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ACTS OF DECEPTION
CEREBUS EFFECT
2005 , USA - EURO 9.50
Label: CEREBUS EFFECT
ALBUM REVIEW
Cerebus Effect's third album is a genuine effort of progressive fusion music. Even though they come from a small town in the small state Maryland, on the US East Coast, with Acts Of Deception show clearly that doesn't matter to be in big agglomerations for making true music. The nearly instrumental album starts with the seven minute long Y, a fusion rock tour de force that incorporates jazzy guitar lines backed by a crazy rhythm section, emphasised especially by the bass guitar that does a lot of soloing throughout the song. The keyboards alternate between discreet sound carpets and 70's inspired electric piano sounds with the right degree of nervousness. The following Identity Crisis, one of only two vocal pieces, has a more hectic pace, underlined by the incredibly fast and monotonous vocals that underline the stress in the song. It is here where we first notice a certain Zeuhl affinity, with a staccato rhythm not uncommon from the movement's originators Magma. A short group improvisation brings us the equally complicated Illusions that proves that you can play crazy prog fusion rock in under four minutes. Of Mortal Constraints takes the heat out of the moment, leaving us suspended again in a more laid back jazzy feeling. This is just the calm before the storm, the album's magnum opus Operation Midnight Climax, the other vocal song, that clocks in at over eleven minutes, that shows the band from its most diverse side. Nine Against Ten continues the album in an instrumental fashion, combining military rhythm attacks with the band's smoother mid-Seventies Canterbury prog side. Another group improvisation and a percussive solo number lead into the melancholic Unconsoled, before the genial W ends the album with another highlight. The short numbers sometimes don't offer the diversity you find on the CD's longer pieces, and the production of this self-released album also sometimes sounds as if the songs were recorded in the muddy Seventies, but the joyful playing and the technical prowess of all involved makes Acts Of Deception one of the most remarkable albums of the year. Cerebus Effect sound like a tag team wrestling match of Hatfield and the North and National Health versus Magma and Univers Zero. A sometimes surpisingly aggressive rock attitude makes Acts Of Deception much more than just a retro trip, but a true insight into the minds of four extremely gifted artists. Certainly nothing for those who like their music easy, Cerebus Effect are a perfect treat for friends of powerful progressive fusion rock. (www.disagreement.net) For further info visit the Official Homepage or one of the following websites: Rate Your Music, Prog Archives or My Space. Italian readers can especially visit the following ones: Arlequins 
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