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Nemo - Coma CD (album) cover

COMA

Nemo

 

Eclectic Prog

4.13 | 317 ratings

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BrufordFreak
4 stars Finally! A Nemo album that I feel immediately engaged with, that I can feel drawn into the melodies and structures! For so many albums I've read the rave reviews, bought or listened to the albums (with great attention, I might add) but this is the first time that I feel the music is comprehensible, that I'm not being pushed away by the music's busyness and abrasiveness. I really appreciate Jean Pierre's slowing down and spacing out the music a bit more. The moods and atmospherics are so much more evident and accessible this way.

1. "Le coma des mortals" (11:38) opens with over three minutes of instrumental pomp and blaze before shifting to a more sensitive, jazzy acoustic foundation at the 3:20 mark. The piano-accompanied electric guitar lead setting up the vocal entry is sublime--very RIVERSIDE-like. And such a beautiful sensitive vocal it is! In the second verse he starts to amp up both his emotionality and volume--as does the support music. At 6:15 a BLACK SABBATh-like metal riff establishes the musical foundation for the next section--even though things quiet down soon after--back to piano and acoustic guitar with more laid-back vocal. The fretless bass play and jazzy piano tinkling are awesome! Mix in the electric guitars' metal power chords and you have quite an ingenious passage. Militaristic drum beat with one, then two, then three lead guitars each playing their mirror'ed yet distinctive tracks eventually gives way to a steady background pulse of snare and thumping bass to set up a great old fashioned rock guitar solo. Layers of keys are gradually added to great effect. The final solo is given to a modulated synth. Awesome! Great opening track! (9/10)

2. "Train Fantôme" (9:08) has quite a PINK FLOYD vibe to it without feeling as if it is a rip off or a copy--especially the opening and ending sections. Throughout the middle there is a neat little power riff used throughout that reminds me quite a bit of METALLICA's "Enter Sandman." I love it! (9/10)

3. "Comaïne" (6:01) starts out with a very French folk/troubador-feel to it for the first 1:28. Then the metal guitars and rock drums kick in. The smooth vocal retains a consistency throughout--which helps in tying all of the song's parts together. The two guitars playing out at the end reminds me of THIN LIZZY. (8/10)

4. "St. Guy" (8:27) is an instrumental that opens with a Barbares familiarity to it but then morphs into its own with the gradual addition of synths and guitars. By the beginning of the third minute the song has established the structure it will hold for the next six minutes--a kind of bluesy rock, with some awesome organ, fretless bass, forward drums, and Colin TENCH-like guitar soloing. Around the 4:30 the band goes into a bit of a bridge before returning to a solo-based structure--electric guitar followed by nice showcase for the Ollivier Long, the fretless bass player. Again, the ease and dexterity of the guitarist's play reminds me so much of the Jeff BECK side of Colin TENCH. Really nice stuff! (9/10)

5. "Tu n'est pas seul" (8:01) a very powerful song with lots of space and atmospheric sound--definitely my favorite on the album. The opening minute is awesome with its slow-to-build weave and reversed guitar notes. The way that the delicate lead vocal is accompanied by background vocal harmonies is gorgeous. Then there is a very powerfully constructed spacious interlude in the fourth, fifth and sixth minutes--which perfectly sets up the emotional heavier lead guitar solo section that ensues at the 5:30 mark. Gorgeous solo. The vocal return is quite welcome and caps off a virtually perfect song. Awesome! (Nice to know that I'm not alone--and that Nemo appreciates my musical tastes.) (10/10)

6. "Coma" (12:46) opens with a bombastic beginning much more in the NeoProg vein followed by a sensitive solo synth. At the 1:00 mark gentle arpeggiated electric guitar, military drum beat, Arp synth voices, piano and bass create a GENESIS-like weave before the electric guitar establishes a melody. Then, at 2:05 the music shifts into a rhythm-guitar and bass-dominated section with syncopated drum play over which the lead vocalist lays down his first lyrics and melody. Organ and heavier guitar chord play elevate the song into a heavier realm--over which the vocalist and his companion (tracks) sing with matching intensity. Great melody and harmony lines! At 6:00 a Jan HAMMER-like synth solo takes us away. Then at 6:25 the song shifts into a different time signature and the instrumental balance shifts toward multiple keyboards and multiple electric guitars. At 8:20 there is yet another tempo shift--this one allowing synth washes and soloing synth to take the fore while the singer shifts to singing from within the mix. The song seems to be winding down in the tenth minute as a few familiar melodic and chordal themes are recapitulated, entwined and played with. The final two and a half minutes are played out with deliberate power and bombast but at a pace that allows each and every sound and shift to be heard and appreciated. Awesome song! (10/10)

This is DEFINITELY my favorite Nemo album I've ever heard and one that I feel deserves a five star rating. Nemo has definitely brought their music into a range that is more accessible (to me) and yet is just as creative and powerful as their previous releases. Bravo! and Encore!

BrufordFreak | 4/5 |

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