WALRUS

This group from Tokyo was around since 2000/01 with a four-piece line-up, Hideki Yamasaki on guitar/Mellotron, Goro Yamasaki on bass, Wataru Okabe on drums and Mitsuyuki Shiiba on vocals.They were undoubtfully influenced by GENESIS, that's what the rare photos from the period indicate, showing Shiiba dressed in costumes like Peter Gabriel.A first album appeared in 2004 under the title ''In the room of a singular point'', of course both the title and band's name were delivered in Japanese and these were only the translations into English.

A very short work, just about 30 minutes long, which shows the band using the more laid-back elements of GENESIS and the frenetic rhythms of KING CRIMSON as their guiding lines.You should expect Shiiba sound like a Japanese Peter Gabriel, but, as this was pretty much impossible, what you should expect is a singer, who adapts his voice to the music lines, passing through a poetic lyricism but also becoming really angry and attacking in the more powerful parts.The music, of course, follows the same lines.It contains these old GENESIS elements during the calm passages and dreamy guitar touches, featuring the occasional Mellotron injections, it also contains the dark and heavy side of KING CRIMSON with the familiar ROBERT FRIPP color on the guitar moves but also some sporadic YES underlines, again some Mellotron showering is present here, but it also displays a tendency towards modern Heavy Rock with a PORCUPINE TREE mood, led by the punchy riffing and the bombastic grooves.What this band could really do well was to slip between different moods, some parts are melancholic and theatrical with light symphonic overtones, others are dominant and dynamic with sinister atmospheres and some psychedelic nuances.But everything they went for, they did it quite well and the combination of Mellotron with the emphatic guitar plays are a bit close to compatriots BI KYO RAN.

Good Heavy/Symphonic Prog with a discreet theatrical twist.A combination of mellow and energetic tracks/variations in an interesting mix.Recommended.

The music from this Japanese four piece band sounds in the vein of fellow Japanese progrock bands like Pageant, Shingetsu and Fromage but less eloborate and less captivating. It features obvious hints from early Genesis (dreamy with twanging guitars and Mellotron) but the guitar play is harder-edged and the songs are more up-tempo rock. Walrus delivers some good ideas (break with heavy guitar riffs, a piece with howling electric guitar/soaring Mellotron and lots of strong electric guitar play) but this band doesn't succeed to keep my attention for the whole time. So to me it sounds as a nice effort but there are so many Japanese progrock bands that are more worth to explore.

www.progwalhalla.com