BURNING CANDLE

This is truly one of the most obscure prog rock bands out there. The fact this band released their sole album in 1981 on the Steyrer Disco label (this is the same label that originally released Rousseau's Flower in Asphalt) and never been reissued in any form making the purchase of the original LP your only option to hear it on a solid format. Really, this kind of album is begging for a reissue, like on Musea (which apparently they're not interested in) or Garden of Delights.

Apparently this band was working on material in the 1970s, broke up in 1978 and then returned in 1981 to get the album out and released. Given how bad shape symphonic prog was in 1981, this is truly one of the bright shining gems. It's been described as a jazzy ELP, but to be fair I noticed elements of such other German groups as Eloy, Novalis, Ramses, Tritonus, and even Jane, especially with the ultra typical heavily accented English sung by German vocalist you expect from said acts (except for Novalis, as their sung in their own language, except for Banished Bridge when they discovered singing in English wasn't a strong point for them). "Stranger" shows that this music is clearly in the German school of symphonic prog, with ELP or Triumvirat-like organ moves, nice use of the Korg synth played in similar manner to a MiniMoog, and string synths, with a jazzy passage on electric piano tagged at the end. "Eternal Faith" is obviously Hans-Peter Neuber's show, as it's entirely a piano solo piece showing a rather obvious classical influence. "The Appearance of the Ghosts" is back to high-octane symphonic prog with great themes played on organ and synths, and then a drum solo from Rolf Vitzhum, then a more Camel-like passage, guitar playing is a bit like Camel, although not with the same clean tone Andy Latimer utilizes. "Mosella" is a solo acoustic guitar piece, I guess they wanted something similar to "Mood for a Day" (Yes/Steve Howe), or "Horizons" (Genesis/Steve Hackett), which leads to the last piece "Expedition to the Sun" another full-blown symphonic piece. I really love that one creative synth passage.

When you think you've heard it all, it's nice to find gems like this that few have ever heard of. Like Burning Candle. Certainly the album isn't exactly original, it's your typical, but excellent mid to late '70s German symphonic prog album with some fusion elements (despite being from 1981). I still highly recommend it, so hold on your turntables. Four stars it is.