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Nemo - Revolu$ion CD (album) cover

REVOLU$ION

Nemo

 

Eclectic Prog

3.87 | 339 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Nightfly
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
4 stars Since Nemo's latest poped through my letterbox a week ago I've played it every day, it usually being the first Cd I reach for, such is my enjoyment of Revolu$ion, their seventh studio outing to date.

On the surface it's pretty much business as usual for Nemo with no great leaps or progression. After quite a few plays I'm still of that opinion but Revolu$ion comes up trumps with a consistently excellent collection of songs that equals the band's finest past moments and often surpassing them. Revolu$ion is if not the bands finest moment to date damn close and in the twenty four minute Loins Des Yeaux they have an epic to rival the the sprawling title track off 2009's Barbares, itself one of the best releases that year.

For those who aren't familiar with Nemo here's a bit of background and what to expect on a musical level. The band come from France and sing in their native tongue. They released their first album back in 2002 and apart from the occasional slight dip along the way have pretty much improved with each subsequent release. They're fronted by Jean Pierre Louveton, who as well as supplying vocals plays some stunning guitar. The rest of the band are no slouches either who easily deal with the complex arrangements and as much as I love the classic sixties and seventies keyboard sounds it's nice to sometimes here a more modern approach which Guillaume Fontaine has.

The band are at the heavier end of modern prog, sometimes drifting into metal territory. In fact on the whole Revolu$ion is probably their heaviest album to date with a higher than usual metal quotient. Don't be put off by that though non-metal lovers as it's not your usual prog metal by numbers that you've probably heard many times before. The arrangements are largely captivating and they've come up with some of their strongest melodies to date and they make plenty of use of quieter more restrained moments that give the songs room to breathe and the heavier sections even more impact as a result.

The highlight has got to be the previously mentioned epic Loins Des Yeaux (Barbares Parties VIII a XII). Without speaking French the bracketed part of the title gives it away that this is a continuation of the last album's title track. It's a killer from start to finish which after an explosive opening cools down somewhat. From there it shifts through a myriad of complex parts building to some climatic instrumental interplay that'll blow you away including a section using some pipes (bagpipes or something along those lines) that soar over an inventive staccato rhytm including some impressive drumming from Jean Babtiste Itier. The final vocal section hits another high making for a goose bump ending.

One track alone though, even as long as this does not make a classic album. Fortunately there are no fillers here, each track worthy of inclusion. The brooding Seul Dans la Foule, the highly melodic closer Notes Pour Plus Tard... and the driving metal of the title track for starters.

What a stunning return for Nemo then. I'm tempted to stick my neck out and say this is their finest to date but only time will truly tell. I'll wait for the dust to settle before coming to a conclusion on that one. What I can say is any fan of the band is almost certain to not be disappointed with Revolu$ion and this superb album deserves to bring the band a whole lot more fans too. Now hurry up and get on with the next one guys.

Nightfly | 4/5 |

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