CLIFFHANGER - MIRROR SITE - 1998

First the "Cold Steel" CD was produced by (bankrupted that year) famous Dutch "SI Music" label. That company then was actually the only relatively major Prog-label, but despite the fact that most of "SI Music" based bands played quality Neo that could potentially have a huge commercial success even in the mid 1990s, the label had to go bankrupt anyway. It looks even more strange since a very solid Japanese label "Zero" (among some others) purchased licenses from the label and most of the "SI Music" bands enjoyed a great commercial success (some of them still do) in the Land of the Rising Sun. So Cliffhanger has become a true discovery for the French Prog-label "Musea": In fact, Cliffhanger is a very nice relatively new Dutch band with their own originality within the framework of Classic Symphonic Progressive, sometimes with a faint stylistical (only) likeness to Genesis. "Cold Stel" consists of quite complex compositions with fresh and diverse arrangements. Although after a few listens to their second album it becomes clear the band are still in search of their own, completely firm sound on "Cold Steel", apparently Cliffhanger is a unique band in some ways since they present mature music, as well as a solid musicianship, already on the debut album. Doubtless, "Cold Steel" is one of the strongest debuts of the first half of the 1990s. The last track here - Koopman's "side-long" Bad Dream - is actually the album's centerpiece
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