MATRICIDE

I discovered La Tulipe Noire with this album, having (shamefully) not heard previous samples from them. "Matricide" is an enthralling concept about mother Earth and the way modern humans don't respect the natural course of events, from artificial food to nuclear weapons and war, ultimately leading to total destruction, being discovered by the main characters of the story in a future time.

The concept/lyrics (which must be followed along with the music to fully appreciate it) could come from a modern sci-fi movie but touches modern problems and concerns, which are conveyed in an almost apocalyptic manner through the course of the album, and this is where LTN succeed. The opening haunting, operatic, Latin-sung, 'A Letter from Patmos' sets the scene for what is about to follow: hyper-dynamic heavy Neo-prog, mostly based on a 4/4 tempo, with inspired lush-keyboards and raw female vocals by the surprising Julie Massino (most known to the Greek audience via her participation in a X-Factor type show (!) as a vocal teacher).

The ghosts of early Pallas, IQ and Marillion hang above Hyde's mighty keyboard lines, but LTN have taken this sound further and made it their own, although keeping it "rough around the edges", which boosts its character further; no jolly Neo-prog here. To this assist the heavy, almost metallic riffing of Marios and the harsh, yet strangely with a dose of neo-classical, vocals of Massino. Despite a tiny dip of interest towards the middle of the album (Radio Days I am looking at you) and a couple of unexpected fade-outs, the result is consistent and, above all, is a real musical proposal.

There are too many highlights to choose from an album that could have well served David Lynch in one of his sci-fi movies; essential for fans of heavy neo-prog, a near masterpiece.

4+ stars