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CANTUS FIRMUS
ADVENT
2006 , USA - EURO 15.00
Label:
ALBUM REVIEW
This is the same New Jersey-based progressive rock band whose self-titled 1997 CD was released on Mellow Records (which we should have back in stock soon). Advent’s long-awaited second release improves on their debut in just about every way. The band is heavily influenced by Gentle Giant, which is apparent within the first few seconds, even more so on this album than on their debut. But while Advent has some of the medieval feel and similar-sounding vocals, Gentle Giant isn’t the end of the story. There is some Genesis influence present, maybe a little Yes as well, so Advent’s style is often more majestic and regal than Gentle Giant. The album features wonderfully elaborate arrangements, beautiful guitar work (including a substantial amount of classical and acoustic guitar), and tight vocal interplay. The CD also includes previously unreleased 24-track recordings of two songs from the band’s debut CD as bonus tracks. As explained in the liner notes, Advent recorded 24-track versions of five songs in 1992, but due to various constraints, only one received a proper mix and appeared on their debut CD. The other four songs from those sessions ended up on the album in their original four-track cassette versions. So as you can imagine, the improvement in the 24-track versions is immense, and one of the bonus tracks has also had new drumming added recently. Pencil this in for best U.S. progressive album of 2006. 69-minutes. (JFK)
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