Enchant- Break review

3rd album by the  (mostly) californian band Enchant, this record is a bit of a milestone. past the 2nd and a half album, the band strenghted it's style of the rocky prog, not metal and yet not neo nor traditional.
The band started also with this the famous HDCD recording, insuring a great sound quality that helped made the Enchant sound what it is.
This album starts of great with the title track Break and then move on.
As the previous album, Enchant define its music with great musicmanship and the songs go on and on with  a personnality of their own but without, at least to my taste, enough of individuality to make one stands out to another...maybe the magic touch of Ed platt on the bass guitar is missing.
If you liked the previous album, this one will please you otherwise it is a nice addition to the Enchant  building block with great melodies and chant but not a lot that do stand out... besides My enemy that I give to you.

Afterthoughts 1 : Brave - Marillion

If there is one album I'll take on a desert island (at least deserted with a cd player and electricity), this is the one.
Lots and lots of albums are great but if I have to choose then it will be this one.
Because it is from my favorite band.
Because it is a concept album, with a story running all through it.
Because it is prog rock that touches my soul.
So obviously it should be the first afterthoughts.

The story is a fiction based on a real fact about a young girl found wandering near the Severn Bridge.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_%28Marillion_album%29 for more hindsight on the album.

Let's just say that My discovery of Brave was quite hard.
When I first listened to it a couple of times, I felt it was ... too harsh, hard to enter. Not as easy listening as Seasons end or Holidays in eden, I found myself pushed back by it... There was quite a bunch of  rock on songs sure (paper lies, hard as love) but it was.... very slow.
Because Brave takes its time. From the first slow opening, the moody story starts to unravel itself as the songs go by altering rock on ones and slower, very moody ones.
It is not an album with singles nor great tunes and great songs you can almost listen to at random or separately.

As most concept albums go, Brave of course need you to enter it's universe, follow the story in order and let yourself be grabbed by the eerie feeling that lingers in from most of the tracks. Few seems out of place (paper lies and hard as love to my taste and the final one...) and it is a really great experience, like a good movie that keeps on showing bit of itself  the more you watch it. Brave need lots and lots of listenings, in the dark with the volume up as they say, to really get to you but in the end it will be rewarding.
A truly amazing album with great songwriting and lyrics, not at all happy despite the final track , placed here to try to lighten the mood. It should be. Brave is dark, desperate, harsh, hard as love indeed. And it is truly a masterpiece in the prog rock and concept album hall of fame that you should try to listen to... but give it time.
In those days of straight forward easy successes, I give you the thing that could not work and yet should be listen to. Brave.

IRON MAIDEN LIVE in Paris 5 June 2013

First time for everything and in that case it is Iron Maiden time.


As my phone was slowly dying of power failure, no pictures could be taken but I reckon it won't do any justiec to the show. It had it all, best of  land for the set list as you'll see below, great effect pyros, fireworks, great sound, big imagery, props and disguises, giant puppets and such, videos and intros.... A bercy full of sweaty metal lovers  all pumped up.
Even if it started a bit slow (not to mention the first part band who were really  quelconque ), bruce having trouble keeping it's mike in front of his mouth, missing some verses and such and small interaction, it finnally kick off as the Whole of Bercy chanted an Happy Birthday to Nicko McBrain. Bruce Dickinson tried to his credit to speak french the whole tiume but sometimes it was hard to understand what he was saying...
But enough already, A bit less than 1H45 of great energic show going still strong in spite of the age of the artists and the ongoing touring... Even if everybody is fed up with it, it is still great to feel shivers down my spine while hearing Fear of the Dark..

Here's the set list.
UP THE IRONS

INTRO
Doctor Doctor
(UFO song)


Moonchild
Can I Play with Madness
The Prisoner
2 Minutes to Midnight
Afraid to Shoot Strangers
The Trooper
The Number of the Beast
Phantom of the Opera
Run to the Hills
Wasted Years
Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
The Clairvoyant
Fear of the Dark
Iron Maiden

Encore:
Churchill's Speech

Aces High
The Evil That Men Do
Running Free


Always Look on the Bright Side of Life (monty python powa !)

ENCHANT - Wounded & Time Lost

Double CD for the 2nd & 3rd album by west US based band Enchant. AFter a debut album that will be talk over an Afterthough post as it is so great, here's the so feared second album plus the EP that became a third album after some -more writings sessions , now combine with sleeves notes and mixed artwork (thanks for that wounded was not so great as crude CGI goes)

On the good side, the band does indeed afine it's style of an energic prog rock with a sound of it's own, backed up by the half cry, half lamantations vocals by Ted Leonard (Hi Ted, love you man).
Enchant really get it's enchanted sound that will go on now until the last albums.
The bad part of it is that after a great three tracks most of the wounded delivers a good deal of nice songs building the Enchant-style but without real riffs, melody or stuff that really shines.
Interesting enough the second CD, the EP, collection of lost, reworked tracks is of better quality with most of the track leaving at least a chorus, a bridge, a solo worth buzzing in the ear.
If possible one could seek out the old time lost CD but if not the special edition is nice indeed... though it might have been good to merge to make another great album instead of two 'smaller' ones.
On wounded the tracks are the first three (below zero, fade to grey and pure) are the highlights while the second are (above all) Mettle men (with the looooong intro ^^) and of course the almost 11 mn long interact song.
Good to discover Enchant but not the best in this dual form... though both could have make a great album.