ARTCANE

This obscure French band's one and only album is good, but far from great. It definitely has it's moments but tends to wander aimlessly through long, boring, uninspired instrumental sections.

The album starts off on an extremely strong note with the aggressive and heavy guitar-dominated instrumental 'Odyssee'... this introductory track leads perfectly into the next song 'Le Chant D'orphee'. This is, by far, the best song on the album... it has a creepy atmosphere and is quite dark and brooding. The vocals (all in French) are very good as well, and have a somewhat histrionic approach similar to Ange, but not quite as over-the-top.

After the first two excellent songs you feel like you're in for a real treat... but the following few songs are seriously disappointing. My main gripe is the the extreme vocal deficiency that sets in; from 'Novembre' on this is almost entirely instrumental... a very bad choice by this band. Their players are far from virtuosos, and I think they would have been better off focusing on writing more compact song-oriented material... these endless solos are far from impressive in my opinion.

The centerpiece of the album is the epic 'Artcane I' which starts with five minutes of esoteric ambience from repetitive and mesmerizing synth and guitar lines... it has a similar effect as the intro to King Crimson's 'Larks Tongues in Aspic, part I' and even reminds me a bit of Goblin on some of their horror film scores. When the drums and the rest of the song finally kick in, it is one of the most powerful moments on the record... the raging drums snap you back to reality after the hypnosis session that was the first 5 minutes. Unfortunately, the song has far too few interesting ideas to warrant it's extended duration. This just drags on and on... some vocals were definitely needed here to keep things interesting.

'Nostalgie' is a beautiful Folk-Prog song with lovely vocal melodies and serene acoustic guitar playing... i really wish more of this album had this song's emotional impact; it creates a very sullen and somber mood, and creates a feeling of sad nostalgia and deep contemplation. Why, oh why, couldn't this band have made a whole album more in this style?!

In summary: this could have been an amazing gem of an album, but after an initial promising start it goes downhill fast and becomes a huge letdown. This band had great potential, but in my estimation they squandered it trying to be something they didn't have the talent to be (namely: King Crimson).

This one is even better than advertised.Released in 1977 on the Philips label,this French band blesses us with an almost all instrumental album(except for two songs) with some excellent guitar (ala Fripp) and a lot of spacey synths much like fellow French band CARPE DIEM.There is a darkness about this album that really draws me in. The title track Odysse opens with spacey synths and pounding drums.I am addicted to the main melody,i may need an intervention, this is so good. Check out the guitar! This is way too short,but what a way to open the album. Le Chant D'Orphee opens with acoustic guitar and spoken words.Drums and vocals join the guitar.This theme is repeated before the song veers off in another direction 2 minutes in.Spacey synths (i'll be saying that a lot),bass and some crisp drumming take over.I just love this section.A heavy guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in to end it. Novembre is an over 9 minute instrumental. After an intense intro we get some atmosphere as synths provide a solemn melody.Drums come pounding in after 2 minutes.Again they sound so crisp.Guitar joins in and this is heaven! Dark and heavy with some Fripp-like angular guitar lines.Thankfully this goes on and on for almost 10 minutes.Just a fabulous sound. 25' Anniversaire opens with an uptempo melody before calming down quickly.Acoustic guitar with spacey synths are pushed aside by a raw sounding guitar melody that reminds me of KING CRIMSON's Larks' Tongues In Aspic Part 2.The drumming really shines.The guitar style changes as we get some terrific solos the rest of the way. Artcane 1 is over 16 minutes in length,the longest track. A spacey atmosphere for about 5 minutes with some electronics.Drums then arrive and the synth melody stops. The drums stop 7 1/2 minutes in and are replaced by acoustic guitar and spacey synths.It's building.Keys replace synths and drums replace guitar 8 1/2 minutes in.Guitar is back after 10 minutes.Synths return 14 minutes in.My only complaint is that this song has worn out it's welcome with me before it's over. Nostalgie opens with spacey keys that are joined by acoustic guitar.Vocals are reserved.Synths come and go.This is a mellow track until 4 minutes in when electric guitar,bass and drums make some wonderful noise.A great way to end the song and the album. This was the only album they recorded unfortunately. If you can find it don't hesitate.A real gem.

It's no mystery which band influenced this one-off French quartet. "Novembre" features a modified "Starless and Bible Black" riff as its main motive, while "25e Anniversaire" plunders the main guitar riff from "Lark's Tongues In Aspic, Part 2".

Plagiarism aside, this band manage to eventually carve out their own personality on the lengthy "Artcane I", which takes up much of the real estate on the album's B-side. With intriguing synthesizer textures and minimalist references, it's a wistful reminder that this band could have achieved something grand if they lasted long enough to record a second album. As it is, we'll never know.

'Odyssee' is the one and only album from this French quartet. It has become one of those albums that many prog fans have heard of but have never actually heard. I was lucky enough to find a copy at a used record vinyl shop in the middle of Nowheresville, Virginia, and I believe the guy severely undercharged me at $15. (I wasn't complaining of course!) What I beheld when I laid the needle down was one of the heaviest, darkest, most fascinating and exciting prog records of the '70s. It totally succeeds, despite borrowing quite liberally from a particular rhythm and melody in King Crimson's "Red" (heard in third track "Novembre"). Additionally, the first two "Larks' Tongues In Aspic" movements are referenced in fourth song "25e Anniversaire". But 'Odyssee' as a whole is no K.C. rip-off-it also moves in a similar area as that of Pulsar (hypnotic space). And there are many moments of heavy riff-grinding that remind of the heavier Italian prog combos (ie. Jumbo, Biglietto Per L'Inferno, Il Balletto Di Bronzo). Despite these reference points, Artcane manages a unique, versatile style all their own.

Each of the 6 songs holds it's own captivating personality. A huge thumbs-up for the title track, all 2:20 of it, which doesn't hesitate to let the listener know what's in store on the rest of the album. The song pulses with energy, aggressive rhythms and arresting melodic choices setting the tone. It crashes into the mellow beginnings of "Le Chant D'Orphée", which builds and builds and eventually succumbs to Jack Mlynski's incredibly powerful riff construction. Vocals are sparse on 'Odyssee', but when introduced on "Le Chant." they are enigmatic and ghostly. The album's real centerpiece is "Artcane I", a lengthy track encapsulating everything great about Artcane: patient crescendos of cosmic atmospherics; hypnotic keyboard repetitions courtesy of Alain Coupel; the nimble yet heavy-handed drumming of Daniel Locci; creepy, dark vibrations all over the place; spurts of jazz-rock rhythms; moments of pure heaviness like the most metallic moments of '70s-era Rush. Too bad this band's career was so fleeting-I can't imagine what "Artcane II" might've sounded like!

Two of the most exciting moments come second-hand from themes laid down by King Crimson. Some would call it plagiarism; I would call it "tribute". This is not a book report, it is art, and what better art to draw influence from than King Crimson's final '70s period? It would be more disturbing if they couldn't come up with anything original at all, but 'Odyssee' is full of ideas, chemistry, talent and power. Too bad they weren't around long enough to capitalize on it.