HEAVEN AND HELL

This is one of Vangelis' masterworks and one of my absolute favourites. It has some beautiful sections and comprises of two parts.

"Heaven And Hell Part I" is the most stunning half of the work and truly grabs you with a lofty, exciting mood. It kicks off with the wild, exciting "Bacchanale" which booms with the powerful English Chamber Chior. One favourite section is the bombastic grandeur of "Symphony to the Powers B", which has some superb instrumentation from the organ and piano along with a full use of the choir. There is a heavenly build up to the relaxing, spacey "Movement 3", which is incredibly blissful. The last part in this suite is the magical "So Long Ago, So Clear" with Jon Anderson on vocals.

The pieces in part two aren't as orderly but there's a different variation of bizarre and brilliant musical ideas. "Intestinal Bat" has some chilling effects that would work perfectly well in a horror film whilst "Needles And Bones" has a hellish sound but nothing too ominous. In fact, the squeaky keyboard refrains are quite fun. "12 O'Clock" follows and is more peaceful with some haunting female vocals. This is one of the most gorgeous moments on the album. It all ends with some floating organ which fades out on a mellow note as opposed to a grand finale on other classically orientated pieces.

"Heaven And Hell" comes as highly recommended. It contains some of the most amazing compositions I have ever heard and is really capable of pulling you into the unique and versatile visionary mind of the composer. 4 solid stars.