CERULEAN BLUE

An excellent addition to any prog collection. RAIN comes out of nowhere with an album that sounds as matured as century-old wine. It's probably not the best choice for the eclectic or heavy prog fans, delving mostly into violin-based soundscapes, which remind me a bit of PHIDEAUX. However, the album is very dark and melancholy, and I found it difficult to listen to the whole thing in one sitting because of this. Maybe this problem will go away sometime. This does not mean it is any less fantastic. For a debut CERULEAN BLUE is a great album. Without going into too much detail about each song, 'The Lammas Land', 'Jerusalem' and the title song are standouts.

It is free for download from RAIN's website, so I really don't think there is any reason for a true prog fan not to pick up this album. Most highly recommended.