NIGHTMARE

"Nightmare" was the first DICE album after a long period of being basically a touring band only, and they emerged from the spotlight fairly maturely. The sound of the next decade is mostly intact - accessible prog with a spacey slant. The guitars carry the day but there are plenty of atmospheric keyboards to provide the balance, while Christian Nove's voice seems a curious blend of David Sylvian circa JAPAN and BRYAN FERRY, with a slightly sloppy quality that provides a good foil for the "out there" topics.

When DICE goes straight ahead rock the result is not favourable for either the rock fan or the prog fan, as is the case on the opener "Tell me", the similar "Help me", and "Waiting". But the METRO-esque "Goodbye" shows that the group has some pretty impressive takes on the 1980s scene. Nonetheless, the real stuff of DICE is found in "White Flag", the title cut, "Full Moon", and "Wild Tigers", punchy and catchy tunes with plenty of opportunities for all to shine.

This is not deep musically or lyrically, but it captures the spirit of progressive rock better than most. In my dream world, music like this would have been punk's worst nightmare.

With the a revived Dice and after many live appearances the next step for Christian Nove was to put again his band on the map with an official studio album.Nove appears to be the only link with the old Dice, the fresh line-up featured now Thomas Bunk on drums, Thomas Jager on guitar and Henry Zschelletzschy on keyboards/vocals with Nove performing on bass and vocals.''Nightmare'' was the title of a work, the recordings of which come from 94' and 96' rehearsals at Tonstudio Herchenbach in Leipzig.The album was released in 1997 on Scene Records.

Again the very tight links of Dice with Classic Prog are not apparent with the group sounding basically like a cross between ROXY MUSIC, JAPAN and DAVID BOWIE, offering something that sounds like a mix of Art Rock and Post-New Wave.Another good comparison would be GROBSCHNITT during their fading days.However ''Nightmare'' is not a bad album.It sounds often as a genuine work full of inspired atmospheric explorations, great British-styled vocals, artistic elements and interesting guitar parts, passing from Neo Prog to Art Pop to New Wave with comfort.A couple of pieces with dominant organ parts and extended synths sound like German symph-oriented acts of the 80's, but the bulk of ''Nightmare'' is atmospheric New Wave-styled Rock with emphasis on the spacey yet melodic guitar work, the marching drumming and the poppy vocals.Use of distortions and light effects strengthen the fact that Dice reputedly old stylings are gone for good and the band pushed their sound a step further.Compatriots GREEN WAVE are a good reference at this point.A mix of 80's, contemporary and vintage echoes in a charming and well-composed collection of memorable songs.

Not for the dedicated Classic Prog fan.An excellent album though for fans of Art Rock with New Wave aesthetics and anyone with open ears.Recommended.