CIRCLE LOGIC

Back when I used to write for Exposé, I was forced to listen to and then review some of the most appalling dreck imaginable. This was the scum at the bottom of the barrel.

Mate inept, plodding musicianship to songwriting that strings together every neo-prog cliché in the book. Add a ludicrously flailing, spastic lead vocalist and you've pretty much hit on Last Turion's recipe for disaster. Neo-prog doesn't get much worse.

Last Turion originated from the mid-80's German band Outside The West, in which keyboardist Kai Löbbart, bassist Stephan Renecken and drummer Olivier Maximilian Rüsing played together.In 1989 along with singer Martin Garden, guitarist Marc Peter Imann and their sixth hidden member, sound engineer Jörg Wrede they found Last Turion and three years later their debut ''Circle Logic'' came out, both on vinyl and CD editions on Jumbo Records.

This is your typical Neo Prog/AOR/Hard Rock affair along the lines of TRISTAN PARK, MARATHON or CRYSTAL MAZE with the characteristic soound of the time full of shining, edgy guitars and sharp synthesizers.A combination of short and catchy tracks and longer, more developed still pretty easy-going compositions is what ''Circle Logic'' is all about and the music is mostly good though far from authentic, ground-breaking or challenging.Nice guitar riffs, excellent breaks, plenty of flashy solos and huge synthesizer flights guarantee plenty of ''foot tapping'' and the band also featured a fantastic vocalist in Martin Garden, who had a clear, impressive, full-range voice.The long tracks alternate between softer synth/piano-based vocal deliveries and harder, more guitar-oriented passages with bombastic moments, but sound a bit incohesive in an attempt by the group to sound a liitle more proggy.However the shorter pieces are the really nice ones in here with some memorable material included but performed in a very virtuosic way.

A great album for all fans of powerful Neo Prog and a decent addition for anyone looking for some energetic and accesible listening among the more adventurous ones.Recommended.