5.0 out of 5 stars French Super-Prog

 French prog is unfortunately little known in the English speaking world, but here in Quebec, we have somewhat better luck, and can still get some of these lost gems. French prog has its own special sound, theatrical and dramatic, which is easily recognizable, just as Italian and British prog is. Atoll in particular does not sound like any other band, and although being true to the prog genre, not entirely original, they have a composition-driven approach which showcases their awesome chops and vivid imagination. The result is music that is challenging and complex, with a strong leaning towards melody and rich visual landscapes.

Atoll's influence is fusion and progressive rock in equal measure, assimilating and blending the best of the two genres, relying equally on their compositional skill and improvizational ease.
The music is very diverse in mood and dynamic - sometimes rising to a wild fury and sometimes falling into extremely beautiful passages full of quietude and atmosphere. They are masters of drama and contrast - sometimes in the same piece they can be powerful and delicate, nightmarish and dreamy, melodic and dissonant.

The instrumentation is pretty basic prog gear - it's the way they use those instruments that is simply breath-taking. The Moog and Mellotron dominate the mix, guitar, sax and violin providing the support and solo highlights. The drummer is absolutely top-notch, being a cross between Bill Brufrord and Christian Vander from Magma. The production is excellent, the sound crystal clear and the mix transparent, so you won't miss a note. The guitar player is almost as good as Big Al, and has probably listened to him quite a bit. the vocalist is excellent, he sounds great either singing softly or screaming. I don't like to describe the music by comparison, but if I had to, I'd say it's like Curved Air, PFM, Magma, Yes, Return To Forever and Jean-Luc Ponty rolled up in one band.

I believe that this superb album can bring fusion fans into the progressive fold, and vice versa. For those who are familiar with both genres, this is the "Holy Grail".