Phideaux - Doomsday Afternoon


Year of Release: 2007
Label: Bloodfish Music
Catalog Number: ZYZ-666
Format: CD
Total Time: 66:58:00

Correct me if I'm wrong, but have I been living under a rock for the last ten years? I really thought I was well aware of every little thing worth to be discovered in the wide world of prog, but covered in a blush of shame I have to admit never to have heard of the band Phideaux at all. Thank god for the band's leader Xavier Phideaux to contact me through MySpace or I still wouldn't have found out about this fine band.

My first encounter with Phideaux immediately is with what they call their best album, the kind of album they have been willing to record since day one but never managed to until now. In fact, all of Doomsday Afternoon is just one long composition, which, for the convenience of the listener (and no doubt the reviewer!), has been broken into different movements. The album is the band's most definite statement so far and is pure symphonic rock in the literal sense of the word. Backed by a multitude of guest musicians on violin, viola, cello, French horn, trumpet and flute, Phideaux's music goes much further than your average prog album. Great melodies and superb arrangements come across like a beautiful silk sheet which spreads itself over unpolluted territory inviting you, the listener, to enjoy an unforgettable picnic surrounded by the wealth and beauty which nature has to offer.

Main man Xavier Phideaux has been influenced by a late 60s-early 70s mix of psychedelic and progressive music, which is music that requires involvement from the listener and has the "anything-goes" approach all over. It's this mixture of styles that makes it rather difficult to label the band, however it's more symphonic prog rock than psychedelic, with the main vocals sometimes getting close to that of Roger Hodgson. "Thank You For The Evil" is pretty much vintage Pink Floyd with a dash of early Alan Parsons Project thrown in for good measure. There are parts that remind me of Mandalaband, seventies Barclay James Harvest and current The Tangent. "Formaldehyde" even injects some folky, Celtic elements to the album, which delivers kind of a Mostly Autumn atmosphere as well. Using members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, the violin of Discipline member Matthew Parmenter, a synth solo from IQ's Martin Orford and a couple of spoken words from Arjen Lucassen (who probably was too busy with the new Ayreon album to record anything musical), Doomsday Afternoon has become a quality album that can be placed next to the biggest titles of the genre, be it Dark Side Of The Moon, The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway or Close To The Edge.

Also from a producer's point of view, this is an ace album with attention to detail and, above all, due to the use of returning themes, it really makes it a whole; a true concept album if ever I heard one. In fact Doomsday Afternoon is the second part in a trilogy starting out with last year's The Great Leap. Had this album been released in the seventies, Phideaux would have sold millions of copies. Sadly the band has chosen the wrong decade to release it, so all we can hope for is for people to actually buy this album instead of downloading it and losing lots of audio quality (and respect for the creators) along the way. Hopefully Phideaux recuperates all if not more of its investment so they can start work on the third and final chapter of this fine trilogy. No doubt a very strong contender for "album of the year" the world over!

Phideaux will perform live at the Crescendo Festival in Saint-Palais-sur-Mer, France on Saturday, 18th August 2007 at 9:30 pm. Entrance is completely free and this US band will be on stage with eleven people! (more info at www.crescendo-festival.com)


Tracklisting:
Act I:: Micro Softdeathstar (11:17) / The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice (Part One) (3:01) / Candybrain (4:06) / Crumble (2:55) / The Doctrine Of Eternal Ice (Part Two) (8:08) / Act Two:: Thank You For The Evil (9:18) / A Wasteland Of Memories (2:22) / Crumble (2:55) / Formaldehyde (8:17) / Microdeath Softstar (14:40)

Musicians:
Xavier Phideaux - piano, Fender Rhodes, Moog Voyager, 6 & 12 sting guitars, vocals
Rich Hutchins - drums
Ariel Farber - vocals, handclaps
Valerie Gracious - piano, vocals
Mathew Kennedy - bass
Gabriel Moffat - lap steel guitar, solo & electric guitar
Linda Ruttan Moldawsky - vocals
Molly Ruttan - vocals
Mark Sherkus - Hammond B3, mini-Moog, ARP string ensemble, Korg Karma, sampler

Members of the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra
Matthew Parmenter - violin
Martin Orford - synth solo (9)

Discography:
Fiendish
Ghost Story
Chupacabras
313
The Great Leap (2006)
Doomsday Afternoon (2007)

Genre: Symphonic Prog

Origin US

Added: August 3rd 2007
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg
Score:
Artist website: www.bloodfish.com
Hits: 3580
Language: english

  

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