A STREET BETWEEN SUNRISE AND SUNSET

The bands that sound like the Fish-era Marillion are getting fewer and fewer, but now and then they're popping up. The first time I heard a band that I really thought were inspired by Marillion was when I heard Pendragon's "The World" album from 1991. Another album that I consider being a really "Marillion-clone" is La Tulipe Noire's album "Shattered Image" from 2000. Next up is Satellite's "A Street Between Sunrise And Sunset" that was released on the Metal Mind label recently.

And the reminiscence doesn't stop with the music. Mark Wilkinson, the man that did all the famous artworks for Marillion, designed the sleeve. It's a really beautiful CD-booklet, and the music is really beautiful too. Besides the Marillion influences heard on the album, there are also reminiscences to Camel and of course Collage. The band includes three ex-members of Collage, the legendary Polish progressive rock band.

Except for a few bands (Pendragon, Marillion, Pallas etc.) I think that neo-progressive rock is the least interesting sub-genre in progressive rock. Although it's just a fine line between clone or not, and considering that I'm not the biggest fan of neo-progressive rock, I have to admit that this is a really good album with complex lengthy compositions, skilled musicians and a wonderful packaging. The drummer and composer Wojtek Szadkowski is a real genius. How often do you see the drummer stands as main composer? If you're into neo-progressive rock this might be the album of the year. Recommended!