AKHENATON

After a long hiatus, Yochko Seffer had a break from the solo stuff, bringing out another Zao album with fellow former Magma pianist Faton Cahen, and (an my opinion) brilliant drummer Jean-My Truong. Other previous members of Zao didn't return, with two new members joining the lineup, although having previously played with the group live.

Nearly two decades on, their sound hasn't changed much other than being a little cleaner which you'd expect of production quality in the 90s vs the 70s, although the influence of Zeuhl has reduced somewhat and it is closer to 'standard' jazz rock than previous Zao albums. The heavy bassline is still a continuous feature though alongside some 'darker' passages.

Elioth begins with a quite beautiful Jazz intro, while Thebes is notable for the interplay between saxophone and violin. Baityare is quite heavy on violin and doesn't have much Zeuhl influence at all, but Cobra is a little more early-Magma- esque. Yzzo is a faster paced rack, bringing out the best of Truong's drumming and the bass work, probably the best track on the album. Sable continues the fast pace, but at this point you start to notice the pattern of each track: building a melody, then everyone having a solo passage, then on to the next track - doesn't mean they're bad songs, just that you can almost sense what's coming before it happens. The album does end though with the calm (just Seffer & Cahen duetting) piece, Des fleurs pour Nefertiti, which is slow and melodic and in stark contrast for most of the album before it.

On balance, I've given every Zao album of the 70s three stars, and I'm doing exactly the same here.