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░ ██ ██ Artist: Light Damage ██ ██
▓ █░░ ■█ Album: Light Damage █■ ░░█
■ █▓▀ █ Year: 2015 █ ▀▓█ ░
█ ▓ Rel. Date: 2015-05-03 ▓ █
▒ ▒ Genre: Progressive Rock ▒ ▒
█▄ ░ Label: Progressive Promotion Records ░ ▄█
░ █▄ ░ Source: CD ░ ▄█
░ █▓ Type: Album ▓█ ░
▓ █ Quality: VBR, 44.1kHz, Joint Stereo █ ░ ▓
▓ █ █ ░ ▓
▄ ■ ■ ▓ ■
░█ █░ ▀
█ The foundation for Light Damage was laid in █
█ Luxembourg in 2005, after a yearly festival, █
█ "Spirit of '66", where drummer SΘbastien and █
█ guitarist Stephane Lecocq got to know each other. █
█ They joined up with singer/guitarist Nicholas-John █
█ and bass player FrΘderik Hardy. After some changes █
█ in line up and 7 years of playing coves and now █
█ material at festivals and in rehearsal rooms, █
█ Thibaut Grappin became the bands drummer █
█ (replacing founder Sebastien) and SΘbastien █
█ Perignon took care of the keyboards. █
█ This line up established, the band finally set out █
█ to record their self title d debut album, which █
█ was released in October 2014. The band plays 21st █
█ century neo-progressive rock, with a heavy edge in █
█ places. █
█ █
█ --- █
█ █
█ A good voice, an well composed melody or the █
█ overall mood of a song may surprise you, and █
█ sometimes a band manages to deliver an album full █
█ of that. The self title debut of Light Damage, is █
█ such an album. When I play it, this album grabs my █
█ attention from the first second. █
█ The opener Eden, starts with a guitar and tubular █
█ bells ticking away like a clock, before building █
█ up into a guitar driven instrumental that only █
█ stops to make room for a vocal part. Here, the █
█ first hint of vocal harmonies appears - promising █
█ more for the rest of the album. The track builds █
█ up to another crescendo that seamlessly connects █
█ to the next track Empty. █
█ Right after the start of Empty, the band quiets █
█ down, to allow singer Nicholas-John to sing the █
█ opening verse. After that, the band builds up a █
█ great heavy progressive rock sound, ending in a █
█ guitar and keyboards taking turn soloing, leaving █
█ the final note to the organ that was wailing █
█ underneath all the time. █
█ The master piece of the album is the mini epic The █
█ Supper of Cyprianus. Here Nicholas- John guides us █
█ through the story of this supper, that turns from █
█ a feat into the execution on the spot of a girl, █
█ convicted of being a witch. Luckily for all, she █
█ returns as an angel in the end. Well worked out █
█ keyboard melodies and guitar solos by Stephane █
█ Lecocq support the changing mood of the story from █
█ beginning to end. █
█ After this story, we go straight to Heaven, █
█ another track that builds up gradually, this time █
█ with a key role for the rhythm guitar, which at █
█ times is almost metal like. █
█ The short instrumental F.H.B. (For Helpful █
█ Buddies) may be dedicated to people helping the █
█ band, but I found nothing to confirm that. It's █
█ features a plucked guitar and keyboard under a █
█ melodic guitar solo. Short, and uncomplicated, it █
█ is the least grabbing track of the album. █
█ After this, Touched proves easily to be the █
█ heaviest track of the album, with a lot of guitar █
█ and interesting, less obvious keyboard melodies. █
█ Light Damage has, by other reviewers, been █
█ compared to Sylvan, Pendragon and IQ, but also █
█ Marillion. I'll avoid further comparisons, and █
█ prefer to think of Light Damage's music as rooted █
█ in 70s progressive rock and later neo-progressive █
█ rock, where keyboard melodies and heavy guitar █
█ work support well executed vocal work. █
█ Nicholas-John has a very slight French accent, █
█ which leads to unexpected pronunciation in some █
█ places, but it works out very nicely. A promising █
█ debut! █
▓ ▓
▒ ▒
░ 1. Eden 9:38 ░
░ 2. Empty 6:07 ░
░ 3. The Supper of Cyprianus 9:07 ░
░ 4. Heaven 8:38 ░
░ 5. F.H.B. (For Helpful Buddies) 2:35 ░
░ 6. Touched 6:31 ░
░ 42:36 ░
░ ▒ ▒
▓ █ ░ ▓ ░
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