CIRCUMVISION

An obscure eclectic release from The Netherlands in 1978. KRACQ was formed in 1977 by two different bands: King's Ransom which included Twan van der Heijden, Cees Michielsen and Bert Vermijs and Carmine Queen which yielded Jos Hustings. The results of this cross- pollination is the anagram KRACQ. The band released this one album in 1978 and then faded into the ethers of musical history. However, on this one album they incorporate a whole bunch of holy progginess in its 46:51 run.

Although many bands around the 1976 era of prog only had short lived musical histories, it is fortunate that they knew their shelf life was extremely limited and they had to take an entire musical career and condense it into a single album statement. Such is the case with KRACQ where every influence under the prog sun is on board and then some. The most in-yer-face aspect of CIRCUMVISION is that of the keyboards. This is some of the most demanding and complex-for-the-sake-of-complexity styled runs that you can find.

The album is roughly divided into two types of styles. The first side presents some of the most wild and adventurous symphonic prog roller coaster rides the genre has to offer. The second is more vocal oriented and creates some art rock sounding compositions. While the synthesized vocals on the more instrumental offerings tend to remind me of the "Focus" album by Cynic, the more mainstream vocals on the second half of the album prove to be the weakest part of this otherwise perfect album. This seems to be the main criticism for many regarding this album, but after listening to this album many times i don't seem to be as bothered by these less than perfect vocals as others.

All a matter of taste of course, but i really can't fault these vocals more than many others that occur in prog masterpieces. After all, many King Crimson, Genesis and even Gentle Giant albums can't be appreciated for their vocal virtuosity. It is a matter of them fitting in with the music. The vocals contributed by both Jos Hustings and Bert Vermijs just don't seem to detract from the excellent musicianship involved in this package. On my part at least :)

If you like the craziness of Yezda Urfa or Bubu then you will LOVE this. It is true that there is a disjointed feel to the whole project. From beginning to end it can seem like a compilation of a band evolving from one decade to the next but believe it or not it is one band on one album. That eclectic nature is something i really love here. As with many bands at this point in prog history KRACQ probably deemed it wise to hit hard and run on this one album since the future of this complex and bizarre music was being put on hold for a few decades.

Overall i have taken the criticism of this album to heart but in the end i just find myself wanting to hear it again after i listen to it. Despite being imperfect there is more than enough here to warrant countless spins. It is sophisticated, unpredictable and bursting with holy progginess that takes unexpected journeys into new territories when you least expect it. The album cover may scream black metal or some lo-fi release of the early 90s but this strange release is anything but incorporating a very good production and all kinds of outstanding sounds to make it totally unique in prog history.