STILL SEARCHING

Arcansiel's debut album was promising and I must say that this follow-up just keeps on with the promises.

The wonderful epic "I'm Still Searching" holds every aspect of prog that pleases me : nice vocal harmonies, great musicianship of course, subtle and light instrumental passages, very powerful keys, a touch of fantasy with some pleasant sax which will lead to a jewel of a song. Well, it is actually a piece of over than TWENTY minutes. And extremely pleasant ones.

It is a bit of a shame that this band does not have more exposure on PA. Almost no review for none of their album while "Arcansiel" truely deserves some attention. I tell you : at the time of release, this album is far much better than any which the Italian prog dinosaurs produced. Do not remain in doubt. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.

There are of course some Genesis-like moments ("Trespass", "Foxtrot" with "Supper's Ready" flavour). But like in their first release there won't be any obvious attempt to sound as Gabriel. The similarity will remain in the musical parts. Not the great riff or solo ones. No, Arcansiel plays in the division of the subtle and sweet ones. And I just believe it is great. You'll have to listen to these good and gentle sax parts here. Do it and tell what your feelings are. I am absolutely found of the mood of this track. Beautiful music, I tell you. Even brilliant.

The remaining parts of this album are of course under the shadow of this superb symphonic track. "Angel of March" is more on the harder edge, fully neo-prog. The song is repetitive almost during its whole lenght. Only the last two minutes will bring some variety. Again, great sax part. Very pleasant song.

The rock ballad "Your Only Treasure" has a catchy melody and, again, the duo sax / guitar is just great. But I guess that this is just what prog is all about : provide EMOTIONS (I guess you already know that I am found of these...). The closing number sounds pretty much like an ... IQ song but you'll have to add again some great sax breaks to get the full picture.

I like this album very much and I will rate it with four stars. It is definitely their best album and I strongly recommend it to you. Do listen to it, please. And share your views as well.