THREE DISTANCES... IRREGULAR SIGNS

Absolutely fantastic fusion act from France,who released two great albums before disbanding.Formed out of the late-80's group ''Arlequin'',PRIAM consisted of four talented and creative musicians with a wide range of influences,from straight jazz and classic progressive rock to electronic music and even techno.Keeping the rock element as their basis PRIAM released their first album ''Three distances...irregular signs'' in 1998.

This came as a total surprise to me,as I didn't expect to hear such a fantastic work by a totally unknown band.Their sound is the most balanced version of jazz/fusion,symphonic rock and space/electronic music you can find around.There are a lot of rhythmic parts,were bass and drums are leading the way,accompanied by virtuosic guitar soloing,then suddenly the storm is followed by the beautiful rainbow of the superb electronic soundscapes,delivering a great spacey atmosphere.Very often the music takes off,led by up-tempo grooves with nice interplays and majestic breaks,but you can also easily recognize the neo/symph influence on Chris Casagrande's solos.Recognizable is also the influence that ROBERT FRIPP had on Casagrande's style of playing with all these weird and complicated breaks and take-offs.At the end I'm sure you'll find yourself absolutely mind-blown by PRIAM's energy,creativity,balance and inspiration.''Three distances...irregular signs'' is easily one of the best modern fusion albums I've ever heard and should easily appeal to all prog rock fans without any exception!