ARACHNOID

France's eclectic progressive rock scene produced a handful of impressive groups during the 1970s, the likes of Pulsar, Atoll, Ange and Magma each cooking up of their own distinctive brew of Gallic art-rock to usually excellent effect. However, whilst those groups managed to cultivate long(ish) careers and loyal fan-bases, the little-known collective Arachnoid were one of the many who belong that large club of groups who made just one album before disappearing into rock 'n' roll obscurity. A difficult, arty, overly-complex affair, Arachnoid's addition to the prog canon is a typically European concoction, both heavy on atmosphere and intricate wordplay yet light on melodic hooks and fist-pumping riffs. Ignored during their prime, Arachnoid are just one of the thousands of European acts who have gained from the creation of the French label Musea, an imprint designed to house groups as un-commercial as these. As a result, the group's one-and-only release is now regarded as an important part of the French scene, though just why it is remains(to this reviewer at least) a bit of a mystery. Unlike, say, 'Halloween' by Pulsar or Ange's first two abums, this high-brow courting collection lacks any real punch, proving a decidedly impenetrable and tedious listen. Certain tracks, such as the gothic opener 'Le Chamadere' occasionally flex the group's instrumental muscles, yet all too often the slow pace and overly fussy arrangements merely frustrate. This is deliberately obtuse prog-rock featuring the very essence of why so many people find the genre pompous and unfathomable, whilst also showcasing exactly why many European acts struggle to find any kind of audience outside of their homelands. Yes, there's talent behind 'Arachnoid', and yes, the album does suffer from poor production values, yet plenty of groups have overcome these barriers to create complex and accessible music. A fundamentally flawed release, this is one of those overly-praised items that has remained obscure for a very good reason.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Arachnoid is a 1978 anachronism, an album that was definitely not well-adapted to its time, but nevertheless it's a remarkably solid one, probably one of the best classic Prog albums from the end of the 70's, with an eclectic style reminiscent of the symphonic dramatics of Ange and the dark and chromatic chord progressions of King Crimson. It also has a slightly spacey approach to the keyboard playing, which are much more upfront then the guitars, but even for a "keyboards-in-rock-skeptic" like myself the result is entirely pleasing.

Everything holds together very well, the compositions are lively and dynamic, and there's no soloist detracting the attention from the essence. All performers play very fluently and intuitively, with a nice organic and very rocking sound. In other words, an album with an edge. Recommended for fans of prog hybrids with elements from Symphonic Prog as well as Avant and Space-rock. The band called it quits after this album. Had they released this 5 years earlier the future might have looked a lot brighter for them!

PS. If you want to check a more modern French album with a similar vibe, I'd recommend Nil's "Nil Novo Sub Sole"

A lot of great prog albums come from France and this is one of them. Their self-titled only album from 1978. This music on this album is similar to both the theatrical rock of Ange and the darker, mysterious vibe of Art Zoyd. This band features two keyboardists, which is usually a good thing in my book(but not always). None of the vocals or individual instruments really stand out on their own. I feel this benefits the music; the whole is greater than the sum of it's parts kinda thing. This is under 'Symphonic Prog' here on PA, but I think it would be of interest to those who like artists in Eclectic and RIO/Avant as well.

The beginning of the album starts with a very brief but strange annoying buzz sound. Unless the CD I listened to had a defect. If that was done on purpose, then it was interesting but ultimately unnecessary. "Le Chamadere" is the longest and best song on the album. Some eerie synth sounds that gets more jazzy before chorused guitar comes in. Then bass, drums and more synth. Vocals in French. Later some fuzzy guitars. Drums drop out then you hear a child's voice. After some angry vocals and chanting. Then great wah- bass and military style drumming. Some whispering. Music stops and more whispering before music comes back.

The music changes halfway through the song to a more symphonic part. Synth makes bird- like noises. Later hi-hat and fuzzy guitar with some electric piano. A synth solo before tempo changes with military drumming. Near the end it gets more symphonic with talking. Ends with weird synth noises. "Piano Caveau" begins with talking and piano. Later drums, bass and what sounds like organ. There is also a unique sounding percussion instrument that I'm not sure what it's called. After some phased synth which sounds like vocoder. Then a wah guitar solo. More phased synth or vocoder. Back to just piano.

"In The Screen Side Of Your Eyes" has lyrics in English. It starts off a fairly straight forward ballad with some flute. A more energenic section before it goes symphonic rock. More flute. "Toutes Ces Images" starts with what sounds like the last song played backwards. French vocals are back. Easy going before fuzzy guitars and drums come in. The drumming in this song is really good. A synth solo. Music calms down again and goes into a symphonic part. The song gets louder and more intense before it ends.

"La Guepe" goes into a jazzy part before some good drumming. Another jazzy section with strummed guitar and a synth solo. Some people talking, then laughing and theatrical singing. You hear what sounds like "meta-leak" over and over. Tempo gets faster then another synth solo. Then guitar solo. Music calms down then picks up with "huh" vocals and another synth solo. "Final" starts with drum roll. The bass sounds really good in this song. Basically just synth and guitar solos.

This is one of the better prog albums from 1978. The bonus songs on the CD have bad sound quality and are generally nothing special. Overall, great French prog. 4 stars.

A fairly ordinary Zeul / Prog album with some definite highlights followed by many lowlights. Fans of Univers Zero will really like this, guaranteed.

It's quite like 'King Crimson' in parts with lots of stops and starts and moments of silence. About 60 percent of "Arachnoid' is instrumental.

Not nearly as dark and heavy as Magma on who's genre they decided to infiltrate, but it's still quite good.

Just too normal to strike fear into the hearts of us Zeuhl people. This may be a bit unfair, as 'Arachnoid' is actually ok. It scrapes three stars by the skin of its teeth.

I must admit, I do like the sleeve which reminds me of the time I punched a pile of paper instead of a customer at my work in a printing factory, breaking my knuckles.

Stupid boy!

A one-shot wonder

Like some unhinged tarantula, this French legend exudes a dreaded horror from their prog pores, deeply despairing and obliquely obscure, searing towards the basements cells where the real kooks are restrained. The mood is gruesome and electric, the flair for the dramatic and theatral firmly ensconced in the ensemble playing, woven with intricate sonic patterns and fanatical French vocals from Marc Meryl. The whopping 13 minute + "La Chamadère" is a tortuous torrent of fizzing sound and voiced fury, the drums and bass foraging wildly in a near zeuhl fashion (read = brooding and intense) that underline the slight Magma influence, infused with heady doses of compatriots Ange and Shylock as well, blended craftily with a rather obvious KC tinge (period circa Poseidon, Islands and Lizard). The dual keyboard line-up does not always transcend itself in genius but here Francois Faugieres' modified Farfisa organ (a real treat) and the mellotron rage brightly, while Pierre Kuti's piano, e-piano and synths seduce the prog listener lustily, exalted further by a spraying Frippoid rant from Nicholas Popowski and thus creating an unending ushering into the unknown and the unexpected. The highly cinematographic "Piano Caveau" offers piano and distantly serene French poetry, a magnificent ivory interlude that only enhances the experimental nature of this talented lot. The arrangement gets quickly quirky and shovels some heavy grooves into the fire, with the various keys spicing things up and the frenetic guitar raging alongside. When the elegant piano returns to finish the piece off, the bliss has finally arrived. The short "In the Screen Side of Your Eyes" is a gentler yet still intricate breed, with subtle playing from all the instrumentalists, a fluttering flute sugaring the proceedings very adroitly. "Toutes ces Images" is at first wispy and fragile perhaps even dreamier then expected , a swelling intro that morphs into a definitely bruising foray , the raunchy guitar slicing and slashing through the thick atmospherics , adding some spooky element to the brew. There is a subcutaneous sense of paranoia in their musical style, a decidedly strong Kafka/De Maupassant psychosis that gives the music a certain razor sharp edge that will not vanish. Popowski's original axe rant is spacey and extreme, unhinged and abrasive. "La Guêpe" (the wasp) is my choice track here , an 8 minute mini- opera with multiple vocalists and sections that simply mesmerize, the bass sweeping along and the drums marshalling the beat, while the keys decorate the horizon and the synths bubble with authority, in a "très jazz" mode , assorted spoken voices evolve into some frenzied vocal hurlings that would make Christian Décamps proud, highly theatric and overwrought but we are dealing with Molière here , not Shakespeare and the delirium is apparent in the "march of the metallic insects" invading the speakers. Grisly thoughts are then dissuaded by some old school guitar-driven hard psychedelia that is simply adorable. This is a tremendous slice of oblique prog that will sear your brain, totally wild and free. A short synthy minute goes by before the fitting "Final" enters the décor, flush with insane noodlings, bizarre rhythms verging on dissonance and a eerie aura that is hard to dismiss , very far removed from conventional symphonic, neo, space or electronic prog. My copy comes with 4 bonus tracks, the first 3 live pieces that maintain this schizoid impression in a concert setting and an instrumental rework of the "Piano Caveau" . This disc while not perfect has an undeniable originality and a precious veneer that was recorded at a time when the prog star had been on the decline and yet survived until recently receiving relative cult status among aficionados . One thing is for sure, if you collect French prog or bizarre records, Arachnoid will crawl under your skin . 4.5 French webs

Dark Symphonic Gem from the Classic Period

Arachnoid's single, self-titled album truly is one of the forgotten gems of the classic prog era. Coming late (1978), the album is a delightful mixture of dark harmony and symphonic beauty that approaches masterpiece level. The sound is a mixture of RPI at its darkest, space rock, and classic King Crimson-y prog. The closest approximation to this band I own is the one-off RPI band Semiramis and Brazil's Bacamarte, though this album is a little less guitar-oriented than either of those. The band members (and vocals) are French, but this is actually an excellent entry point into foreign-sung prog for native English speakers. Given its fairly singular sound, a song-by-song may help give a better picture of the band.

1. Le Chamadere (13:49) The Album begins on a slow crescendo with an echo-ey synth joined by a whirly guitar, instruments coming in bit by bit before the intense male vocals enter. The band's characteristic fuzz guitar comes in around 2:20 for a teaser of the more chaotic parts to come. When it returns, it is in dissonant harmony threatening to capsize the song. The vocals become angry and strident, with a cultish chorus supporting. On close listen the basic melodic theme gets a little repetitive, but there is so much layering that this easily goes unnoticed when taking in the entire piece. The epic never gets over-long and there are enough builds and releases of tension to let the listener breathe.

2. Piano Caveau (7:18) Starting with free spoken word and a clean piano playing alternately tense and beautiful chords, this song implies a lush and pastoral tone before breaking into a polyrhythmic drum pattern and forboding organ. Midway, a multi-layered spooky theme comes in that is one the most memorable of the album.

3. In the Screen Side Of Your Eyes (4:03) This song is the odd man out. It's sung in English, much mellower, with allusions to Genesis (flute, mellotron, quick breaks.) It has some very close similarities to Deep Purple's late classic "This Time Around / Owed to G." The composition seems a little underdeveloped. Not bad but easily the weakest track on the record.

4. Toutes Ces Images (8:04) Now we're back into it!!! After a slow, delicate intro that reminds me of Harmonium, the band produces a midsection that is simply amazing. Dark, heavy, eerie but tuneful and rhythmic, this is dark symphonic at it best. When I think of the album, this is what I remember. Both guitar and keys solo, and though the technical aspects of the playing is relatively straightforward, the texture created is simply breathtaking.

5. La Guepe (8:39) This one starts off with a spacy key pad that sounds like metallic bees buzzing around your head. We then get a clean guitar groove over tense chords and a staccato bass. Much of this song is performed with spoken word lyrics in French, and I'm left a little lost without understanding the story. The music continues in the same vein as has been established throughout the album. Minor chording, quick rhythms, fuzz guitars, plenty of changes in time and mood.

6. L'Adieu Au Pierrot (0:57) A short and relatively sweet reprieve on arpeggiated guitar and synth. Really just a transition piece.

7. Final (3:02) The band decides to let it fly on the last piece. A frenetic piece of minor groove, signature fuzz lines interspersed with distorted synth, all the elements that have defined the album come together in a grand finale.

By the time this album is over, this listener is quite ready to move on to something a little lighter. While the album is brilliant overall, it is just so emotionally heavy that it's hard to give it a masterpiece rating. I finish it dripping and sweaty, ready to fall into a heap, not excited and ready to start it over for another ride. I suppose that may be expected for an album this darkly intense, but the fact remains that there is always a slight bitter taste left after this experience. I still can't nail it down.

As other reviewers have noted, if you want happy and uplifting, run away. If you like spacy, darkly intense symphonic prog, you may never find a better album. That is, this may be as good or better than any KC I've heard. 4+ star album rounded down by the slimmest of margins.

Unlike most French progressive acts from the 1970s, Arachnoid didn't rely too heavily on fiery instrumentation and overly theatrical vocals. Rather, the band builds up several layers of tension and brooding through harmonized guitar and keyboard lines. The music never rests too comfortably, but neither does it tire the ears.

Tracks such as the opener "Le Chamadere" develop more as a slow burn, but always with an atmospheric edge. The production may not be stellar, but it doesn't detract to any major degree. In fact, it probably adds to the somewhat raw feel found throughout the album.

There will be ineveitable comparisons to King Crimson since the band is A) French and B) dark, but I also hear a mix of Twelfth Night (particularly "Live at the Target") and to a certain degree, Joy Division (who were in action at the same time as this release). The addition of bonus live tracks are a nice touch and make this album well worth checking out.

Arachnoïd is the debut and sole full-length studio album by French symphonic prog rock act Arachnoïd. The album was originally released in 1978 but has since been re-released on CD by Musea Records with 4 bonus tracks.

The music is dark and sombre symphonic prog rock. Lots of mellotron, piano, organ and synths create the atmosphere in the music. There´s some really good guitar parts here too and a bit of flute as well. The music is mostly instrumental but there are occasional French language vocals and speaking. Most people tend to think that the vocals are weak but I must say that I enjoy them. They are not outstanding but suit the music well. Comparisons can be made to bands like King Crimson, Genesis ( in their darkest hour), Anekdoten, Areknamés and I also hear a bit of Goblin here because of the sometimes eerie horror atmosphere on the album. The seven original tracks are the highlights on the album so take the bonus tracks as a free gift.

The musicianship is excellent. Fans of the sound of multible keyboard players should find this album very interesting as there is so much going on at the same time here. Really fashinating. The rythm section is also very strong and powerful.

The production is warm and pleasant yet with the more edgy end-seventies sound pushing on.

This is one of those forgotten gems that progressive rock fans are always on the look-out for. An excellent dark symphonic prog rock album and a welcome addition to my collection. It´s really too bad Arachnoïd only released this sole album but I guess the climate for progressive rock in 1978 wasn´t really that warm anymore. A deserved 4 star rating and a big recommendation from me.

Arachnoid is an aptly named band; their spidery music creeps and crawls through dark dilapidated corridors in a haunted house... there is a Fellini-film quality to their nightmarish compositions.

This was one of the very best bands of the 70's French Symphonic Prog movement, and sadly they have remained quite obscure... perhaps a result of the melodramatic 'French theatrical' vocal style (that started with Ange) and so many bands from that country seem to share. This band is every bit as good as Ange... if not better.

The first song (Le Chamadere) is the gargantuan chef-d'oeuvre of this self-titled album... it is epic, masterful, and overflowing with ominous esoteric mysticism. There are many different themes and moods explored... each one highly engaging and fascinating. Lead singer Marc Meryl possesses a furious and sometimes frightening vocal delivery: alternating between hoarse screams and ghostly whispers... he has an excellent singing voice on the melodic sections as well.

'La Guepe' is another highlight... a song full of terrifying chants and voices-in-the-head insanity. This is the sound of going mad put to tape.

The music is composed largely of densely layered synthesizers from the band's two keyboardists; the songs are melodic and have a heavy atmosphere of gloom and experimental strangeness. The band often play with a raw hard edge and the rhythm section deliver a tight bludgeoning performance throughout.

There are many softer sections, but they still contain an air of arcane darkness and foreboding. Every song is captivating and the album has a great flow from track-to-track... it holds your interest for the whole duration.

I strongly recommend Arachnoid to all fans of 'French Theatrical Prog', and anyone into the darker side of Symphonic Prog.

4.5 stars

French sextet Arachnoid is one of those undisputed nice surprises that prog collectors meet along the way and cherish as a hidden treasure. The band's eponymous only album is a fine example of the gusto for darkness and the sense of drama that are featured trademarks of the French symphonic prog tradition. The theatre factor is very influenced by 71-73 Ange and "Grimaces"-era Mona Lisa, plus a noticeable addition of 73-75 Crimsonian tension and recurrent hints at the heavier side of Pulsar (first two albums). The latter two aforesaid factors are mostly generated from guitarist Nicolas Popowski's deliveries, which usually display traces of anger, fear, density and mystery in a most powerful fashion: his riffs, solos and ornaments are all over the place, many times surpassing the deliveries undertaken by the two keyboardsmen. This is not to say that the keyboards' role is subdued, since the grand piano basic melodies, synth solos, organ/mellotron layers and electric piano jazzy flows are also quite relevant for the compositions' developments. The resulting environment elaborated by all instrumentalists is uneasy and hypnotic, full of darkness, sometimes in the shape of a disturbing fog, other times in the shape of a melancholic shade. There are some occasional heavy passages in which the band seems to lean close to the creepy sort of RIO practiced by Univers Zero, but the main framework is symphonic in pure French style. The lead vocalist is not as protagonist as the frontmen from Ange, Atoll or Mona Lisa, but his singing and recitations really help to fulfill the attempted atmospheres (even if he's not the most proficient member in the band, all things considered). One big advantage that the "Arachnoid" album has regarding the listening experience reserved for the collector is the opening mini-epic 'Le Chamadère', whose 13+ minute span comprises an interesting series of motifs that seem to emulate the usual sequence of a horror movie: apparent tranquility, first big moment of terror, recurrent intensity that lead to the second big moment of terror, a mystery full of varied nuances, one final blow of terror, and ultimately, the closing tranquility that isn't as tranquil as it should be since the terrifying menace seems to have grown into a latent state. The instrumental 'Piano Caveau' (besides a brief recitation) is calmer, with a lovely piano sonata that serves as a brief prologue: the main body spices things up in a sort of refurbishment of old Pulsar within a Carpe Diem- style jazz-friendly framework. The rhythm assumes a more evidently important role for the elaboration and maintenance of the overall mood, which is not entirely devoid of tension and mystery. The softer song in the album is the Engligh-sung 'In the Screen Side of Your Eyes', which includes flute lines provided by a guest musician (Philippe Honore) - it is quite bucolic indeed, excepting a brief interlude in which the pace goes a bit faster. Actually, I would have loved to see this track a bit more developed, since it features an interesting variation in the album's general mood. But that's OK. The next two tracks, 'Toutes Ces Images' and 'La Guêpe', complete the band's main guidelines quite adequately. 'Toutes Ces Images' starts on a very melancholic mood, almost distant, like a troubadour's solitary song in the middle of a dreamy realm; then, for the instrumental development that fills the last 5 minutes, things go gradually wilder, from a pompous manifestation of grayish unrest to a neurotic, sinister display of Crimson-meets-Pulsar. 'La Guêpe' has a more extroverted mood all the way, alternating semi-jazzy grooves with pulsational rocking cadences; the sung part is a real demented circus (a-la Ange's "Cimetière des Arlequins"). This is a very climatic piece, but not the final one - the pairing of 'L'adieu au Pierrot' and 'Final' sets a reiteration of the two preceding tracks' moods. The bonus tracks don't have the benefits of a good audio production, but they manage to reveal how genuinely energetic the band was on stage. Even the musical concepts of 'L'adieu au Pierrot' and 'Final' are more elaborated. This is a great symphonic rock item that should grace any good prog collection - the two Arachnoids, band and album, deserve the high praise gathered in all progressive e-zines.