PLACKBAND

After The Battle has a little over an hour of excellent prog music that takes more than one or two spins to really figure out what they´re all about. The songs remind me a lot of british bands of that period like Abel Ganz, Twelfth Night, IQ or Pallas. Not as symphonic or readily accessible as Marillion or Pendragon, but very good anyway. So you get nice keyboards/guitar interplay, a dramatic singer (Kees Bik has a fine voice) and a brilliant rhythm section. The songs are all very good, with a evenly flow throughout the whole CD., There are several highlights, but if you want something really special I guess the 9 minute The Hunchback is probably the best of them. This symphonic piece of music (with obvious early Genesis overtones) has all the elements that make me love this kind of music: melodic, varied, emotional and full of great variations without missing the basic elements that binds it all together in one fine prog gem.

The production is only adequate, but it adds to the charming "old style" of their compositions in a way. The performances are impeccable and the high quality of the songwriting makes the listening of this CD a highly enjoyable experience. Nothing new or groundbreaking, of course, but very good in what they do. According to my friend and writer Erik Neuteboom the band has recently got back together, playing live and recording a new album due to be out soon. I´m really looking forward to listen to it!

Conclusion: if you like the 80´s neo prog scene you can´t miss this one! And if you like good prog music in general you should give it a try. A very nice finding. 4 stars.

Always attracted by the vintage GENESIS sound, Plackband offer a nice, melodic and fully symphonic-oriented Progressive Rock, highlighted by the changing modern and analog keyboards and the harmonic approach of the group.They do sound extremely similar to compatriots US, filling their style with warm vocal lines and both dramatic and softer instrumental textures.The band was not afraid anymore to produce proggy and long compositions with a fair amount of Mellotrons thrown in and of course the needed contemporary sound of synthesizers.The guitars remain slightly in the background, delivering both light electric and more atmospheric, acoustic themes, somewhat in an 80's Neo Prog vein, and the arrangements in general lack GENESIS' unparalleled richness, yet they are always in the right direction.The work of Michel Van Wassem is however absolutely satisfying, leading the music to beautiful, symphonic grounds with plenty of grandiose plays and orchestral passages.

The dream became true for Plackband, 25 years after their starting step.Old-school GENESIS-like Symphonic Rock with bits of more modern stylings, which has nothing new to add in a saturated scene, but it is played with passion and talent.Recommended.

STYLE: Pure Symphonic Rock in the old GENESIS tradition with influences from both 70's era's.They present also a good amount of fairly complex interplays,some jazzy traces here and there and a slight early 80's neo-influence,but the music focuses strongly on the expressive vocals and refined melodies.Guitars are full of HACKETT-like sounds,while keyboardist Michel van Wassem had to be a big fan of TONY BANKS (take some listens on his work on moog).

INFLUENCES/SOUNDS LIKE: GENESIS for 90% of the album plus a hidden FOCUS/YES impact on their sound.

PLUS: Very good orchestrations,decent record quality, series of delicate melodic parts and good instrumental interplays,the singer has an OK voice,without being exceptional or copying Gabriel's vocals as many GENESIS wannabees,a few fantastic keyboard passages.

MINUS: Total absence of originality.Parts of the album good could have been easily on a GENESIS album without even noticing it.Also a better singer could have easily given the band the appropriate lift.

WILL APPEAL TO: Die-hard fans of vintage GENESIS and followers of calm Symphonic and Classic Progressive Rock in general.

CONCLUSION/RATING: 3.5 stars,a quite good album of Classic Progressive Rock with a few excellent parts.

"The Battle" opens with gentle guitar and synths before the music stops and we can hear the sounds of war going on. Drums and synths start to take over, and we get some nice guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. More sounds of a battle to end it. "After The Battle" is the longest track at 11 minutes. Synths build as raw guitar melodies take over until we have a full sound. Synths are prominant. This sounds really good actually. Mellotron samples after 2 1/2 minutes. Vocals arrive for the first time on the record 3 minutes in. Guitar solo 6 1/2 minutes in. Lots of mellotron after 10 minutes as the sound gets heavier, but the most mellotron rolls in to end the song. "See The Dwarf" opens with drums and synths. Guitar after a minute as drums and vocals follow. More synths later. "Sleeping Warriors" sounds like orchestral sounds and synths. "End Of The Line" features nice solid drumming throughout. Vocals a minute in. Mellotron after 3 minutes and the guitar that follows sounds great. Some crazy synths to end it.

"Death And Lost Glory" is less then a minute of what sounds like flute, gentle guitar and synths. "Ghost Town" opens with a catchy synth / drum melody. Vocals then mellotron that comes and goes. "The Hunchback" is my favourite track on here. It's a pleasant, mid-paced tune with vocals, drums and synths standing out. Bass 3 minutes in is prominant. Mellotron before 6 minutes. Piano comes in as the melody changes a little. Guitar before 8 minutes. Passionate vocals and mellotron end it. "Sign Of The Knife" features more orchestration early. Great sound 1 1/2 minutes in as the guitar lets go. Synths then take over as the bass throbs. It gets a little heavy after 5 minutes. "There Come The Warlords" is mellow to begin with. Some orchestration follows. A heavy beat takes over as synths join in. Marching style drums to end it.

I should mention that Andy from PlanetMellotron believes the mellotron on this record are samples. The orchestration passages I believe are also samples. Good album, but nothing special.

But to read that this album is considered as a masterpiece by several reviewers is rather unexpected for me. First of all, this album contains three songs of a previous compilation "The Lost Tapes". So, we get half of lost "Lost Tapes" again served on this release. I wonder whatever masterpiece resulted of such a treatment!!

The intro of "After The Battle" is based on "The Apocalypse" part of "Supper's Ready", sounding as if Banks would sit on the background and play with the band with some harder attack solo (like in "Slippermen" or "In The Cage"). As soon as the vocals enter the scene (around the third minute), the listener starts a YesJourney but with very much less feeling. This song is drawn from the roots of these two bands but it really falls short. Only a long and not very inspired song.

During "See The Dwarf", we are transported from the "Wind & Wuthering" sessions to the genuine "Marillion" work. So typical Rothery guitar sounds.This song is also a disappointment since it quickly turns out to be pop oriented. I admit that there will be some good keyboard parts, but nothing from the outer space.

"End Of The Line" is the first of the three songs already released. Take the beat of "Squonk" and the closing of "Entangled" which is included during the middle part and you'll get the picture. Not bad but not original for a ? cent.

The very short instrumental brings us into "Stagnation" ("Trespass") for almost a minute. Very pleasant but short and not personal.

This album is a deception for me. I have seen the band live recently (October 2007) as opening act for "The Musical Box" in Amsterdam. Their short set (half an hour) was pleasant and I was looking forward to discover more music from the band but when you listen to "Ghost" which is the weakest song here, you can just press next.

Would you like some "Cinema Show" sounds ? Just listen to "The Hunchback" (the second song already featured on "Lost Tapes". I guess that by now, they found them back.).

Let's face the truth : this is not a great (even not a good) album. The best song out of it is "Sign Of The Knife". Can you believe that it doesn't as "The Knife ? It was already my favourite number on "Lost Tapes". Forget about the bonus tracks and there is only one rating I can think of. Two stars.

I must have listened to a different album than most of the reviewers here. But I don't think so.

4.5 stars.

Actually, several tracks of this album are quite influenced by the masters to say the least (a bit too much IMO). The opener is also a kaleidoscope into the giant's repertoire : some notes of "I Know What I Like" to start, demonstrative vocals a la PG (in the style, not in the voice), fully Banks oriented keyboards and a Hackett solo. And the song get back to "I Know what I Like" at the end. All this in eight minutes! Another example being "End Of The Line" for instance. A clone of "Squonk".

"The Good Earth" is the longest song featured on this live album which was recorded long ago. It is probably the most personal one, but too much extended with passionless soli.

My favorite song out here is "Sign Of The Knife". It opens on a long and sweet instrumental part, fully Gabriel-esque vocals this time and lots of emotional symphonic breaks. The last song "Seventy Warriors" is the most rocking one. The lead singer will introduce to song in Dutch and tells us that it was a self-released single by the band. Tony Banks seems to be a guest here on the synthesizers.

"Plackband" is not a very original band of course, but once in a while it is pleasant to listen to this work. You have to accept though that the sound of the masters is "borrowed". Due to the old age of these songs (late seventies), this album belongs more to the symphonic genre than the neo-prog one.

Three stars.

The lion share of the DVD contains a concert recorded in November 2004 featuring new singer Karel Messemaker. Plackband showcases their huge potential, what a professional and inspired band! We can enjoy their wonderful mid-Genesis inspired symphonic rock sound. But Plackband was more than a copycat, at some moments they added distinctive elements like the pleasant vocal harmonies, a jazzy flavor by keyboard player Michel Van Wassem and a rocky approach by guitarist Ronald Brautigam. Especially in the long first track The Battle/After The Battle delivering a great solo on the ARP Pro Solist synthesizer, a powerful and catchy guitar riff and a fiery wah- wah drenched solo on guitar. Drummer Tom Van Der Meulen does a decent job and the bass work by Albert De Keijzer is very flowing, he is a very underrated musician. Singer Karel Messemaker his voice is very similar to Peter Gabriel (he even has that hoarse 'timbre'), in the covers Red Rain and Carpet Crawlers he sounds excellent! Almost 1,5 hour Plackband treats us on strong renditions of their 'classics' See The Dwarf and Hunchback with great Mellotron samples, fat Moog Taurus bass pedals notes, sensitive electric guitar and fluent synthesizer runs. In The Good Earth is a captivating instrumental jam in which Ronald (subtle build-up solo) and Michel (exciting pitchbend driven synthesizer soli) show their skills. Way more than Genesis, their heroes, Plackband on stage played a lot of improvisations, extended soli and sursprising musical ideas, you can witness these distinctive elements on this DVD/CD. Plackband also delivered some less known songs like Little Minds, Pillow and Blue Flashes In The Red Light District but the 'total chemistry' is during the final song, 'stage favorite' Seventy Warriors: Michel plays a flashy synthesizer solo, Ronald a very compelling guitar solo and both gentlemen deliver exciting improvised interplay, their combination of skills and pleasure reminds me of Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson from Rush, almost emotional to watch this!

The extra's on the DVD are the tracks Visions Of Another Life (featuring the distinctive voice of Kees Bik and dia-images of the young died fan Paul Jeczek) and L'Enfant Du 92ème (with beautiful vocals from the recent singer Koos Sekrève), the docu The Making Of Visions Of A Concert and the 'collage' Guests that contains pictures from Plackband die-hard fans like Jan Vrolijk and Jerry Van Kooten. This set also includes a CD that contains the concert from 2004 in De Boerderij and a 16-page booklet with wonderful, often nostalgic pictures.

IN MY OPINION THIS DVD WILL APPEAL TO MANY MID-GENESIS FANS AND SYMPHONIC ROCK AFICIONADOS, WHAT A WONDERFUL DVD/CD SET FROM THE MOST OVERLOOKED DUTCH SYMPHONIC ROCK BAND!!