SARABANDES

Superb french progressive rock band,actually existing since 1980 under a diffrerent name and led by brothers Thierry and Jean-Luc Payssan.In 1985 they were renamed to MINIMUM VITAL and released a cassette and later their debut ''Les sainsons marines'' (in 1988,re-released in 1992).In 1990 the fantastic ''Sarabandes'' was published.A great and highly-original release of symphonic progressive rock with trully obscure and imaginative keyboard work.The album is obviously guitar/keyboard-based,as Payssan brothers lead the whole effort.Firstly goes the absolutely great guitar work by Thierry,which comes like a cross between soft GENESIS and symph/fusion Latin-American bands like ICEBERG or CRUCIS.Then come Jean-Luc's keyboards...really imaginative,Jean-Luc manages to produce weird and sometimes grandiose effects,which sound surprisingly like medieval tunes coming from another age!Deep into melody,ballaced complexity and jazzy culture,''Sarabandes'' is a highly-recommended work for all those who search for something unique for their collection!