THE EARTH'S LAMENT

Ar Braz' third album was by far his heaviest, featuring prominent rhythm guitars on some tracks, and only a couple of ballads. His Celtic roots are certainly not abandoned, however, and the songs work best when they strut both his new physique and his inner beauty.

Even on his cover of Lennon-McCartney's "Rain", the Uillean Pipes predominate enough to render this more than just an oddly conceived remake. "To Rory" is an instrumental that benefits from lively interplay between some of his best leads and sprightly synthesizers, the latter contributed by Benoit Widemann of Magma. "Menez Du" trades synthesizers for bombarde and is even more aggressive. The closer and title cut is a lovely lamenting lead guitar figure backed by Patrick Audouin's electric piano. It comes off like a measured and deliberate contribution by Mike Oldfield, and is perhaps the highlight. The main weaknesses are in "Back to Life" and "Birds and Boats" that are simply hard rockers lacking the subtlety of the ancient art.

In his lengthy discography, Ar Braz has explored a number of paths both less and well trodden, often never to return. On "Earth's Lament", he comes closest to loud and brash, with mixed results, but, after his debut, this might be the place to start for the more grounded members of progarchives.