DESCENDING

Gargamel is a Norwegian modern Prog act with a vintage 1975 VDGG sound, complete with Hammill-alike vocals. There is not much saxophone on it, but flutes, organs and mellotron more then make up for that.

They remind me of Sinkadus and Wobbler as well. Having the same combination of forceful vintage rocking Prog with that dreamy melancholic mood. In case of Gargamel the vocals are also not the greatest asset (too much of a Hammill copy, I prefer the real thing). On the other hand the vocals have largely improved compared to the band's debut, where the vocalist could hardly keep his pitch. There's plenty of room for instrumental passages, such as the spacey second half of "Descending". It's at those moments where the band really shines for me. "Prevail" has better vocals, followed by a long proggy instrumental middle section. It all builds up to a great finale. The stronghold is the 17 minute long "Labyrinth".

I wouldn't say Gargamel is as good as Wobbler, Sinkadus or Anglagard, but they get close on occasion and they are certainly talented. If you're a fan of named bands and also dig Hammill's vocals then you should definitely check out this album.