PRÉLUDE À LA RUINE

With Prélude À La Ruine, Nemo finally hit their groove of perfection, a groove they don't look likely to leave anytime soon. Prélude shows so much invention and accomplishment that it stands up with the greatest albums of its kind ever written.

Immediately marking a departure from the style of the previous two albums, the opener, Les temps modernes, is as good a song as you will ever hear. For the most part up-tempo and powerful, it displays a far heavier, far more metallic sound than Nemo had previously utilised. Guichard, who replaces Gaignon on bass, plays a large role in this new edge. The production is also far improved over the previous albums. The next two songs, the instrumental 1914, and OGRE, which does not sound far removed from Liquid Tension Experiment, continue in much the same vein. Both songs would probably be considered absolute standouts on an ordinary album.

Not all of the album is heavy, however, as songs such as Eve et le génie du mal and Une dernière valse, the first part of Le monde à l'envers, demonstrate. The melodies here are melancholic, allowing Louveton to express more emotion than is appropriate elsewhere.

Generally speaking, though, this is a far heavier album than either of the previous two, and the songwriting is generally condensed from in the past, where favoured long compositions, and this is in no way a bad thing. There is no weak moment in Prélude, no sense that the pace ever really slackens, as even during the softer moments, there is still a real sense of intensity. It is interesting to compare this album to Banco's Darwin, which also features a heavier sound and shorter compositions, and is also none the weaker for it.

What really distinguishes Prélude À La Ruine, however, is the overwhelming extent to which all the ideas are developed and carefully thought through; all the cadences are elegantly navigated, all the tempi shifted between in a manner that never sounds forced or jars the ear. Ideas which would have been rushed in Les Noveaux Mondes are developed fully here, and because of that this album can be considered a classic.