WONDROUS END

When I found this CD and heard first the first time I was quite elated. It was a double album, over two hours long, and it was mostly made of live tracks. The music was stunning and I thought they were a band with at least a few studio albums behind them. What was my surprise when I fount out through PA that Faun´s Wonderous End was their sole release! Taking in consideration the quality of the songs, the professional recording and the impeccable performances, it was hard to believe. But there it is: this fine german group has only one CD and nothing more.

The music here is hard to compare: they sound familiar in several ways, and yet they were quite unique. Most of the time they sound like a prog folk band, thansk to the several acoustic parts and very nice flutes. But there are strong symphonic, neo and ethnic parts too. Some excellent classical influenced keyboards lines and very good electric guitar solos burst frequently. In fact, their songwriting and playing is so varied and strong, it is hard to describe them. What could have been a lack of personality came across as a very eclectic, yet coherent, whole. The production is excelent and you can hear very well every nuance and detail.

Vocals are in english (with a few spoken words in german here and there) and while not very outstanding, they are still good and passionate. The CD comes with 3 studio tracks, two of them are already played on the live parts of the record and one, Shrovetide, is a demo. There are no fillers and the quality of the tracks vary between good (a few) to excellent (most of them).

It is a real shame Faun is no longer around. They were more than just promising. And this CD is proof of that. I´m glad it was someone had the good sense to release it for the prog market.

Conclusion: a real lost prog gem. And a big one! Over 145 minutes of very good music! An excellent addition to any prog music collection. 4 strong stars, no less.