ABBFINOOSTY

UK band ABBFINOOSTY were active in the 1980's and 90's, and managed to release two albums before breaking up. "Out of Abbfinoosty Comes the Storm" was the second and last of these, and was released through the now dormant progressive rock oriented label Cyclops Records in 1996.

I understand that this album really isn't an album that can be attributed to the band Abbfinoosty. It was planned and created as a solo album by Asif Ali, while the label apparently tried to tie it up to his former band Abbfinoosty. Hence the somewhat creative title of the album on the cover art, while the spine of the CD reads this as a production by the band "Out of Abbfinoosty" called "The Storm". It is, in essence though, a solo album. But as the greater majority of retailers will sort this production under the Abbfinoosty moniker, due to reasons stated, I will not add to the confusion by attributing this album to Asif Ali as a solo artist other than in the description given here.

What we do have is an album that is by and large somewhat confusing. Creative for sure, but a creativity one might describe as being too free and uncontrolled, and arguably also suffering from a mix of too much enthusiasm and lacking quality control. As an album experience this one is a bit all over the place in most aspects, with moments of brilliance appearing in otherwise murky material, some really fine standalone creations, a few compositions that can't be described in any other way as clunkers as far as I'm concerned and many songs that are, well, pleasant enough.

Blues based hard rock, typical 90's synth pop, melancholic Floydian tinged creations and some rather typical mainstream rock ballads are the main ingredients of this CD, some executed much better than the others. Some of the more keyboard dominated creations suffer a lot from keyboards and synths with that dreadful clinical 90's sound to them, those who recall that era will know what I'm talking about when they come across those creations. But other creations, like the brilliant cosmic and Floydian landscapes of Interstellar, use the same kind of instruments in an altogether more interesting manner. This track in particular is the moment where this album shines the brightest too, where the talents and creativity of Asif comes into full bloom.

Much of the remaining material suffers from various kinds of weak aspects, or at least contains sounds and atmospheres with much more of a niche and narrow appeal. Asif's vocals is among those, he does have a fine voice actually but I get the impression that he by sheer enthusiasm is carried away too often, relinquishing the fine voice control needed to make the vocals an elevating rather than detrimental aspect of a song. This is especially the case in the songs that demands a strong vocalist to maintain tension, the ballads as well as some of the songs with more of a sparse arrangement. The attempt to create a menacing mood on Cyberspace among the tracks of the latter category.

As an album experience, "Out of Abbfinoosty Comes the Storm" is just about as confusing as the chosen title of this CD. It is creative and eclectic, but with many features of either a detrimental nature or a more distinct niche appeal, it isn't eclectic in a good way. A production worth checking out by those who tend to enjoy an album where creativity is given free reign at the cost of quality, and especially those who find joy in uncovering the good bits from an album that for most will be a roller-coaster ride kind of experience.

The UK band with one of the most bizzare names ever came to life in 1985 led by guitarist/singer Asif Ali.Bassist Tony Norton and drummer Robert Lowe completed a music trio full of energy and passion for dynamic compositions and Abbfinoosty were reputedly a live beast already from their early days, even performing at the Marquee Club.However it wasn't until 1994 when they signed a contract deal with Cyclops and released their debut ''Future'' with Alan Dickerson on keyboards.

Ali, Norton and Lowe were influenced by numerous bands and ''Future'' shows that they just did not want to be unfaithful to any of these.Under these circumstances the album includes 12 tracks of varied moods and different approaches ranging from Melodic to Hard Rock and everything in between.However their work manages to remain very tight from the very first to the last note only because two words characterize all compositions: Atmosphere and energy.Ali's guitar work delivers from Hard Rockin' riffs to melodic solos and his vocals are passionate all the way despite his limited range.Norton and Lowe provide a strong and powerful rhythm section and Dickerson appears when needed with his district keyboard parts.Inspiration and styles are endless, from the RUSH-like power moments to the MARILLION-esque atmospheric passages and from the LED ZEPPELIN-like pure dynamics to the PINK FLOYD-ian psychedelia, Abbfinoosty seem like a band born to satisfy the whole range of dedicated rock fans.

Completely unfocused album with series of decent compositions and memorable monents.So if you are a fan of a crossover of the aforementioned bands and styles, Abbfinoosty are a great choice.I liked this one a lot so, definitely a recommended effort.

It is my understanding from the interview I did with them last year that this is really not a Abbfinoosty album, but rather the solo album by Asif. Just to get the facts right.

This album sounds like a solo album too when it comes to the chaos and the mish mash of styles here. From the 1990s electronic rock to stadium rock and AOR. This album covers a lot of ground during it's 55 minutes. Most of the album is within the straight rock genre though. There is not much prog here and Abbfinoosty was not included in PA on this album alone, is my guess.

The instruments are mostly guitars with some help from tangents, bass, drums and even trumpet. The guest list on this album is long. The quality is mostly good with even some really good vocals too.

The quality of the music is pretty acceptable. The band pumps and rocks. I mostly snores, I have to admit. This album is pretty dull throughout. There are a couple of reasonably good tracks here and that's it, really. I am a bit lost for words here due to it has been sending me to sleep too many times. So zzzz it is.

2.5 stars

Take some ounces of folk, add some kilos of neo prog and mix it well with hard rock. Then you get an album like this.

Most of all, this album sounds like it was written and recorded in the 1980s with that attitude which ran through the English society at that time. The likes of Ben Elton, the yuppies, Thatcher and the colour me blind fashion of that time. The music on this album has picked this attitude up very well. This may be a coincidence though.

The music here is all over the place. From vaudeville and folk hall music like early David Bowie to neo prog like Marillion throug to rock like Big Country and harder edge rock. There is no concept and no theme on this album of songs. And that is what it is: an album collection of songs. I am not sure what Abbfinoosty wanted on this album. What's their identity and what did they seek ? This album does not give any answers. The music is also generally pretty weak too. There is some good melodies inbetween the weaker and in some cases; abysmal stuff. But the overriding concept on this album is confusion and bewilderment. And that is why I do not rate this album. Hence my restrained sprinkling of stars.

2 stars

ABBFINOOSTY at their best represents a pretty potent marriage of hard edged new wave with prog. But even there, competency is more the term I would use. Little here is truly exciting or memorable, and the "group" would actually improve for the subsequent release.

Probably the best thing here is "Wishsong" which justifies their early reputation for paganism. Elsewhere, Assaf's guitar licks help highlight the title cut, "Drink with the Devil" and "Wild Ones", but it's nothing you really need, and in fact sometimes those leads seem a bit clumsy relative to a perceived subtle intent. The man seems angry but I'm not convinced of the authenticity of that sentiment or at least of his success in conveying it with conviction. As for "Arabic Sales Market", "Meduse", and "The Wizard", haphazard and ham-handed come to mind.

If you are curious, start with "Comes the Storm" and then approach the "Future" with caution.

Those who claim that progressive rock too often lacks the "rock" component could do well to listen to "Out of Abbfinoosty Comes the Storm". On the other hand, one might question whether Abbfinoosty always retains the "progressive" tag, as at times Asif and his hired men sound most like a hard bluesy rock outfit. This is especially true on "When the Son Explodes" and "Saddest Girl".

One thing that is clear is that the range of styles and approach to each song is unorthodox, and Abbfinoosty does not set out to do what has already been done. So although "Cyberspace" is spare and features mostly vocals and mixed-high drums for most of its duration, it draws upon such a range of influences as to be hard to pigeonhole, like it or not. I hear 80s technopop for instance, but with added inventiveness and experimentation. While I am not particularly critical of simplistic lyrics, I do have a limit on cliches, which is where "Love like This" really fails, apart from dragging its semi-interesting hook on so long that it ends up sounding pedestrian. "Churchyard" and "Hawk" improve on this general idea by adding spacier elements and shrouding the words a bit more, but neither are what I would call real winners either.

The album does feature some strong material - "Interstellar" is a lively tune with an appropriately otherworldly character driven by Asif's most expressive guitar solo. Things really mellow out later in the album with 3 ballads, "Hell or High Water" and the even better "Dream" and "Soul Catcher", but I would have preferred that the drum level be dropped a bit just to break from the general character of the rest of the material. These songs almost seem like they may have been conceived at a different time as they are so much gentler than what came before. The choruses on the latter 2 are both hook-laden and radio friendly without being cloying.

This album presents a veritable storm of influences sometimes successfully integrated, sometimes less so. The effort is always there, but sometimes the production choices and arrangements are lacking, and the track running order is not chosen with the best care, so I ultimately dock a half star.

The music of Abbfinoosty contains many elements from psychodelic to almost blues. It reminds me at times of bands as different as Hawkwind or Pink Floyd to Camel or Genesis, but this doesn't mean it actually sounds like them. Asif is obviouslly a talented musician and writer and both Dave Ethridge & Robert Lowe play the drums with confidence throughout. My overall impression of this album is that it is a well put together piece without ever reaching its full potential. But still well worth exploring especially if you want something a little different from the normal prog.

I consider this album as a straight hard rock music (with some prog elements) featuring Asif as mastermind of the band, as well as guitar player of trio band. Other band members include: Tony Norton (bass and vocals), and Robert Lowe (drums and percussion). Even though the musical concept is different, the trio reminds me to the early Grand Funk Railroad or Jimi Hendrix band.

The opening track "The Owl" (3:30) is an energetic song with relatively fast tempo. It continues with blues-based song "Future" (7:10) with stunning guitar solo and nice melody. I like the bass guitar work which gives good rhythm as well as melody for the song. Even though completely different in composition, this song reminds me to a blues song "Blue Breeze" by The Livin' Blues. I'm not saying that "Future" is following "Blue Breeze" but if I want to create a blues compilation CD, I would put both at one volume - they are pretty similar in style.

"Medusa" (3:25) is another upbeat track with classic rock guitar riffs. "Workshop" is a track with reggae beat and excellent guitar solo. The music immediately turns into different style in the middle of the track (hmmm.. Is this why we can say that this is prog? It's probably). This track is not bad at all. "Arabic Sales Market" (3:11) is a unique song with narration singing style - it reminds me to operatic style. "Wild Ones" (7:00) is in similar vein with previous track with more ambient in nature. The guitar solo is truly stunning. The mixing of guitar sound is also great. "Wishsong" (3:45) is an unplugged based rhythm section using acoustic guitar with energetic vocal. "Wake Up" (3:30) is another unique song with various styles. Bass guitar is quite dominant. "Mama Don't Send Me" (1:55) is another straight hard rock with unique structure and style. "Capture A Dream" (3:45) is another blues song in the vein of Trapeze. What interesting is that the music interlude brings the music into upbeat style and returns back to blues style. Nice composition. "Wizard" (9:35) is a Led Zeppelin influenced track. It's so good - especially on guitar solo / effects and bass guitar.

For those of you who like hard rock music with bluesy touch and classic rock influenced music, this is definitely yours. All songs are good, backed up with good musicianship on bass and guitar. If the drum section plays like Neil Peart, this must be a wonderful record! Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

It's hard to describe about this band. Is it a band or an artist? Well, the name itself implies to a band name but when I look at the CD sleeve it's actually almost one-man band. It's ASIF (sounds like Indonesian name hah .??), the mastermind of the "band". If you look at the list of line-up, you may perceive this band has so many members. It's not. Most instruments except drums were played by this man. Have no idea who he is but definitely he is a great guitarist. Overall, this album is good with some excellent tracks.

The first time I spin the CD with "When The Sun Explodes" I got a sense of GENESIS-like music at intro part. The keyboard sound made me to senses that way. But when the drum comes in the body of the music, it flows in an upbeat tempo with hard rock style and guitar riff (nice riff). This track rocks!!! All instruments (except drums) and vocal are performed by Asif. It's an energetic song with stunning guitar. This is the kind of track you would like to hear in the morning to wake you up from snoozing. Get-up to work mannnn!!! Yeaaahhhhh ..!!!

The fisrt track continuous seamlessly to the second track, my top favorite track, "Interstellar" (nope nope . there is no Overdrive like Pink Floyd's). This track is opened by an atmospheric spacey keyboard sound with heavy voice narration (by Asif? Seems like .. I dunno). Hey, his guitar style in this track is fabulous mannn!!! I like it very much. This time, keyboard is assisted by Alan Dickerson. This track is very dynamic with touchy and memorable melody. Asif's guitar style in this track is sort of STEVE MORSE's or RITCHIE BLACKMORE's. Even the structure of this instrumental track is similar to RAINBOW's instrumental piece "Still I'm Sad" of RITCHIE's debut album. "Interstellar" rocks!! I used to repeat this track and play it LOUD.

The third track "Cyberspace" has great lead guitar melody but the music seems so empty as while Asif does his vocal, only drumming that fills the music and a thin sound of keyboard. It's so empty. There are some explorative keyboard sound by himself but it does not make the song rich enough in instrumentation. "Saddest Girl" has bit of FLOYDian music at intro part. "Love Like This" is another intriguing track with long keyboard intro followed by excellent drumming and vocal. Unlike other tracks, this one is keyboard-based music. Interesting. Listening to this track reminds me to RICK WAKEMAN's "Who I Am" from "Silent Nights" album. Not similar, but the musical nuances are the same.

"Churchyard" is another keyboard-based song with heavy voice of Asif and the voice of dead of DAVE FANCOURT. The vocal part at intro is Gabriel like. The inclusion of female voice by LEANEE KALIEDO (?) and trumpet by TONY NASH make this song so unique. Some stunning guitar is also played here. "Hell Or High Water" is opened by a strange keyboard sound followed by heavy voice of Asif and drumming (by Robert Lowe). No bass guitar is used. I think most of tracks in this album use little or no bass guitar at all. "Dream" is mellow track with soft keyboard and guitar fills. The music style and melody are close to PFM style, especially on the way Asif sings.

Well, it's hard for me to give a right picture of the kind of music this band plays as I never heard any kind of prog music like this. ABBFINOOSTY has its own identity. I treat this album as an excellent addition to my prog collection. However, I fail to identify any close association of their music with other band. So, I leave it up to you to decide. For me, this album deserves four star. Gatot Widayanto, Indonesia.

Strange blend of dark, gothic folk and prog, some great guitar playing but a very stripped down sound not unlike The Cult circa 1987. I bought this second hand very cheaply I suggest if you're curious you do the same. Not essential but enjoyable.