Priam - 2 Studio Albums (1998-2001)

Posted By: hill0

Date: May 16, 2015

The French instrumental progressive fusion quartet PRIAM was founded out of the ashes of the late-eighties progressive rock group ARLEQUIN. Their music is complex with busy interaction between players. PRIAM is one of the most adventurous groups of recent years, with a very virtuoso guitarist (Chris CASAGRANDE) and a rhythmic section very well structured and versatile, involved softly in keyboards that invite you to wonder. His influences are exceedingly diverse, ranging from classical giants like BACH to prog rock luminaries YES, ANGLAGARD and MAGMA to fusion pioneers MAHAVISHNU ORCHESTRA.
PRIAM'S debut CD "Three Distances… Irregular Signs" were a strong debut that promised a lot for the future. Now the future is here and the band have developed even further on their second CD "Diffraction". Their new album includes an adventurous mix of diverse musical elements such as classical, jazz-rock, ethnic influences, and a well hung dose of retro space prog. They've also got a whole bunch of guest musicians on sax, clarinet, electric violin etc. PRIAM has once again made an album with originality, quality compositions and complexity. Probably one of the most interesting bands from France today. Highly recommended!
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Absolutely fantastic fusion act from France,who released two great albums before disbanding.Formed out of the late-80's group ''Arlequin'',PRIAM consisted of four talented and creative musicians with a wide range of influences,from straight jazz and classic progressive rock to electronic music and even techno.Keeping the rock element as their basis PRIAM released their first album ''Three distances…irregular signs'' in 1998.
This came as a total surprise to me,as I didn't expect to hear such a fantastic work by a totally unknown band.Their sound is the most balanced version of jazz/fusion,symphonic rock and space/electronic music you can find around.There are a lot of rhythmic parts,were bass and drums are leading the way,accompanied by virtuosic guitar soloing,then suddenly the storm is followed by the beautiful rainbow of the superb electronic soundscapes,delivering a great spacey atmosphere.Very often the music takes off,led by up-tempo grooves with nice interplays and majestic breaks,but you can also easily recognize the neo/symph influence on Chris Casagrande's solos.Recognizable is also the influence that ROBERT FRIPP had on Casagrande's style of playing with all these weird and complicated breaks and take-offs.At the end I'm sure you'll find yourself absolutely mind-blown by PRIAM's energy,creativity,balance and inspiration.''Three distances…irregular signs'' is easily one of the best modern fusion albums I've ever heard and should easily appeal to all prog rock fans without any exception!
Review by apps79

Tracklist:

01 - Metamorphosis (8:57)
02 - Labyrinth (4:11)
03 - Signs beyond the euphrates (3:13)
04 - Hypereyes (10:45)
05 - Birth of ucbald (3:04)
06 - Spiral .irregular .end (13:05)
07 - Dream in a blue forest (6:12)
08 - Distances (6:12)
09 - Eternal spheres (9:19)
10 - signs (3:03)

EAC log

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 1 from 15. November 2010

EAC extraction logfile from 17. May 2011, 16:54

Priam / …3 Distances / Irregular Signs

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Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

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Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d

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1 | 0:00.00 | 9:00.29 | 0 | 40528
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8 | 49:39.19 | 6:12.17 | 223444 | 251360
9 | 55:51.36 | 9:19.58 | 251361 | 293343
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End of status report

==== Log checksum CB41C473117557CF2013B9B1049EA4E4D7E80161B2E4DE0C80E9B1420E8F037F ====

Personnel

- Chris Casagrande / guitars
- Laurent Lacombe-Colomb / keyboards
- Bertrand Hulin-Bertaud / bass
- Emma M. / drums

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If there is one country that has never yet disappointed me with it's proud prog tradition and it's modern continuation of it, it is France. And 2001 was an excellent year for prog in France, bringing us both the sublime Strinkadenn Ys by Seven Reizh and the worthy Diffraction by Priam.It may be difficult to categorize this music, but it is not at all hard for me to tell you what it sounds like. Think of some of the more complex recent King Crimson instrumental compositions. I have in mind things like B'boom, Level Five, Electrick and Thrak.) Throw in the jazzier, more uplifting sound of the stuff that Zao plays. And toss in just a dash of the atmosphere that Tangerine Dream can generate. That's what the music on Diffraction sounds like. Jazzy King Crimson tracks with some keyboard or bells to provide more atmosphere. All the tricks from the KC tracks the we proggers love are present: polyrhythms, sharp meter and tempo changes, virtuoso playing, atmosphere. It's all here and it's all done well.Anyhow, if the musical melange I described above sounds attractive, this is a must listen. If it doesn't appeal to you, it's still worth a spin because it is so well done. I'll give this four stars, because it would most definitely be a fine addition to any prog collection.
Review by ghost_of_morphy

Tracklist:

01 - Diffraction (14:48)
02 - Congruatic Boulevard (5:43)
03 - Granito Rosa del Oeste (12:53)
04 - Chrysalid Square (10:30)
05 - Stella (5:30)
06 - In Pace (7:04)
07 - Lakeside 7:30 am (4:20)
08 - Feel Diffract (6:53)

EAC log

Exact Audio Copy V1.0 beta 1 from 15. November 2010

EAC extraction logfile from 17. May 2011, 22:09

Priam / Diffraction

Used drive : Optiarc DVD RW AD-7191S Adapter: 1 ID: 1

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 6
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : No
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Native Win32 interface for Win NT & 2000
Gap handling : Appended to previous track

Used output format : User Defined Encoder
Selected bitrate : 1024 kBit/s
Quality : High
Add ID3 tag : Yes
Command line compressor : C:\Program Files\Exact Audio Copy\FLAC\FLAC.EXE
Additional command line options : -6 -V -T "ARTIST=%a" -T "TITLE=%t" -T "ALBUM=%g" -T "DATE=%y" -T "TRACKNUMBER=%n" -T "GENRE=%m" -T "COMMENT=%e" %s -o %d

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6 | 49:36.72 | 7:07.11 | 223272 | 255307
7 | 56:44.08 | 4:20.06 | 255308 | 274813
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End of status report

==== Log checksum 87235EA8EC62CDFD243A5C3CCCED84321A445BC35E56EC3ACFF4C63355925941 ====

Personnel

- Chris Casagrande / guitars
- Laurent Lacombe-Colomb / keyboards
- Bertrand Hulin-Bertaud / bass
- Emma M. / drums

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