FRESH BLOOD

This North Carolina-based fusion group consisted of excellent musicians on every instrument: bassist Wayne Leechford on chapman stick, Francis Dyer on drums, Hollis Brown on electric violin, and Jeremy Shaw on guitar. (No vocals.) Great fusion a la Mahavishnu/Crimson/Dregs, etc.

Similar to (but not quite as Crimson-esque as) Boud Deun, this group hits a home run on their debut album. Great production and nice balance between the instruments contribute to the excellent playing of some very energetic compositions. My only gripe is that the songs, though good, all start to sound a bit similar after awhile; I personally could have used more slower-paced songs and perhaps some different instrumentation here and there.

This group also put out another studio album ("Nocturne") around the same time as this one, which shows some maturing and progress. But I'd REALLY like to plug their live cd, "Live at Local 506", recorded during their tour following "Nocturne". Comprised of 5 songs each from both studio albums, you can really see how the group has become even tighter and more polished. It's amazing how they can rip through these complex songs live on stage!

I think the group has disbanded, so good luck picking these cd's up. Their website may still sell all of their cd's. If you're into instrumental prog fusion, you should seek them out.