PHIDEAUX

There is a first attempt by Phideaux here to compose a long and compelling epic, which along the opening intro ''Okay'' make up for some fantastic 23 minutes of music.This is a beautiful track, passing through several segments and offering smooth atmospheres, floating melodies and more aggressive moments.Phideaux delivers excellent modern Prog with plenty of shifting moods, going through more vocal-led and psychedelic moments to powerful and intricate instrumental themes of great quality.Maybe there are too much vocal work at moments and there is also a questionable Celtic-influnced part at the end of the track, however there is too much going on in this composition that will satisfy any lover of intricate and atmospheric Progressive Rock.The rest of the album contains another six vocal and instrumental pieces, which are not equally good, but have plenty of nice moments.The main influence seems to be PINK FLOYD (as it has been throughout Phideaux'es career) with strong doses of PORCUPINE TREE and even TALK TALK and DEPECHE MODE, while Phideaux & co. explore many different terittories with success, like Space Rock with hypnotic textures, aggresive Heavy Prog with crunchy guitars or instrumental Psychedelic Rock with background synths and distorted vocals.

This would be only the start for Phideaux Xavier for an impressive career.There are many good reasons to purchase this lovely modern Prog album, the most important being the 20-min. self-titled epic, which has tons of great moments.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Still, there's a certain charm to the piece; although produced via a very different process, it reminds me a lot of Porcupine Tree's On the Sunday of Life - there's the same psychedelic throwback air to it, plus a jauntiness which arises from the artists not taking the album quite as seriously as some of their weightier works. Though it doesn't hit the top tier of Phideaux albums - really, it would be rather incredible if it did - I think it's a strong addition to their discography.

I had been given a false impression by Ghost Story and Chupacabras about how the Phideaux's sound has evolved. I was under the impression that the band moved from a more conventional rock sound towards something more exotic, but that clearly isn't the case. Despite the fairly simple song structures, the sound of Fiendish is much closer to Chupacabras than it is to Ghost Stories. In fact, I think Chupacbras can almost be thought of a more ambitious reprise of or sequel to Fiendish. The tracks Headstones and Fiendish/Vultures & Mosquitoes clearly have shared pedigree with Fortress of Sand/Titan and the Chupacabras suite respectively. To me that's a good thing, Chupacbras the album is one of my favourites. Unsurprisingly, these tracks are the most entertaining part of the album.

In short, there is lots to like if like me you are a fan of Phideaux. It is dark and captivating, but more self-conscious than their later work. About the only thing that kept me from bumping this album up to four stars is the lyrics. Those who know the band well are familiar with the band's penchant for lavish and often beautiful, but somewhat insubstantial verse. It's probably worse here than any other point in the discography. It's kind of to be expected at this early point in their career so I don't really let it drag me down too much. If you're new to Phideaux, it's a find place to start, but know it gets oh so much better than this. If you are a collector and a fan like me, I recommend getting it to fill out your collection, but not until you've hear the big stuff on Chupacabras, Doomsday Afternoon, Number 7, Snowtorch and even Ghost Story to a degree.

If the price isn't enough, this is a really great release to have. Some of the tracks are available elsewhere, and some are live versions, but I can't get this out of my player. It stands on its own as an outstanding listen.

If you're not familiar with Phideaux, check out some reviews of the individual albums for more. I will say that this collection mostly emphasizes the more symphonic side of Phideaux, except for the two Mogon tracks, which are more neo-psychadelic, and highlights the great song writing and ensemble playing that I love about Phideaux (the two female vocalists are awesome).

There is an alternate mix of Thank You for the Evil from Doomsday Afternoon. The mix is different and I think there are some new and alternate parts not on the album version, so this is very cool.

It includes Tempest of Mutiny and Strange Cloud which were previously available as single track releases. Both I think are improved masters - Phideaux told me in an email they had "found a more harmonious way to mix." I think they sound clearer and better.

There is a nice live version of Out of the Angry Planet. I believe this, plus Tempest and Strange Cloud are slated for the next full-length album release.

For me, the highlight is the amazingly incredible (can you tell I like it?) 21 minute live version of Chupacabras. This is a bit different from the album version - different opening, and you can tell the arrangement has been refined as they've played it over the years. If you are a Phideaux fan, you must have this one track alone!

There are two tracks from the Mogon project. Snuff is pretty cool, more of an 11 minute neo-psychadelic-symphonic romp, and even has a trumpet solo on it. The Chairs doesn't do a lot for me, very stripped-down and repetitive, and doesn't really go anywhere, although I'll cut it some slack for all the mellotrons.

And finally, there is an eighth track, not listed in any catalog entries or on the cover art, but the file is there in the download. It's called The Wind Never Dies and is a nice quiet emotional piece, all piano and solo vocal. Not sure where this is from.

Oh, and for mellotron fans, you will find lots and lots of tasty bits of mellotron throughout all the tracks.

It's hard to give a promo collection a masterpiece rating, but this is such a great collection, especially the live Chupacabras, that it's very tempting. Let's say 4.5, just barely rounded down to 4 stars, but you'd be crazy not to go get this immediately.

First of all I must say that 'Snowtorch' is a good album of prog rock, recommended if you are a big fan of the music of Phideaux.

Unfortunately, this is not exactly my cup of tea. After the brilliant 'Doomsday Afternoon' and 'Number 7' my expectation for this album was very high, and I must admit that listening to 'Snowtorch' I feel a bit of delusion. I am very surprised about the good reviews, because I think 'Snowtorch' is not at the same level of the previous two albums.

For my taste the arrangements are too complex and the sound excessively redundant. Again, is a too keyboard-oriented work; The electronic keyboards overwhelm the other instruments and there is little space for acoustic instruments which is a shame, considering the great feeling that this artist has for acoustic music, as is evident listening to albums like "Ghost Story" and "Number 7'. Where are the flute, the vioin, the harpsichord and the sax? Where are the dreamy acoustic guitar parts? All these instruments are underutilized or almost always overshadowed by the keyboards and synthesizers in particular.

Some instrumental parts are too long, sometimes a little boring. Fortunately some vocal sections are remarkable, although it lacks the unique harmonies of "Number 7". There are highs and lows: cut here and there you can get a nice 20 minutes epic, but some parts of the album are objectively unnecessary.

I am a great fan of Phideaux music, and I hope he will return to the gothic approach of 'Doomsday Afternoon' or to the psychedelic folk of 'Number 7'. In my opinion this is a good but not essential album and nothing more. My final rating is 6/10.

Best song: Snowtorch Part Two