CANTUS FIRMUS

This is one of those releases that you come across and based on the album cover artwork, you dive in expecting to be taken on a journey through time. Having recently delved into the Renaissance/Medieval new age genre, I was hoping on a contemporary twist being given to some traditional music, if not the artists taking flights of fancy and conjuring up images of knights and fair maidens cavorting in a castle courtyard. What I got seems to be a little of both. While I am not in love with everything this release has to offer, there are a couple of tracks which I found interesting. The opener was not one of them. The novelty of this 1st tune failed to bear up to the test of time but fortunately it was only 2 minutes long. "Awaiting The Call..." gets things going with an infectious bass & drum driven melody that cruises along nicely then chills out with a brief acoustic mandolin (??) segment then back into the main groove. Not overly complex.........just some ear candy and the first illustration as we listen along to this CD that when settling in to just play, these guys really seem to enjoy their craft. The next 3 tunes are steeped in old world charm but are a little too placid for my tastes. Then along comes "Ramblin' Sailor" and while certainly oozing with seafaring imagery, it also lets the musicians display all their enthusiasm and they really sound like their enjoying themselves. Finally, there's Firmus Fanale. "Majestic" is a word that comes to mind..........it's got a little bit of a early Genesis feel to it. Anyway, does the good outweigh the mediocre..........it's about even. you've got to be looking for some medieval-inspired prog for this to attract your attention. This occupies a very remote corner of the prog genre but for a true enthusiast, it's worth a listen.