Review - Altesia - Paragon Circus - 2020 - progressive rock and metal - French and English Text
A Bordeaux on fait du bon rock, et ce depuis longtemps ! Mais connaissez vous Altesia ? Ce quintet nous propose un rock progressif mâtiné de metal qui saura mettre en joie les amateurs d'Opeth, de Porcupine Tree, comme de Dream Theater, Haken ou Between The Buried And Me...
Vous l'aurez compris, c'est a un voyage dans une musique d'une grande sophistication que vous convie le scribe, et ce premier album a tous les atours d'une grande oeuvre.
Dès les premières notes de cette boite de Pandore musicale on est bluffé par la virtuosité et la maîtrise dont font preuve les musiciens, que ce soit au niveau du chant, où l'on entend des influences tirées des œuvres de Mika Akerfeldt ou Steven Wilson, comme au point de vue instrumental où les spectres des groupes des précités sont accompagnés du rock progressif à la sauce 70's façon Yes (superbes parties de claviers !) qui rentreraient en collision avec des choses beaucoup plus brut de décoffrage, avec un metal qui, s'il n'est pas omniprésent, fait ici des apparitions choisies et bienvenues.
Progressive Rock and Metal
To tell the truth, from the second track, which we can't leave without displeasure, called "Reminiscences" we are invited to a kind of "best of" of all that the prog does best (jazzy accents included with beautiful saxophone interventions) and the musicians seem to go from a funk moment to harder rock in the blink of an eye without ever batting an eyelid ! Breathtaking!
On "Amidst The Smoke" we take the organs directly into the gills, before dancing a timeless waltz and, here again, the musical journey seems limitless, but always with great coherence.
For it is here that Altesia delights us the most: despite the great diversity of styles practiced, a guarantee of an unfailing eclecticism, the group takes care to keep its guidelines, making the journey all the more enjoyable.
"The Prison Child" gives the most "muscular" part of Altesia's music, and one sometimes has the impression of hearing a duel between the "Yes" of the "Drama" era and an Opeth at the top of its form. Always, the people of Bordeaux keep their attention to melody, and the refrains remain catchy and memorable from the outset, which is an added bonus.
"Hex Reverse" begins like a most splendid piano/voice ballad (the notes that Clément Darrieu goes for are... superb!), the instruments then come to flesh out the ballad, which never forgets to remain one...
"Cassandra's Prophecy" is a choice song of almost 18 minutes that gives a glimpse of the band's capabilities: going from metal riffs to symphonic rock in a few minutes, with almost pop lulls in between! We are blown away but never bored! (Alexis "lider" Casanova's solos !!)
The album ends on an acoustic version of "Amidst The Smoke" worthy of the most beautiful seventies ballads.
In short, if you're a fan of prog in the broadest sense, rock or metal, with bits of acoustic, classical, jazz and killer ballads inside, you'll be served by this magnificent album! But what a debut album it is !
altesia.bandcamp.com/album/paragon-circus
