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Diagonal - Heavy Language (Black Sparkle) CD (album) cover

HEAVY LANGUAGE (BLACK SPARKLE)

Diagonal

 

Eclectic Prog

3.57 | 8 ratings

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Neu!mann
Prog Reviewer
3 stars The two sides of this never-digitized 7" vinyl single were the debut recordings made by an exciting new English septet that appeared suddenly in 2008 and vanished just as quickly, four years and two subsequent albums later. In its brief lifespan the band would be acclaimed for playing a style of Progressive Rock that was both retro and original, recreating the sound of the early 1970s but without a hint of pastiche, and their initial outing captured that paradox with microcosmic fidelity.

Altogether the disc is less than seven minutes long, hardly enough to even qualify as a quick teaser. But they pack a lot of instrumental energy into that short time, arguably the best seven minutes of music the group ever played: urgent and assertive on Side One; mysterious and searching on Side Two.

The opener "Heavy Language" is an economic blast of Crimsonesque fusion, propelled across a furious skirmish between the riffing guitars, snarling saxophone, and some wonderfully grubby electric piano. The B-Side, "Milankovitch Cycles", is more hypnotically paced but no less thrilling, with a title to excite the nerds among us who study the effects of Earth's orbital eccentricities on global climate trends. The logic can't be faulted: egghead science and Progressive Rock have always been kissing cousins.

The record was released in a limited pressing of 1,000 copies (some sources claim only 500); long gone of course but still available if you know where to look, and have a working turntable. What once was a promise of things to come is now a valuable reminder of what we might have missed.

Neu!mann | 3/5 |

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