SILVER WINGS

Japan was an endless source of Prog acts during the 80's, but not all bands had the same success.Starless were one of these cases, a group from Osaka formed in 1984.The original line-up featured ex-Scheherazade bassist Jutaro Okubo, who had just left Teru's Symphonia, female singer Yoshiko Miyamoto, guitarist Takao Nakagawa, drummer Nobuo Horie and keyboardist Yoshinori Kamimura.After the demo ''Welcome to the Starless World'', King Records' sublabel Nexus was the one to release Starless' debut ''Silver Kings'' in 1985.

The sound does not differ much from the typical Japanese Hard/Symphonic Rock as performed by acts like NOVELA, VIENNA, 90's-period GERARD or MARGE LITCH.It contains ninerather short compositions, where harder riffs blend with over-the-top Japanese vocals and emphatic keyboard parts.Despite their limited length, the majority of these compositions contains plenty of advanced musicinaship with some nice breaks and alternating atmospheres.The keyboards, including both synthesizers and organ parts, are performed with an evident symphonic mood and they are certainly among the album's highlights.The guitar work ranges from instant and catchy melodies to metallic riffing and powerful grooves, which nicely blend together with the epic keyboard sounds.Additionally the vocals of Yoshiko Miyamoto are pretty decent, often with a theatrical twist, and sound far from annoying.The compositions are coherent, played with passion and energy, and the proggy moments are more than expected from the overall Hard Rockin' attitude of the band.

Satisfying mix of virtuosic Hard Rock and keyboard-based Symphonic Rock with a good instrumental balance.If you can stand the unique color of Japanese vocals, ''Silver wings'' has plenty of nice moments to offer to you.Recommended.