h e a t h e r

This all-instrumental music is something rare and unique, a violent combination of what today would be called industrial, techno/trance, rock, and metal/noise. This would be the perfect soundtrack to the first Terminator movie: hard, threatening, alien, and machine-like. The "formula" is repetitive synthesizer patterns driven by intense drums/percussion, with wailing guitar in the distance. The infinite looping of raw, fast synth patterns creates a feeling of both hypnosis and aggression. The drums/percussion provide the dynamics and drive the music into the red, both building tension and producing a factory-like atmosphere. And I mean it literally when I say "factory-like atmosphere": Auger sounds like he is banging on huge sheets of metal, rather than mere mortal percussion. The cold grating guitar wails in the distance, only adding to the mechanical feel. The musicians are all great (some Magma members make guest appearances too), and it is quite a dose of tense energy. Check this out if you want to hear something really unique. For some reason I find this to be really great music for driving. review by Heather Mackenzie — undated —

j o e

With the addition of drummer Francois Auger, Un Reve finds Heldon sounding more stereotypically 'rock' than ever before. Still, leader and main writer Richard Pinhas was nowhere near making Casey Kasem's list. The opening track, "Marie Virginie C," is the best track, a real mind-blower. Pinhas does Fripp doing a nuclear attack siren. Auger builds gradually, with percussion boiling over the brim like lava, until it eventually explodes into thunderous drumwork. Finally, in bursts Gauthier, firing away on the Moog like a demented sniper from the rooftops. It all recalls Miles Davis' most radical and glorious early 70s acid-jazz work, and this is one of the more memorable prog tracks I've heard in a while. The rest of the album doesn't quite match it, but continues respectfully with percussive and swirling-synth experimentation. There's also two bonus tracks culled live from 1978 included on this Cuneiform issue, among them a performance of "Marie Virginie C." This is recommended strongly for fans of Fripp & Eno, classic Tangerine Dream, and Miles Davis circa the Black Beauty days. Also, Magma fans looking for alternative sources of aggressive, 'ugly beauty' out of France would do well to look to this one. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

g a r y n

While analog electronics still abound, this album shows a distinct shift in the Heldon sound, notably through the addition of Francois Auger on drums. The overall feel of the album is somewhat monotonous, as the reliance on the flow of earlier Heldon takes precedence over the new angle on most of the material. Leaving the live bonus tracks aside, here's a synopsis of the 4 tracks originally released on this album: "Marie Virginie C." - I'd have to study linguistics for decades to summon words fit to describe the magic and grandeur of this piece. After hearing Agneta Nilssen as my first exposure to Heldon, this track came as a shock to me. It adheres to the flow principle, which was largely abandoned for the last two Heldon albums, but introduces new drummer Auger as a fitting percussionist for Pinhas' writing style. The swelling energy of this song climaxes with astounding drum technique, as well as bubbling moogs and synths and Pinhas' trademark guitar style (and Fripp's trademark tone, of course). Few prog compositions capture the energy of this piece, despite its loose foundation. "Elephanta" - I used to skip this track all the time. It's an entirely percussive piece, composed by Auger (credited with Drums, percussion and events), which seems pointless and self-indulgent at first listen. One day, I told my friend to throw on his vinyl copy so that we could get off on "MVC", and when this followed up after it, we were both too... uh, lets say lazy to get up and take the needle off. I sort of gritted my teeth for the first few minutes, but my friend has a lot of house plants and the jungle effect came into full force. By the end of it, which I'd probably only heard once before, I was captivated. There are some very interesting electronic twists to the percussive symphony, and my head space at the time was very open to them. "MVC II" - How this is a sequel to "MVC", I'll never know. Auger's percussion builds, but the drums never take off; Pinhas leaves the guitar in its case and, aside from the sporadic moog chirp, supplies only a plodding monotonous line of electronics; Gauthier is absent and Batard's bass may as well have been, too. "Toward the Red Line" - Represents most of side two on the vinyl, and given the presence of Magma's Janick Top on bass and fracello, you'd think you'd be in for a treat. It took a few pained listens for me to even discern Top's contribution, and even then, I wasn't impressed. It sounds like three prog frogs got together to jam, but had too much wine before hand to do anything worthwhile with their studio time. In my most drug addled state, this piece fails to appeal to me as more than electronic jell-o. I don't like jell-o. The two live tracks don't do a whole lot to break the monotony, but are welcome additions to a C+ album. I would recommend it, however, solely for the first track, with the caveat that the rest of the material is luke-warm by comparison. review by Gary Niederhoff — undated —