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"Third part of a trilogy started 11 years ago, "Infernal" offers once again an accessible and very melodious progressive rock."
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4/5
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It has been seven years since comet Phideaux, author of a plethoric discography composed of eight remarkable albums published in as many years, had moved away from the progressive planet, giving news only sparingly and most often to indicate the sine die postponement of his return to our musical lands.
And after all this waiting, our Americans come back with a 90-minute double album, presented as the third part of the triptych started with "The Great Leap" and "Doomsday Afternoon".
The concept, a severe and double criticism of the nuisances of "Big Brother" and the ecological crisis, is once again carried by numerous animal allegories that will undoubtedly delight the convinced Anglicists but will somewhat confuse those for whom the language does not prove to be as natural. On the other hand, what will flow naturally in the listener's ears are these sumptuous melodies that Xavier Phideaux has been distilling for nearly 15 years, mostly served with mid-tempo tracks, without neglecting to speed up the rhythm when the need arises or when certain passages take on more pop contours.
The band offers us melodies worked with varied themes, but also and above all judicious accompaniments, going from a quasi-acoustic minimalism ('Tumbleweed') to a grandiloquent but never pompous symphonism ('From Hydrogen to Love') and not neglecting either to put forward some rougher guitar parts. A fan of superimposing sound layers and themes played in the background, Phideaux doesn't deviate from his habits and if one track could sum up his whole universe, there's no doubt that the 168 seconds of 'In Dissonance We Play' would do it without any problem, as well as the double male/female vocals, sometimes alternating, sometimes in chorus.
All the tracks follow one another, flowing like a long quiet river reaching its peak with the epic 'From Hydrogen to Love' which will delight more than one protagonist with its numerous changes of themes and atmosphere. Then, some will certainly find some length due to a unity of tone that doesn't deviate from the codes used for the band's last productions as well as some forced repetitions of themes, probably wanted by the concept and the story to unfold. But an attentive listening allows to detect many subtleties, making each listening different from the previous one, and even to find a real tribute to the Pink Floyd in "Dark Side of the Moon" ('c99').
Despite the interval between the publication of "Snowtorch" and this new production, despite the duration (11 years) between the publication of the first part of the trilogy and this conclusive "Infernal", Phideaux comes back to us as if we had left him yesterday. Probably the grumpy ones will be offended by the fact that, decidedly, nothing has changed. The others, certainly the most numerous, will savour the fact that everything is as it was before. As for the newcomers who would try the artist's world, this latest album will provide them with an ideal entry point. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Cast Out and Cold 02. The Error Lives On 03. Inquisitor 04. We Only Have Eyes for You 05. Sourdome 06. The Walker 07. Wake the Sleeper 08. C99 09. Tumbleweed 10. The Order of Protection (One) 11. Metro Deathfire 12. Transit 13. In Dissonance We Play 14. The Sleepers Wake 15. The Order of Protection (Two) 16. From Hydrogen to Love 17. Eternal 18. Endgame - An End
LINEUP:
Ariel Farber: Chant / violon Gabriel Moffat: Guitares Johnny Unicorn: Chant / Claviers / Saxo Mark Sherkus: Claviers / Piano Mathew Kennedy: Basse Phideaux Xavier: Chant / Guitares / Claviers / Piano Rich Hutchins: Batterie
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READERS
4.9/5 (7 view(s))
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STAFF:
4/5 (2 view(s))
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