A decade after the release of their debut "Before The Storm" , Québecois modern symphonic outfit Kaos Moon returns for another variation on a same theme. The band has been almost completely overhauled as main composer/keyboardist/lyricist/vocalist Bernard Ouellette is the only mainstay, and former members Benoit Chaput and the excellent Alain Ponthier only make cameo appearances.
The musical fare served up on The Circle Of Madness is highly reminiscent to the music they presented us on their debut disc; mainly song-oriented melodic progressive in a similar vein to bands like Jadis ( notice that I'm purposefully staying away from the "N" word here). The tracks blend into each other nicely without any one track standing out from the others. Ouellette's crooning is just as smooth as ever and he's lost most of his French accent. His syntax and grammar have also vastly improved. However, this may not necessarily be a good thing since he's decided to pen lyrics for every song. Their debut disc contained two instrumental numbers which may arguably have been the strongest pieces on the disc.
Despite a few shortcomings The Circle Of Madness is a fairly solid, albeit predictable disc. Ouellette's slightly falsetto voice permeates all tracks from cover to cover over a canvas of melodic musical lines, including a plethora of analog keyboards, funky bass lines, and interesting guitar forays. If polished, safe progressive rock is your bag, then this latest release by Kaos Moon will fit in nicely with your collection of Saga, Jadis, and RPWL records. One for the ROSFest crowd.
Track Listing:
- Eternal Light Avenue
- Say To Me
- Crawl
- The Waves
- The Wall Of Silence
- SOAB
- Presidency
- The Circle Of Madness
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
