SAENS - ESCAPING FROM THE HANDS OF GOD - 2001

Escapeing From The Hands Of God is the second album from the French prog group Saens, though its the first under this name (they were previously known as Sens). I have seen the term Neo-Symphonic used to describe this band before and I think it perfectly describes the music being played here. You get the sound scapes that are a trademark of Neo but also the complex compositions that is expected from Symphonic music.

Its safe to say that on this album there is nothing that will blow you away upon first listen. In fact some of it may come across just a little pedestrian to some. But the more you listen to it the more you apreciate the beautiful melodies moveing through the instrumental passages. This is definitly a grower, although it started off in very high regard for me anyway.

The big thing you notice on this album is that the level of musicianship is increadably high, far more than you normally expect from a Neo band. These guys dont show of with lightning fast solos but everyone works together extremely well, of course they do pull out the highly impressive solos as well.

The only real problem I have with this is that Pascal Bouqillard, though a fantastic Bass player, leaves a little to be desired in the vocal department as a lead singer. His voice just sounds a little strained at times, though his best performance is on the song Requiem, were he sings in his native French rather than English like the other songs. Whilst on the subject of vocals, the harmonies that make a reguler apearance in this album are beautiful and work well with the music in the songs at those points. Lyrics are a strong point as they avoid the usual Neo cheeseness that is annoyingly comman in some bands, although I wouldnt have minded a translation of Requiem in the liner-notes, but thats just nit-picking.

This album can quickly change from an almost ambient, smooth sound to more fast paced rocker driven by a powerfull rythem section and I just love it. In short this is a masterpiece, the only problem I have with this is Bouquillard's less than steller voice, but its not terrible and doesnt put me off, nor should it put anyone else off. A truly unique band that I highly recommend. 5 stars.
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