CD
Review
Ultime
Atome
"Dark Visions"
Rating 92%
reviewed by Charlie O
Well, what we have here is the first release from the French band
Ultime Atome, which is quite worrying because they've supposedly been together for ten years. Nowadays, all you young whippersnappers in bands give birth to albums obscenely early, then you disappear off the face of the earth. However this delay does a band plenty of time to work their shit out well. Quite where they've been for the last decade, I've no idea, but
Musea have plucked a good'un from the morass of anonymity. Traces of Pain Of Salvation, Arena, early Marillion and Twelfth Night give the music a progressive feel, especially on the opening track, the 14 minute epic 'Meine Liebe'. The second track, the epicer 'Battlefield' also lazily brings to mind early Marillion, with it's laconic elegance and strident individuality, the triumvirate of parts contained herein contain all the essential elements of Prog: Heavy bits, light bits, spoken bits, parp-parping keys, dragons, elves, incomprehensible lyrics (He mustn't lose his strength and to keep his hate), a Spider Queen, 'King of King' bits, Rothery guitar bits... It may just be me, but part 3 (The Final Confrontation) is ripped straight from Misplaced Childhood "Wasted, I've never been so wasted, this far out on the perimeter walk".
It probably is just me because I do happen to think that Pete Trewavases bass line to Market Square Heroes has been recycled into the stunningly gorgeous Rachel Stevens poptabulous single 'Sweet Dreams of my Latex'