1ST

I was fortunate to catch DISCUS live in Menlo Park (California) in 2000, and, although I knew nothing about them before that night, they were an impressive band to see. This 8-piece band consists of musicians with different musical backgrounds, but they are led by a guitarist/composer who loves progressive rock. DISCUS's music tends to mix prog, jazz, Indonesian pop, Gamelan, ZAPPA, swing, fusion, and even a bit of zeuhl to form a highly original, and diverse sound. These guys, for example, are not afraid of jumping from a progressive GAMELAN section straight into something influenced by the 1940s jazz scene. The jump from style to style is fascinating, and refreshing to hear. DISCUS's debut CD serves as a great introduction to each of the musician's background (almost similar in concept to YES's "Fragile"), but it isn't entirely progressive rock. The album begins and ends with two rather long prog compositions that mix Gamelan and local influences. Another track features smoking ZAPPA-esque fusion. But most of the other tracks tend to explore other genres while introducing the various musician's skills and favorite musical style. One track, for instance, explores swing, another track explores Indonesian pop, and another track explores modern classical. There is quite alot of variety that is sure to please music fans in general, but I recommend 1st to prog fans who are searching for something unique, and not completely in the prog rock category.