LAZ

With Laz Halloween issued its second album in 1989 and this turned out to be a far more ambitious project than the debut album. The lyrics of the record were centred around the fabulous works of H.P. Lovecraft. Lovecraft was known for his mysterious stories which can be classified both under the horror and science fiction/fantasy categories. Like one could expect the atmosphere on this album varies from mysterious to sinister ; dark in either way. Halloween illustrates the sombre moods by using beautiful keyboard parts that are typical for the eighties era, fortunately it doesn't sound dated. Sometimes the keys are reminiscent to the sound of both Tony Banks and Mark Kelly but in other fragments the keys sound pretty spacy. The fabulous violin parts of J.P. Brun adds the emotional element. The varied percussion help to emphasis the most bombastic elements. Unlike other progressive albums, the bass parts have an important role in creating a mysterious mood. It even delivers the main melody line for "just for you". One of the highlights of "Laz" is the atmospheric and moody "Yule horror". On this track, the tension builds up slowly with hypnotic repetitive keyboard & violin parts and excellent varied percussion. The atmosphere that's been created this way must be one of the most captivating I have ever heard. In the final part, you can actually feel a strange light gradually appear through the darkness when a majestic keyboard part enters the scene. A moment that gives you shivers down the spine. The second part of the album shows the more complex side of the band. The spoken word vocal of "Suburb" has some similarities with Ange. The vocals consist also of a spoken word monologue in French language. On the other non-instrumental tracks the vocals are in English and this is the weak element of the record. The vocal lines aren't really melodic. For the most part they don't add much more than the stories of Lovecraft. This enables you to notice the adaptation from words into fabulous musical atmospheres. Moreover the vocals suffer from a terrible French accent which can't be denied. On a wonderful track like "Iron Mickey" one realises this band doesn't really need vocals to create a great mood. Here the many layers of keyboards are combined with fabulous guitar & violin parts and virtuoso drumming. The symphonic atmosphere is compelling. More than once, it reminds me on Camel's "Lunar sea".

All in all, a very strange record that's hugely interesting. Even though the musicians are virtuoso, the sinister moods and the interesting lyrics fascinates the most. Moreover the album has a very good production. If you can get your hands on a copy of this album, check it out !!!!