CEUX DU DEHORS

From the second I played this album, it blew me away. It was bizarre and it was awesome. Such complexity and audacity, and using only acoustic instruments!? This band/album quickly became one of my biggest avant-prog pleasures. I'm not usually into such music, so the fact that I appreciate this has to mean something. So much is going on here that it's hard to comprehend for some time, and even after listening to it numerous times, these pieces still throw you off when you're trying to play air instruments or merely trying to test your memory of these pieces. What we have here is a more rock-oriented approach to chamber-orchestra music. Though the use of acoustic instruments really makes it sound less like rock and more like a really bombastic classical group. The group mixes up the full- fledged parts with some sonic experiments which only rarely get boring or nerve-wrecking. The highlights here are the two 12-minute topping powerhouses: the album opening "Dense" and "Combat," which does have this uncanny subtle emination of a combat scene throughout; the ending of it has one of few memorable melodies. It's not for everyone, though, and the longer tracks are the only truly amazing & compelling tracks. Fans of the avant-garde must hear this, everyone else must at least hear "Dense" and "Combat."