NEUMOND

I guess that this night is for me DEEPLY marked by the seal of Antoine who sadly passed away about a week ago. I only acknowledged today about the sad news.

One of his beloved band was ''Novalis''. When he asked me to review this band some months ago, I told him that I was quite resistant to German lyrics, but he was so insistent that I started some three weeks with their debut album.

Even if I knew that his health situation was extremely severe, I never thought at this moment that he wouldn't be able to read the whole batch of reviews I was going to post for this band.

I know that he didn't like the evolution of ''Novalis'' after ''Brandung'', and when I listen to this specific album, I can only cope with his feeling of course. This has nothing to do with the great ''Novalis'' of the splendid ''Banished Bridge'' of course.

Even if their latest albums were not reaching high levels, there were always some tracks, some instrumental passages which could raise the level of an album. With this ''Neumond'', I am afraid that it is not necessarily the case.

The closing track maybe. But I'm already talking about the last track of this work.just because there are hardly interesting stuff in here. The cold beauty of ''Blauer Morgen'' is saving the global feeling of this album, but still: more than two stars doesn't seem to be appropriate.

I closed my review for ''Sommerabend'' with these words: ''I dedicate this review to my friend Febus: hold on my friend. There is light after the tunnel''. I wrote it on November 29th. Antoine passed away three days later.

Unfortunately for Antoine, the light was turned off but he will always be a light for me. Repose en paix mon ami.