NOW (EP)

In 1989 the debut of Now was re-released in CD by German label In-Akustik, but the band was yet to be discovered by a major Prog label.The following year the Belgians released a nowadays extremely rare self-titled EP with two tracks, another independent offering by the band.It was distributed in a limited number of 400 copies.

The first track ''Children of a dying world'' had a good and moving title and a pretty decent chorus, more in an AOR/80's Rock vein akin to Trevor Rabin-era YES of the same period.It appeared in the next full-length work of Now, but it is mostly characterized by its annoying plastic synths and an awful production, not to mention the dull backing vocals, eventually making it extremely cheesy and fairly uninteresting.The main reason of the EP's significance is definitely the long ''Whirl'', which is the rarest track ever recorded by the group, not appearing in any of their future efforts.Though not particularly conveincing, it follows a proggier path and reminds me of PALLAS of the 90's era.With plenty of variations but still in a commercial prog vein, ''Whirl'' alternates between laid-back synth/piano sections and more upbeat moments with interesting guitar parts by Vincent Fis.The annoying backing vocals are still there, but some decent keyboard lines and Fis' nice guitar work show some potential.Not really extraordinary, but certainly well-played.

The scarcity of the EP along with its rather mediocre material make it an unneeded extravaganze for the prog listener.Thus, its interest should be limited to Prog collectors and Neo-Prog fanatics, mainly because of the rare ''Whirl'' track contained in here.