OCTOPUS

What a stunning suprise! When I first heard this, I consider it to be non-musical and randomized nonsense. But afterwards, there was something that draw me back to it. Maybe it was the stunning cover art and the fact that the music sounded like nothing I have heard before. So I finally decided to buy it. And then, all my previous doubts was gone. The sound is something close to perfection. It have to be the most variating music I ever heard, the songs never stops changing their direction and the band have succeed to put more things into a 3 minute track than many prog bands do in songs exceeding for over 10 minutes. The melody, the instruments and the rythm section changes constantly. Strangely, or rather "uncommonly", it feels like the band just have used compositions that they really like in their songs, not like they just have been putting all their ideas into them wherever it's good or bad, like many other progbands do. The sound is very systematic and complex and the members have a blinding virtousity even for prog standards, at the same time they manage to write rather catchy sections. Some of us complain that there are some less "complicated" songs, but if rather simplistic, those are still rather variating and you can take some breath between the more complex songs.

The songs are very short for the prog genre, but as I said before they manage to involve as many compositions and moods as a 10-minute song. The album itself is shorter than 35 minutes, but those 35 minutes are completely filled to the max with great music. My favourite songs are the advent of panurge, a cry for everyone, the boys in the band and think of me with kindness, but each song is unique and appealing in it's own way.

If you consider to buy this one, you have to keep it in your mind that this is not at the melodic or symphonic side of prog at all. Songs like "knots" can be very confusing and irritating for a symphonic progger. Actually the songs doesn't remind me of anything from the same era. But if you like complex songs that doesn't stay very long at any part of the composition and at the same time and at the same time has a "soul", you should consider buying this.