Halloween - Merlin

Year of Release: 1994
Label: Musea Records
Catalog Number: FGBG 4084.AR
Format: CD
Total Time: 64:18:00

Like so many bands before, the French band Halloween has used the myths and legends of King Arthur as an idea for a concept CD. Sparks of King Crimson and PFM mingle with the prog sound of today. The use of a real string quartet gives the CD an extra dimension, although the end result gets rather ... difficult.

For the first time since the band's debut Part One, you can hear singer Géraldine Le Cocq in "Le Procès." Smashed between heavy violins and an almost theatrical approach from guitar -player Jean-Philippe Brun, Géraldine steps forward as a typi-cal French "chansonnière." It should also be said that the lyrics don't create an ideal atmosphere for vocal improvisati-on! That's probably the reason why vocal tracks alternate with instrumentals.

To enhance the medieval feel, Halloween has used real strings plus the ancient flute played by Jean-Marc Goujon. The result however is not as accessible as one might think. Then again, a nice resting point is the acoustic guitar solo from Jean-Fran?-ois Delcamp.

Knowing that cellos, violins and heavy brass get the upperhand during the entire duration of this CD, it looks like Merlin will not be everyone's cup of tea. It will be a nice introduc-tion for the lovers of classical music though.

Tracklisting:
Le Conseil Des Démons (6:59) / Le Procès (7:51) / Après La Bataille (5:47) / Le Sacre (4:08) / Table Ronde (5:08) / Morgane (3:42) / Arthur Contre Morgane (5:42) / Viviane (2:11) / Dragon Rouge, Dragon Blanc (5:38) / Dernière Bataille (5:59) / La Mort De Morgane (6:55) / Forêt (4:14)

Musicians:
Jean-Philippe Brun - violin, cello, guitars, bass, vocals
Gilles Coppin - keyboards, vocals
Philippe Di Faostino - drums, percussion
Jean-François Delcamp - acoustic guitar, lute, bass
Géraldine Le Cocq - vocals

Discography:
Part One (1988)
Laz (1989)
Merlin (1994)
Silence Au Dernier Rang! (1998)
Le Festin (2001)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin FR

Added: March 27th 2001
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website:
Hits: 2439
Language: english