HALLOWEEN - LE FESTIN - 2001

HALLOWEEN is a French band that has existed since the beginning of the eighties. We're not talking about the German Heavy Metal band with the similar name, HELLOWEEN, No! this is something completely different. HALLOWEEN has previously released three studio albums and one live album, and "Le Festin" (the feast) is their fourth studio album. The first thing you'll notice is the artful, creative and original CD-packaging. After a short listening you'll hear that the music is as artful, creative and original as the CD-booklet with its many small paintings. HALLOWEEN's music is dark and complex, and it can be described as a mixture of JEAN PASCAL BOFFO, KANSAS, UK and VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR, although they doesn't sound like any of these bands. They do however remind a lot of many of the bands on the Cuneiform label. It's a very exciting music and the musicians are highly technical. The violin player Jean-Philippe Brun has a very important role and his violin playing is magnificent, and the singer Géraldine Le Cocq has a very beautiful voice that suits the music perfectly. I know there are some people that don't like vocals that aren't in English, but I have always thought that the bands should sing in their own native language. The CD-booklet does however contain English translations of the lyrics. HALLOWEEEN is one of the most interesting bands I've heard from France recently, and "Le Festin" is one of the most interesting albums this year. If you're into truly genuine progressive rock you should definitely get hold of a copy of this album, immediately. Highly recommended!
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