Edhels - Angel's Promise

Year of Release: 1997
Label: Musea Records
Catalog Number: FGBG 4200
Format: CD
Total Time: 70:03:00

Musically, Edhels are very strong. I have quite liked their three previous all instrumental efforts. Angel's Promise is the first with lyrics and ... probably would have better off being all instrumental.

For all of its seriousness, "Guinevre's Regrets" is mildly amusing - where Guinevre, here voiced by Melanie Stracey, sounds more like a petulant child rather than a wrath-fearing wife of King Arthur, telling her hapless lover Lancelot that "Instead of cutting off dragons heads/You should have cut off your own." Okay, maybe I'm biased by my own impressions of Guinevre, having read many modern versions of the Arthurian Legend, but I couldn't help but chuckle at lyrics like "You can hear his burning army flying/nearing to burn up your face."

The vocals on the two truly sung tracks are heavily accented, but okay - nothing to be embarassed about. In fact, vocalist Jean Marc Bastianelli vaguely sounds at times a bit like Fish - at least delivery-wise - on "IQ 27." Of the vocal tracks, this is best, on both a lyrical and musical level.

While it doesn't say so specifically - or I'm missing something - "IQ 27" could very well be about the Dead Sea Scrolls. The lyrics themselves concern a document of some significance, and futile quest for it.

The final vocal track, so to speak, is the decidedly weird and deliberately humourous (or so I hope) "Tales of Mr. Ka" - what it's about, really, I don't know, but it wouldn't seem out of place as a Monty Python sketch.

Lyrics aside, however, there are some very beautiful and some interesting instrumental passages here, such as the acoustic guitar arpeggio on "Life, Life," the shortest track on the album here at all to brief 2:14.

The intro to "Tension" sounds like a slowed down, minimalist version of the X-Files theme - that is, a whistle rising and falling in pitch eerily. Soon, though, the track morphs into a lush symphonic guitar lead.

However, there are times when the arrangements seem predictable - you just know where they are going to go. The more unusual avenues, ironically, are on those two strange vocal tracks.

Though not their overall best, there is much to recommend it.

Tracklisting:
The Lord Of The Fire (4.33) / Tension (4:58) / IQ 27 (6:02) / Angel's Promise (5:16) / Guinevre's Regrets (6:09) / Noah's Ark (4:32) / On The Borderline Of Sleep (6:04) / Lights Being Messages (7:42) / Tales Of Mr. Ka (4:14) / Life, Life (2:14) / Gentle But Not Giant (4:11) / And To Think That I Loved You So Much (6:13) / Visions And Meetings (9:15)

Musicians:
Jean Marc Bastianelli - keyboards, lead vocal, backing vocals, percussion
Marc Ceccotti - guitars, keyboards, percussion
Jacques Rosati - drums, percussion, keyboards
Jean Louis Suzzoni - guitars
Melanie Stracey - vocals (5)
Martine Demarco, Nathalie Baudier, Monique Linossier-Ruiz Falco, and Patrice Garcia - backing vocals

Discography:
Oriental Christmas (1985)
Still Dream (1988)
Astrological (1991)
Angel's Promise (1997)
Universal (live) (1998)
Saltimbanques (2004)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin FR

Added: April 10th 1999
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: edhels.ifrance.com
Hits: 2900
Language: english