OPEN THE NEXT PAGE

BLACK PAGE were a short-lived Japanese progressive rock outfit formed in Osaka around a twin technical unit Ogawa Brothers - Bunmei (keyboards) and Itsufumi (guitars). The 70s British Progressive Rock scene including Alan Holdsworth or Keith Emerson seems to exert a great influence upon their music style and soundscape, therefore their play in the album Open The Next Page sounds to place great importance upon speed and technique in playing. We can feel their strong intention through Itsufumi's Holdsworthy guitar, Bunmei's Emersonish keyboard, or 'Tekazu-Oh' Kozo's thousand-handed (!) drumming.

Listen to the beginning of this album and in "Go On" we can hear some younger bands' similar style (the opening by Bunmei's delightful keyboard solo can remind me Yu Shimoda's synthesizer sounds in Shinsekai's album). Some reviewers including me say voices are weak and not smooth regretfully, but despite of vocal instability, they can carry on incredible plays with heavy technique. Their composition is also fantastic ... sometimes dreamy, sometimes tragic, and entirely dramatic atmosphere's' can be fully around us listeners. Bunmei's plays in "Tsuki-Otoko To Stick (a man on the moon and a stick)" sound like Rick Davies' (Supertramp) ones. Jazzy, symphonic, and sometimes heavy missiles are shot from the Black Page launcher. We can be struck heart-painfully especially by the suite "The Story Of A Melodious Stone / Admiration / Trip To Faraway Place / Good Bye". On the contrary, there is also something ambient or monotone-psychedelic like "Toku Kara".

We can be gradually filled up and pumped up with their colourful and eclectic regimen. Recommended for Neo-Prog freaks and Eclecticians.