CATHARSIS

Hailing from the province of Quebec,VISIBLE WIND were an exception among the well-known Canadian bands coming from this area,as they sounded quite British,basing their sound on late-70's GENESIS and the neo prog bands of early-80's.''Catharsis'' was released in 1988 and it's one of the rare Canadian prog products around the same time.

The music seems to have been built around an intense romanticism and the simplistic forms of progressive rock,which can be approachable by a wider audience.Basic ingredients are the distorted guitars,the beautiful synths and the magnificent voice of Christopher Wells,who can be very theatrical,grandiose and expressive at times (by the way, vocals are in English in opposite with the mass of the Quebecois bands).Do not expect to face any virtuosic keyboard and guitar solos listening to this album.The musicianship can be described actually as an excellent paradigm of easy listening yet trully emotional neo progressive rock with good melodies and deep feelings.Some slight KING CRIMSON influences and a more GENESIS-oriented sound (circa ''Wind and wuthering'') can be traced here and there and are greatly wrapped in the short-form compositions and the elaborated harmony of this work...Personally,this album spoke to my heart from the very first moment and anyone interested in light symphonic/slightly pop/melodic progressive rock supported by a fantastic vocal performance should purchase this album.An excellent release by this forgotten band!