For years, the French progressive rock has been dominated by Ange. Up to now, not many bands from the hexagon have been able to vie with them. And this Ex-Vagus (yes, this really is a band name and not Vagus, that’s dead and gone :-) ) probably hasn’t that ambition, because they were founded in the tracks of Ange. ‘Seconde Lumière’ is the first real studio album of this band, a rock opera based on a story in the future.

The story is about Amy, a banished Martian, who lands on earth (on the tarmac of an airport) in the year 2257 and has a mission to accomplish.

This theatrical progressive rock, completely sung in French, has its proponents and antagonists, as always. I reckon “Culinaire Lingus” by Christian Descamps and Co among one of my favourite albums. On the other hand, I witnessed a gig of Versailles (that had his roots in Mona Lisa) and it was a complete disappointment. But the achievement of the guys from Ex-Vagus on “Seconde Lumière” surely is promising.

A symphonic introduction with a lot of drama immediately sets the tone for 'Sur le tarmac'; the guitars clearly get the upper hand, but later on during the album, the keyboards get a more important part. Eric Vodavati has a powerful voice, perfectly suitable for this style, but you need to like neo prog with French vocals.

‘Ainsi sur la Terre’ and ‘Le Shamann’ are clearly influenced by DREAM THEATER, but in a lighter version. The emphasis of this album is accentuated on the compositions and not really on the musical skil, but that is understandable for a rock opera, although there are some occasional, beautiful, melodic guitar solos. The omnipresent keyboards refer to the typical sound of Swedish neo prog bands. (e.g. Grand Stand and Galleon).

Apart from the already mentioned references, I need to mention Ange once more, especially in the ballads and the quieter tracks, yet they achieve to create their own sound. Or, in a nutshell, you can say that this album contains good French melodic neo progressive rock with interesting lyrics. Maybe this rock opera won’t stir things up like ‘Tommy’, but it’s courageous to bring this style back in the picture in the new millenium. If the rhythm section is set a bit more in front, Ex-Vagus certainly could bring some surprises in the future.