Magus - "Echoes From The Edge Of The Millennium: 1987-1999"
(Sky Pines Music 1999, SP0003)
Magus - "Echoes From The Edge Of The Millennium: 1987-1999"
(Sky Pines Music 1999, SP0003)
From Aural Innovations #10 (June 2000)
I first saw this band mentioned in the French progressive rock magazine Acid Dragon. The main player in Magus is Andrew Robinson, who has had a lot of help from other musicians over the years. When I first heard this I considered it a masterpiece covering ambient, space, new age, and progressive music. It's in the style of Tangerine Dream, has a slice of Hawkwind, but is also Berlin-style electronic music.
The first track, "The Traveler", starts in an ambient-trance style, but soon segues into a more upbeat movement. Another track that caught my attention is "The Sandman", a real progressive trance piece that tells the story of the Ruler of Dreams and I wonder if the idea came from Neil Gaimon's The Sandman. "Until The Sun Burns Out is an upbeat song and the lyrical message is that human evolution isn't dying but old machines are, and also tells about spirituality under violence. A very good song. "The Earth's Sharp Edge" has a good guitar solo. "Spanish Waters" is very upbeat with a good progressive style. "Rif" really got my attention with its Tangerine Dream style of guitar and synth solos with traces of keyboards backing it up over its 12 minute length. Probably the best instrumental on the album. "The Last Flight Of Saint-Ex" proved to be another solid instrumental with lots of good beats, ambient synth, and great guitar. Overall, a very good set and recommended to fans of electronic progressive rock.
You can visit Magus at their web site.
Reviewed by Carlo R. DeShouten
1434 Goehler
Cullmon, AL 35055