BI KYO RAN - BI KYO RAN - 1982

BI KYO RAN (like ANEKDOTEN) started out as a KING CRIMSON cover band.And when you listen to this album, the KING CRIMSON influence is very obvious,and i love it! Things get started with "Double",and i really like the vocals on this one.They are in Japanese,and he almost shouts out each vocal line.There is a quiet section as vocals soften,xylophone comes in followed by violin.5 minutes in the guitar tone sounds great!We then get back to the uptempo melody from the start of this song.The angular guitar sounds are fantastic!There is such a long instrumental passage with terrific bass lines,guitar melodies and drums.This song is almost 15 minutes of bliss."Cynthia" is an instrumental with organ to open,that is replaced by acoustic guitar.There is flute later,but it's the violin that leads the way on this song."Psycho(part II)" is another instrumental.It opens with heavy guitar and drums,as some blistering guitar solos follow.There is some intricate and complex guitar as well in this way too short song."Monologue" opens with some amazing guitar,and short outbursts of drums.The vocals take a bit to get used to on this one.As the title of the song suggests,he speaks the lyrics instead of singing them.All the while we can hear the Fripp like melodies.Nice."Warning" is a beautiful song with mellotron.There is violin,gentle guitar and vocals.The background vocals are a nice touch.7 minutes in the song changes big time.The drums get heavier,and the guitarist fires off some angular solos.There is a bit of a break as we get some percussion work.Then 11 minutes in we are treated to some incredible guitar solos as the drums pound away. I really like this band,and it's cool to think in 1982 they were still carrying the prog torch,while many were falling left and right.
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