It’s the belief in progressive rock by people
like Spirit of 66, Progrésiste and Prog-Nose which is the main factor for a
sudden interest for prog in Belgium. Hot on the heels of Ken’s Novel comes
Madelgaire whose promo 4-track gives a good idea about the band’s music
and intentions. Sporting both a singing drummer and a violinst
Madelgaire’s music is mainly instrumental with a lot of attention for the
perfect balance between the instruments. ‘Vae victis’ although sporting
a straightforward rhythm contains some VDGG and Genesis trademarks. The
bombastic keyboards together with the Hacket-like guitar form a true
wall-of-sound. Ominous choir sounds and tubular bells introduce
the medieval, folky feel of ‘Mad-el-Gher’. When percussion steps in the
Morish atmosphere takes over with the violin playing the role of the
snakecharmer. The high pitched vocals of Pascal Rocteur in ‘Gimme a
light’ remind me of the first singer of Machiavel. The build-up of the
song is of a rather mediocre nature yet after about 4’ things start to
change for the better, however I don’t feel the band fully exploits the
11’ it is given here. The interaction between guitar and organ should be
explored much more. The guitar in ‘Rackham-das-rote’ hides behind thick
curtains of keyboards way too long before it is given the possibility to
shine in the second part of the song. No doubt there is potential in
Madelgaire yet the band should compose some really catchy melodies first in
order to fuse them with the material they already have. Only then will they
be able to deliver the kind of statement they truly deserve. Reviewed by John ‘Bobo’ Bollenberg |
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