HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Red Sand have been praised as the new Marillion wannabees and the fame of the band finally starts to hit a wordwide status.That did not mean that everhything worked really well for the Canadians with keyboardist Pierre Massicotte quiting after ''Gentry''.The result was Red Sand's leader Simon Caron to take over the keyboard duties besides the guitar work and the third album, dealing with human trafficking, was released independently in 2007.

Caron would follow again the succesful structure lines of ''Gentry'' in this new effort, two long tracks are complemented by a couple of shorter pieces.There is a certain tension by the band to reproduced some of the old MARLLION atmospheres in yet another album, making their development a bit static, however the music is again very strong, elaborate and atmospheric.Good thing is that singer Stephane "Steff" Dorval has eventually adapted a vocal expression completely suitable to Red Sand's emotional and sensitive musical background.As for the compositions, these are again very strong with a nostalgic 80's vibe, having PINK FLOYD as a secondary source of inspiration during some dramatic guitar solos.Caron have made no keyboard diet, despite being basically a guitarist, ''Human trafficking'' is cleverly balanced between grandiose synthesizers and melodic, electric guitars, deeping into the fundamentals of British Prog, while the two shorter cuts contain again some Mellotron bits.The result is satisfying to say the least, with lyrical passages surrounded by cinematic music along the atmospheres of Fish-era MARILLION, maintaining a theatrical attitude due to the changes between singing parts and narrations.Caron's melodies are certainly striking and memorable, making ''Human trafficking'' another beautiful Red Sand discographic entry.

Theatrical Neo Prog in the vein of old Marillion.You love the masters of 80's British Prog, you will fall in love with ''Human trafficking'' as well, no more or less.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.