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"A pale copy of the English neo-prog, which pours into a psychedelic world without much imagination."
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2/5
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Welsh band 25 Yard Screamer is now 17 years old and already has 6 albums to its credit. So they are not the young band of the year, and they continue their journey in a progressive rock in the colours of the Marillion of the Hogarth period, a journey that they continue here with their seventh effort entitled "Natural Satellite", endorsed by Rob Reed's WhiteKnight label (Magenta).
The progressive format is hardly in doubt here - the album has two epics of more than 14 minutes - and the Marillionesque colours are obvious, with in the first line vocals by Nick James that seeks the same expressive intonations as Steve Hogarth, even overexpressive, as the singer tries to make a spell on each sentence, like some uninspired actors. He sometimes falls into the same rut as his model, until he takes a whiny tone ('While We Are') which quickly becomes annoying and which in any case hardly masks the destitution of the melodic lines.
The music of 25 Yard Screamer is indeed more built on atmospheric lines with a psychedelic tendency than on long instrumental developments, with the exception of the relatively elaborate guitar solo of Never in the Detail. And since the atmospheric parts are not sufficiently captivating (Gazpacho for example has done so much better in this field!) to interest the listener, the hunt for musical emotion is not very fruitful...
With melodies that lack imagination ('Code Jeremiah'), a production that sounds at times like the Who of the 80s, medium instrumental performances (a drum set that sometimes gets the sticks tangled up: cf. the fills of "A Space Where Someone Should Be") and weird ends of tracks, this "Natural Satellite" is a heartbreaker for the neo-English progressive music lover. Bands like IQ, Arena or even Pendragon have managed to evolve to continue to captivate aficionados, while here it is possible to wonder who will be interested in a fairly dated, unimaginative and lifeless music... - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. The Storyteller - 7:59 02. Devastate - 5:40 03. The Silent Rising 15:30 04. A Space Where Someone Should Be - 9:19 05. While We Are - 6:28 06. Never In The Detail - 6:44 07. Coda Jeremiah - 14:20
LINEUP:
Donal Ower: Batterie Matt Clarke: Basse Nick James: Chant / Guitares / Claviers Tom Bennett: Orchestrations Abbi James: Invité / Choeurs, Narration Aled Bryn Pennock: Invité / Narration Jeff Rees: Guitares / Invité Rob Reed: Claviers / Invité
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