FOUR CORNER'S SKY

First album by KBB was hailed by the prog press as a magnificent work, but this was not enough to keep Gregory Suzuki in the line-up, as he left KBB in 2001.Shortly after the band introduces Toshimitsu Takahashi as the new keyboardist.The fresh core would record a second album, ''Four corner's sky'', which was released both in Japan and Europe via Poseidon Records and Musea respectively in autumn 2003.

Suzuki left the band and took along his much symphonic keyboard orientations with Takahashi having more or less a more jazzy style of playing, indicated by the pronounced electric piano and the dominance of Tsuboy's violin throughout the album, which sometimes seems to cover the rest of the group.Even if KBB's style shifted towards less flexible grounds and focused on more Fusion-directed performances, the executions and arrangements remained rich, extremely virtuosic and fairly dynamic with a good bunch of solos, breaks and complex parts.There are even slight KING CRIMSON vibes in the colder cuts with an also familiar OUTER LIMITS mood, but more or less the Japanese kept a good balance between sinister atmospheres, romantic textures and highly technical moves.As aforementioned, Tsuboy's violin workouts are the main leading forces of this album, complemented by Takahashi's piano, organ, synths and electric piano in complicated compositions, full of intricate plays, fast runs and tempo changes, supported still by a very solid rhythm section.There are also a couple of more melodic pieces with a softer style, where the Classical influences come excusively out of Tsuboy's crying violin.

This is emphatic, violin-driven Prog Fusion with focus on complex, instrumental music.Not as masterful as KBB's debut, but again I doubt that many bands can come up with such a consistent and interesting sound.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.