DANSE MACABRE

Talk about a multi-national band ! The members come from Australia, Italy, France, England, Hawaii, New Zealand and Belgium. Peter Sinfield of KING CRIMSON fame produced this record. I really had a tough time at deciding what rating this deserved. Musically it's a four star record, but although it's very impressive it was not that enjoyable for me. I felt a lot of this was pretentious, and i'm not sure if that's a fair statement. I mean these guys are incredible players who display their talents well. Does that mean they are showing off for the sake of showing off ? Anyway there are two violinists who dominate their sound.

"The Journey" is an instrumental with lots of violin. There are extreme contrasts of calm and bombastic passages. There is a beautiful pastoral section 4 minutes in. Lots of piano melodies follow. Great band interplay on this song. "The Castle" is a change of pace with vocals and organ leading the way. "The Duel" sounds like an instrumental fight (Duel) with the violin winning. The vocal melodies are a nice touch and the bass stands out before 2 minutes. Some impressive guitar after 2 minutes while screaming violin and vocal melodies return.

"The Cloister" opens with the wind blowing as the sound builds. This is a great song with outstanding violin and good vocals. The song closes as it began with the wind blowing. "The Decision" has some good acoustic guitar, flute, keys, violin and guitar. This song reminds me of the seventies. "The Prisoner" has some terrific drumming with outbursts of violin that come and go. The violins unite to create a powerful melody later. "Danse Macabre" has some in your face violin and the organ is great. The drums pound away in this excellent closing track. Again I am so impressed with the way these guys play.

Think ELP with the violins replacing the keyboards. Some amazing instrumental workouts on this disc. 3.5 stars.