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Halloween — Silence... au Dernier Rang!
(Musea FGBG 4257.AR, 1998, CD)

by Paul Hightower, Published 1999-04-01

Silence... au Dernier Rang! Cover art

When I saw Halloween live at Progfest ‘95, I recall saying to myself, “Boy, I sure hope these guys can hang on to this singer.” By all indications, the boys in Halloween would seem to have agreed with me. And it’s a really good thing, too, because I cannot overstate the value Geraldine Le Cocq brings to the group, as evidenced by 10 of the 11 cuts on this live collection. Taken from various appearances in France over the past year or so, Silence... au Derneir Rang! offers up a collection of the old and the new along with a few bonuses. The band is in fine form, particularly keys man Gilles Coppin and guitarist Jean-Pierre Mallet, who turns in some killer playing on the instrumental “Iron Mickey.” Even with the audio only, though, it’s safe to say that Geraldine is the focus of all attention when she’s at the microphone (recent Baja prog reports bear this out). I’ve never been a huge fan of Halloween’s obsession with setting every known H.P. Lovecraft poem to music, but “GéGé” lends a cool and sultry menace to older tracks such as “Waltz” and “Arthur contre Morgane” which will convert even the sunniest neo-progger to the dark side. Where she really shines, however, is on the cover of Van der Graaf’s “House with No Door” and Coppin’s stunning “What’s In,” where her delivery, control, and overall sensitivity add untold depth and panaché to the songs. If I had to quibble with this disc, it’s with the band’s overall sound, which becomes a bit samey at times. Particularly, I’d like to see Halloween develop a more diverse palette of tonal color, especially in the area of acoustics and percussion. The more sounds at their disposal, the greater the possibilities for what they can achieve, particularly with such an awesome vocal centerpiece at their disposal. All in all, though, this is a superb collection, which I highly recommend.

Filed under: New releases, Issue 17, 1998 releases

Related artist(s): Halloween

 

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