Aryan Peste Noire

The 7-th PESTE NOIRE full-length album is finally here! Three years since their previous release, Famine and his Kommando strike again. Peste Noire – split – Peste Noire, the name says it’s all: ten tracks divided in two parts – the traditional and the degenerate one, making it almost 50-minutes of “crème de la crème” of the French black metal.

After Aphrodite's Child, Vangelis and Socrates during the Seventies, Greece is once again waking up to Progressive rock. The leading band of this new generation, La Tulipe Noire is a classically composed quintet. This talented line-up performs a refined and quiet progressive rock that develops baroque and solemn melodies. Singer IMA's clear and pure vocals can remind of that of Virginia Astley. Kostas Savvides's guitar sounds like David Gilmour's whereas Alix's keyboards weave quiet layers that marvellously complete precious and melancholic themes…

COFFRET II, 25 ANS AVANT NOVA. 25 CD, 300 TITRES ULTIMES DE NOVA ENTRE 1956 ET 1980. Et si Nova avait existé 25 ans avant ? oe ? Après le succès de coffret des 25 ans, nous récidivons, avec un coffret 25 ans avant Nova. 25 CD pour couvrir la période 1956 à 1980 et explorer tous les genres jazz, soul, reggae, rock, world music, etc…

Excellent second efford by this interesting neo-prog band from Greece - and a huge step forward from their first. Their music is very much influenced by early Marillion, Arena and IQ, but they also have a very greek folk flavor in their sound as well. Singer Ima's clear and pure vocals can remind of that of Virginia Astley. Kostas Savvides's guitar sounds like David Gilmour's whereas Alix's keyboards weave quiet layers that marvellously complete precious and melancholic themes. As for the rhythm section, assured by drummer Nick Kassavetis and bassist Hyde, it is definitely solid.

Francis Poulenc was the best-known composer of the iconoclastic group Les Six, and his reputation for blending sophistication and flippant humor in his songs and concert music made him something of an enfant terrible. Yet the deaths of several close friends and a visit to the Black Madonna of Rocamadour in 1936 brought about soul-searching and a fresh commitment to the Catholicism of his youth.

Hooking up with regular Madonna collaborator Patrick Leonard as the co-producer of this album proved to be just the trick for Ferry. Bete Noire sparkles as the highlight of Ferry's post-Roxy solo career, adding enough energy to make it more than Boys and Girls part two. Here, his trademark well-polished heartache strikes a fine balance between mysterious moodiness and dancefloor energy, and Leonard adds more than a few tricks that keep the pep up. Five out of the nine songs are Ferry/Leonard collaborations; all succeed, from "Limbo"'s opening punch and flow to the cinematic (and unsurprisingly French-tinged) feeling of the title track.