PA monthly giveaway August 2010 winner

 This is a heart-warming documentary, which I recommend without reserve. It has really opened my eyes and ears to the vibrancy and excellence of the contemporary prog scene, not only in the U.S. but in countries as far apart as Italy, Sweden and Mexico.

When I got this DVD in the post, the one thing I was looking forward to was seeing Deluge Grander, whose CDs I greatly admire. They are definitely one of the most audacious prog bands to emerge in the past few years, but they don't seem to play a lot of live concerts, so seeing them in action (even if it was only through BITS of various compositions) was a joy, and hearing their leader (Dan Britton) speak proved highly illuminating.

As I'm a rather old-fashioned progger with a preference for 1970s bands (as well as Anekdoten, Shinsekai, Kenso, Discus and Big Big Train), I must admit I hadn't heard of most of the other bands included in the programme. I was familiar with Gentle Giant (of course!), Karmakanic and Phideaux - and that was about it. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that every single act was excellent. If you've got friends out there who still believe prog is soulless and hyper-technical, just get them a copy of this DVD and see if they don't get blown away! All of the acts included are so passionate, you can tell they're doing this out of love for music; they're not just posturing; they're virtuosi with a lot of heart, and their music is in the best possible taste.

I was particularly struck by Cabezas de Cera (a Mexican trio) and D.F.A. (an Italian ensemble). These bands were so good I do not think there's anything more exciting or more sophisticated out there at the moment. You could tell from their performances that they had rehearsed and (probably) performed quite a lot - far more than, for example, Deluge Grander who mainly limit themselves to studio work (or rather: recording straight to computer, as they don't use studios). I mean: all this live music really breathed, and the first thing I now want to do is get hold of these incredible bands! (Even though, once again, all I got to know from them was fragments.) I'm also determined to check out Cheer-Accident, La Maschera di Cera and Oblivion Sun, all of whom seem to produce the kind of music that's close to my heart. So, a big THANK YOU to the makers of this DVD for filming so many first-rate musicians, and for letting them speak to us (together with the idealists willing to record them or lend them a stage).

The big question, though, is: if you buy this DVD, how often are you going to watch it? Seeing as it does not include a single complete recording of any given song (all music is continually being interrupted by bits of interview), in all honesty I don't believe it'll be more than twice, or three times even. For this reason it seems reasonable to award ROMANTIC WARRIORS three stars. Of course, if you're NUTS about any of the acts included, you may want to watch them regularly (even if it's only in bits), in which case you can add an extra star.

Review link is http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=293783

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M@X | Maxime Roy

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