TAKING ROOT

Ghastly. Absolutely, ghastly. I couldn't come up with any decent words to describe this album by the already extinct Belgian quintet. When the fatidic 80's made their irremediable appearance on stage, most of those days' prog bands constantly struggled not to stumble and rely on new trends and waves the decade to come brought along, but ISOPODA surrendered to the glitter and glow by releasing such an irreverent album. "Taking Root" is the reflection of oneself in the mirror after a night of heavy drinking, turning out the be the most horrendous hangover that ever drilled inside your head. That bad is this album of the early eighties, or as I rather call it, "the hollow years".

"Taking Root" actually takes off pretty well at the time the self-named song thunders in your speakers, experimenting particular odd sounds out of an organ and some keyboards with crunchy guitar interludes, sporadically showing this guys can surely rock. But with excitement comes disappointment. In a sudden turn of fate, the song turns cheesy and empty, lead vocalist Dirk De SCHEPPER explores the sassy lyrics he indisputably wrote with a creepy almost snoozing pitch sound of voice, and, as the album moves forward, the instruments are displayed so outrageously that it makes you wanna turn the stereo off. Like it happened to me, I just couldn't listen to the whole atrocity in one single sit.

So, if your bag is enjoying clattery noises out of arbitrarily played cymbals, rackety tambourines, laser gun sounds, despiteful experiences that resemble hideous imitations at the pure style of "Studio 54" and Jerry Lee LEWIS, song 7 on the track listing, "The Fall"; and what the hell, the rest of the album as well, ISOPODA is the kind of pseudo-prog rock band for you.