BATTLEMENT

I have been reading about this cd on this site for over a year now, and been very interested in hearing it. Well, now I have purchased it, and have to say it is, indeed, very good. As I expected, there are Genesis influences here, (and they are my favourite all-time band) but maybe not quite so many as some people think. Frederic Joos does sound quite like Gabriel, especially on the first three tracks. 'Loafer Jack' is a bright, uptempo, flute driven song, catchy and melodic. One of my favourites. 'Ice With Dwale' sounds to me almost like something off 'From Genesis To Revelation', mainly because of the piano work, I think. Another excellent song. 'Intruders And The Punishment' is also very good. Nice keyboard work here, with urgent, hoarse vocals from Joos. Again, very Gabriel-like, although his German accent is more noticeable here. 'Beyond The Bugle' is a slower track, with some nice flute and acoustic guitar work. The flute, at times on this album, sounds more like Ian Anderson than Peter Gabriel. This is a good song, as is the next one, the title track, 'Battlement'. Bass player Reiner Zimmer takes the vocal duties on this, and does a respectable job, having a quiet but pleasant voice. Another slow track, and another nice one. 'Midsummer Day' is the bonus track, which is, for me, probably the weakest song on here. Nevertheless, it is not actually bad, but Joos does not sing this one so well, he strains a bit to reach the higher parts, and sounds less like Gabriel. Finally we have the only track with a German title, Zartlicher Abschied, which is, in fact, an instrumental, and one very much in the Genesis vein, especially from the 'Selling England/The Lamb' period. Nice keyboards again, some effective acoustic guitar strumming, and a simple but decent mid-tempo melody. A good ending to a strong album. Personally, I think it not so much like Genesis as, say, Citizen Cain, but it is definitely worth having on its own merits, and would be interesting even if Genesis had never existed. Gabriel-era fans will like it.