Saga genre for the sharp guitar, plus Arena for the rest of the tempo, so neo prog, latent vocals and instrumental climbs, a bit of Zappa jazzy, final repetitive organ a little neurotic! "Underlude" on an ambient or even melancholy piano instrumental, some intros of Asia come to mind, there it is just magnificent, I love these pivotal moments! "Waste" long mysterious intro on the synth, children's voices a la Pink Floyd or Supertramp. The rhythm gradually intensifies and then it starts again even faster, a long crescendo in fact with a mess of voiceover. The last minutes denote, becoming airy, ambient, latent, a Gothic choir to finish; a quarter of an hour passed without a hitch. "Underlude II" for a sci-fi sound synth and rhythm machine on the rise, dreamlike hovering tune, enough to rinse your ears like in Arena and its "Crying". "They Took It All" arrives with a Roger Waters track, very dark, dark, then a synth- organ and nervous almost hard guitar rise, the voice almost disturbs a little sharp and too forward, the vintage 70's final with an organ a la Keith Emerson is most enjoyable; it merges from all sides. "The March" follows with a trigger on S-F keyboards like "Flash" and its little military drum. "River Of Blood" completely changes climate by offering a jerky song sung in the hard FM style, a less complex title; you have to wait to have distinct progressive traces with megaphone, Botempi synth sound effects, a final tortured solo on the guitar comes to enhance the title. "Drought" on a more conventional construction, bass creating the backbone then orchestral passage with synth at the origin, a little jazz-prog, then Arena in the background and a solo out of nowhere with the unexpected Michel St-Père bluffing, bewitching, complaining. "Underlude III" and an organ solo with toccata and Johnny's fugue with punk solo thereafter. "Bed Time Theory" completes the album with Rachelle's voice, a gentle piano tune then the keyboard gives latent spleen tones; progressive drawer halfway with piano and guitar, it's truly progressive with a predictable grandiloquent and majestic crescendo; and an amazing guitar on a deluge of notes. Neo-prog with prog rock consonances and majestic symphonic sounds, a concept that calls out, there is potential in this first draft, to be followed closely.

Code 18 was formed in 2008 by Johnny Maz, keyboard player of the Neo Prog band Huis. The concept album tells the story of two nations fighting the water. Johnny had the help of talented musicians including Michel St-P're of Mystery on guitar. It took 10 years to release this album because the band was working on other projects. ''Crytal of Time'' is a strong opener with his slow pace , a lot of room for keys, and piano. The talented JF Remillard shows his craft with his guitar solo. I hear some influence from Arena on this first song. The big songs are separated by interludes and the first big epic is ''Waste''. It's a song with a brooding atmosphere where the melody is getting momentum slowly with guitar and piano for an energetic second part with some frantic keyboard parts ending peacefully. ''Took it All'' starts with a short ambient intro, then gets in a faster pace quickly with some impressive guitar/keys interplay. It's complex with many rhythm changes. ''River of blood'' is back on a less adventurous territory with some interesting multipart vocals. ''Drought'' is where Michel St-P're comes in with a guitar solo. ''Bed Time Story'' is a relaxing song with some female voice and piano to put you in bed. This is a solid Prog rock album where I really enjoy the keyboard work probably because it was the project written by the keyboard player, a lot of symphonic touches, some rockier songs at the end, and even if there's singing in it sounds like a instrumental album, because the vocals are mostly restraint. Also the drums sound could have been better maybe this could improve in the future with a permanent drummer in the band.