Giving free rein: Prog Rock in French!

Giving free rein: Prog Rock in French!

Est (Audio CD)

Customer Review

"Chantez-vous français?" Yes, in Direction is actually sung French - and it does not come just often that a Francophone prog rock band is distributed internationally! It was French but once considered extremely chic. In this day and age is more English 'in' - pardon, in vogue. The band (or le groupe) Direction but holds fast to their native language and thus acts as an ambassador not only of manicured Prog Rocks, but also of the French language.

Quite so 'French' Direction are but then not: It is not the 'Grande Nation' is their home, but the Canadian province of Quebec. Now you might Canada no less than a 'Grande Nation' of Prog denote rock, after all, there are also Rush at home without the Direction would definitely do not sound the way they do it on their fourth studio album "Est".

Creative head of the band's Marco Paradis was born in 1962. He writes the songs and plays the guitar. These remind me again and again to Alex Lifeson. The way to bring dynamic arpeggios simultaneously Drive, melody and harmony in the music, leave now and Rush-flash effects. In addition, the distorted electric guitar sounds like early to 'middle-aged' Rush, for example, often after "Permanent Waves".

Striking are also the positive salient, very present bass lines - similar to Rush bass is not only an accompanying instrument, but virtually the heartbeat of the band. This applies of course also for many other classic prog acts that are likely to have been well for the band's style inspiration, such as Genesis for "Memoire Privée" with its organ-hooks that sound as not at all according to Rush, or Yes for the major-heavy "La Fuite".

The lyrics of the songs constantly tangent topics from departure into unexplored, from the venture to penetrate into the unknown, of change - whether in geographical or figuratively. But also play a role - see the illustration on the cover, drawn in a circle around the compass - the evil spirits, to which one can come here. It's about breaking out of the uniformity of a society to the breaking festgezurrter thought patterns. "Touriste Urbain" ("City Tourist"), "Naufragé" ("shipwrecked") and "La Fuite" ("escape") go in her statement partially toward Rush's "Subdivisions"; "Capsule" then looking at the Earth from the same perspective of the universe.

From death and what then is left of us act "Mémoire Privée" and the characteristically last song of the plate over the end of the journey, "Dernière Issue". But the heart of the album is the long, multi-part "soldier". Written from the perspective of a soldier is from fears and beliefs, death and faith, from the burden of his experiences. "Soldier" convinces with a sophisticated design, military drums on elongated clean guitar parts, dramatic condensations with tempo and mood changes to a thoughtful conclusion part, only by piano accompanied.

Despite often thoughtful to indigestible Lyrics sound Direction with "Est" overall not so melancholy as you might expect. Blame it on the very lively melodies that have something of Rush in turn, presented by Serge Tremblay with a solid, if not impressive especially true song. And so it behaves somehow with the whole disc - "Est" is something for lovers of classic prog rock sounds: a little dusty, but authentic - gutklassig, but not outstanding. And yet: Pas mal, messieurs, pas du tout!

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