Xaal (France) |
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avestin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 18 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12625 |
Topic: Xaal (France) Posted: January 05 2008 at 23:39 |
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XAALBiographyWith only two albums in their curriculum vitae, released in a 2-year span, it?s incredible how the French power-trio XAAL managed to leave such a rich testimony for contemporary prog rock. Formed by guitarist Jad AYACHE, bassist Nicolas NEIMER and drummer/percussionist Patrick BOILEAU, XAAL offered an exciting, stylish mixture of KC-meets-CAMEL oriented sound (not unlike their legendary compatriots of SHYLOCK) and RIO at its least inscrutable (imagine PRESENT with a more patent dynamics and a bit less sinister), craftily seasoned with noticeable touches of jazz-rock. The trio decided to increase their sonic spectrum via the help of guests - on wind instruments mostly - for some extra colors, but all in all, the threesome were exclusively responsible for their own sound?s core.
The paradoxes of mixing roughness and sophistication meet an amazing fruition in XAAL?s two only albums, ?On the Way? [a.k.a. ?En Chemin?] (1992) and ?Seconde Ere? (1993). It is a general consensus that the rough aspect is more pronounced in the latter album, sadly their last one for good. Recommended to fans of King Crimson?s legacy, RIO with a more accessible vibe, as well as lovers of psychedelic-oriented prog (NeBeLNeST) and jazz-rock with proggy twists (BRAND-X, RETURN TO FOREVER, TRIBAL TECH). Those nostalgic of SHYLOCK and PULSAR are potential lovers of XAAL, too. Bio written by Cesar Inca
Reviews:
Latest XAAL reviewsXAAL ? En Chemin
Review by sinkadotentree (john davie) Prog Reviewer XAAL were an all instrumental band from France who put out two great records in the nineties.There is a mixture of Rio,Zeuhl and Jazz in this their debut,and more than once i was reminded of both CAMEL and KING CRIMSON.This seems to be some sort of a concept album as there is a little written blurb with each song to read,but the concept is vague to say the least.The music though is crystal clear. "L'Enfant" has such wonderful sounding guitar melodies(Latimer-like) with light drums.As bass comes in 4 1/2 minutes in the song changes with uptempo,passionate passages coming and going.The drumming is fantastic! "Ballade" is a good uptempo song with the focus on the guitar and drums,with sax and trumpet adding some flavour. "Le Jardin" opens with the birds singing as an intricate guitar melody with bass comes in.Drums follow as the guitar gets more aggressive.I'm reminded of CAMEL a minute in. "En Chemin" is quite a ride as it opens with piano,bass,drums and guitar,the tempo changes often and the song gets intense 3 minutes in before changing completely 4 minutes in to a jazzy little number.Synth-guitar and light drums as the song builds after 5 minutes. "Talisman" opens with some beautiful sounding guitar as bass and light drums come for the ride.The guitar is more raw after 4 minutes. "Le Vieux Chasseur De Papillons" opens with lots of atmosphere that lasts for 2 minutes before some tasteful guitar comes in.Great sound 5 minutes in. "Ascension" has a dark and heavy intro with Fripp-like guitar that slowly grinds out angular melodies.The song stops completely 2 minutes in and restarts with a different guitar melody as the song continues to unfold.The wind is blowing to end it. "Byblos" is dominated by guitar and drums before a blistering guitar solo 3 1/2 minutes in.We get an atmospheric section 2 minutes later with some synth-guitar before a climate change 8 1/2 minutes in of horns and drums. The final track "Final" is less then a minute long.It sounds like someone breathing hard and then yelling as drums pound to a dramatic ending. Just an excellent release with amazing instrumental work that should satisfy Zeuhl,Rio and Jazz lovers alike. Posted Wednesday, September 19, 2007, 16:51 EST XAAL ? Seconde Ere
Review by Yukorin Sensational follow-up from this mysterious power trio. 'Though unsatisfyingly short in length it's a dizzying object lesson in RIO, zeuhl, and jazz. All instrumental, with a great flair for melody and tension this is, to my mind, real progressive metal. Similar to Japan's Happy Family. Posted Thursday, August 03, 2006, 05:00 EST XAAL ? En Chemin
Review by Cesar Inca (César Inca Mendoza Loyola) Special Collaborator Symphonic Prog Specialist Xaal?s first album was quite a revelation for the prog scene in the early 90s. The mixture of Crimson trend, jazz-rock and regular melodic symph prog that the band developed across this album?s repertoire felt really amazing, regarding that it was really mature for a debut and for such young musicians. Also, you will find lots of energy in the trio?s performances and a clever use of complexity in the arrangements: at times, that complexity is enhanced by the use of some RIO-inspired tricks, like dark ambiences and subtle dissonant textures. ?En Chemin? is really great, from beginning to end. The opener ?L?enfant? is related to the KC-meets-Camel aura that Shylock recreated and mastered some time ago. ?Ballade? goes to the fresher vibes of funky-jazz, with the added intervention of a duet of sax and trumpet that helps the basic trio to fulfill properly the joyful demands of the basic jam. ?Hkunk?s Garden? retakes the path of track 1, only including some exotic flavors in the main theme; just to keep the logic working, I guess, the title track, track no. 4, displays a predominant jazzy colorfulness just like track 2 did, but this time, including some disturbing adornments in the interlude that may remind the listener of some sort of accessible RIO. ?Talisman? is driven softly and tastefully through the trend of fusion, portraying a patently modern sound, like some sort of Tribal Tech without a background of digital synths. After a mysterious and subtly dense guitar-synth intro, ?Le Vieux Chasseur de Papillons? follows a similar path to that of the title track: the energetic climax that is built up before the closing reprise of the intro theme shows how powerful this trio was. ?Ascension? finds the band exploring seriously and deeply their taste for accessible RIO: the darkness of the motifs and counterpoints is elegantly achieved, although perhaps a little more strength could have been used here. But strength is what is not missing at all in the 11-minute ?Byblos?, which installs a ?Red?-era KC vibe on a solid jazz-rock basis during the first part. Then comes a languid interlude based on aleatory guitar and synth layers, from which the dissonant fire of the second part emerges in a majestic way. This time, the use of guests on brass instruments serves as a vehicle for RIO mannerisms, helping to build up a climax. This is the richest number in the album. The frenzy of the 1-minute ?Finale? sounds like a funny impersonation of the release of inner demons: a surprising, joyful way to end a great album. Posted Sunday, July 30, 2006, 22:52 EST XAAL ? En Chemin Review by Sean Trane (Hugues Chantraine) Special Collaborator Prog-Folk Specialist 3.5 stars really Posted Tuesday, July 18, 2006, 03:04 EST Edited by avestin - January 05 2008 at 23:40 |
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Sckxyss
Forum Senior Member Joined: May 05 2007 Location: Canada Status: Offline Points: 1319 |
Posted: January 06 2008 at 03:49 | |
They look interesting.. I'll look out for something by them.
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avestin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 18 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12625 |
Posted: January 06 2008 at 11:46 | |
avestin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 18 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12625 |
Posted: January 06 2008 at 22:07 | |
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Apsalar
Forum Senior Member Joined: June 06 2006 Location: gansu Status: Offline Points: 2888 |
Posted: January 07 2008 at 00:44 | |
Hehe, a band worth the bump!
One of the numerous bands the infamous Yuko turned me on to. Got bits and pieces of both albums, killer material to my ears. A treat for those who love their Jazz/fusion with Zeuhl's powerful rhythm section. Edited by Black Velvet - January 07 2008 at 00:45 |
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Bj-1
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: June 04 2005 Location: No(r)Way Status: Offline Points: 31157 |
Posted: January 07 2008 at 01:42 | |
Saw their En Chemin album for 3 pounds on Amazon.co.uk, but someone snapped it right before my eyes when I tried to order it!
I will have a look after it again!
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RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on!
EXERIOR Experimental tech/death/progmetal from Norway! |
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avestin
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator Joined: September 18 2005 Status: Offline Points: 12625 |
Posted: January 07 2008 at 18:53 | |
^^^
Hope you get it.
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