CLIFFHANGER - COLD STEEL - 1995

Dutch Prog Nostalgia Part Two. Halfway the Nineties I got the advise to listen to this band from a fellow symphomaniac. He had attended a few gigs and was euphoric about their lush symphonic prog sound. So I joined him on a serie of concerts and soon became a fan too: often long and alternating compositions with strong hints from Classic Seventies Prog like Yes (powerful Rickenbacker bass runs), Genesis (Hackett-like guitar, Moog Taurus bass pedals and majestic Mellotron eruptions) and UK (Jobson inspired keyboard work). On this debut CD that was released on the (in)famous Dutch progrock label SI Music, you can enjoy the tasteful and dynamic Cliffhanger sound, loaded with shifting moods and soli on guitar and keyboards along impressive bass play by Gijs Koopman (later I was allowed to play on his Moog Taurus bass pedals and EMU vintage keys at his home, great experience!). Nowadays Gijs is playing in Dutch prog band Knight Area with fellow Cliffhanger member Rinie Huigen. Although I have no problems with the vocals by Rinie Huigen, lots of progheads kept on complaining about his voice and gradually Cliffhanger lost their cult-following, also because their music turned into more complex. They moved to the known French progrock label Musea but failed to make impression with the albums Not To Be Or Not To Be and Mirror Site, I still feel uncomfortable that Cliffhanger never got the recognition they deserved.
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