YGGDRASIL

''Yggdrasil'' by AFTERGLOW is a rare,forgotten piece of music released back in 1994.Undoubtfully the band's style is closer to neo-prog as we know it by bands like MARILLION and IQ...But if you are trully into neo progressive,I think the first band that comes to mind is early ABEL GANZ with heavy doses of Hogarth- era MARILLION...not the pop side of 90's MARILLION but the more progressive one as it is listened in albums like ''Brave'',''Seasons end'' or even the FISH-era''Clutching at straws''...The above mentioned critic is supported by the non-accented voice of Freud Chaudeaux which comes like a cross between Alan Reed,singer of PALLAS and former singer of ABEL GANZ, and Steve Hogarth...There isn't a really weak moment to be heard during the listening except maybe the 13-min track ''Unquiet'',in which the band chooses a rockier,more accesible,pop/rock style of playing that really turns me off...The 17-min epic ''Dolls'' has its moments but I think the best track is the ''Visions'',very emotional and with great theatrical performance by the singer...The two instrumental tracks ''Headliner'' and ''Knight of the sun'' is where the band's style of playing resembles to second-era IQ...

A nice strong debut that deserves at least 3-3.5 stars...It's a pitty that this band disappeared just like that,we could really have to deal with some very strong releases by AFTERGLOW and the neo prog scene could get some fresh blood that it really needs...