CHAINS

It is only unfortunate that Ricocher´s best CD would be their last. Well, I hope this band will come back soon, for they proved they were able to expand and better their sound with each release. Their first album was basicly a hard rock collection of songs with some prog elements, while their second was the opposite: progressive neo with some hard rock guitar riffs. So I had high hopes for this one and I was not disapointed: more progressive than ever (this time even the guitar licks are less hard rock and more progressive than the second album), Chains is clearly an excellent affair, with strong musicanship, mature songwriting and powerful interpretatios. All songs are connected creating a great whole piece of music with varying moods and feelings, but always poignant and convincing. No fillers!

I enjoyed Erwin Boeremkamps a lot, he sure can sing all kinds of music and does it with passion and gut. He never sounds forced or too dramatic, doing a balanced interpretation of each lyric with conviction. The overall sound is still a little rockier than you can expect from a prog act, even neo prog, but that´s really a compliment, because doing so they don´t sound too much like other acts and leave their mark, those add ons improving the strong elements of some tunes. There are no highlights on Chains, the album should be heard from beginning to end with the same pleasure.

Pehaps not really a masterpiece, but surely an excellent addition to any prog collection, specially if you´re fan of neo prog music. I really hope they reconsider and reform. But Chains was a very nice surprise. Highly recommended!