CONTES DES SOUS-BOIS

Guillaume de la Piliere (born as Guillaume Thiebault) was mostly known for his performances as the lead singer and guitarist of the Theatrical Symphonic Rock band Versailles.However, being also an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and having plenty of time after the third Versailles album ''Le trésor de Valliesres'', Piliere arranged his first solo release ''Contes des sous-bois'', released in 1997 on his band's label Musea Records.

The album showcases Piliere's varied influences in their entirety, being a nice amalgam of Theatrical, Psychedelic and Symphonic Rock, heavily based on the diverse keyboard passages and the aggressive guitar work.''La Mustique Bremitique'' is nothing less than 11 minutes of dramatic guitar-driven Psychedelic Rock mixed with beautiful Symphonic Rock breaks, characterized by the strong guitar grooves, the dreamy flute work and the delicate organ sounds.''Diaboliquement Divin'' is an obscure mix of acoustic guitars and sitar with spacey synths and theatrical vocals, a trully personal approach by the artist.''Sacrifice Sacre Vice'' recalls the more straightforward moments of the French Rock movement with good guitar work but a rather plane steady groove, while the vocals are over the top, fortunately the keyboard work towards the end is fantastic.''Maitre On Duc'' is close to the likes of MONA LISA, AMANDA and VERSAILLES, dreamy ballad full of sensitive vocals, a multi-choir chorus, elegant piano and flutes around.The closing 11-min. ''Mistigricide'' delivers a return to the sound of ''La Mustique Bremitique''.ANGE/MONA LISA-influenced Symphonic Rock with psychedelic touches, theatrical vocals all the way, trully dramatic organ runs and great guitar work throughout, resulting a composition filled with shifting moods and atmospheres.

A solid and trully artistic first effort by this talented French musician, which will appeal to a wide spectrum of fans within the prog aesthetics.Warmly recommended, especially to lovers of the French style of Prog.