Oaksenham - "Woden's Eve Live"

(Cadence Music, 2002, CD)

Another entry into the field of Armenian prog bands. We review this by way of a pre-release, pre-mastered CDR, with barebones information on the tray insert. I'm speculating that the final release will be out before the end of 2002, or early 2003. The six piece features a full lineup of bass, drums, guitar, dual keyboards (2nd doubling on flute), violin, and percussion, with a guest vocalist on one cut. Their approach is predominantly instrumental, strong on melodic and full of dynamic and tempo changes, but nothing too gratuitous or flashy - with a solid grounding in the FocusCamelFinchAndmore school. Often I am reminded of the early work of Japanese band Ain Soph, who took their cue from Camel and the Canterbury sound, and expanded upon it in their own way. Oaksenham probably rocks a little harder, and has a bit more of a fusion or jazz element, but doesn't really challenge the listener with anything truly groundbreaking, opting instead for a continuation of the classic prog style. An instrumental cover of Gentle Giant's "Talybont" highlights this live set, as well as reworkings of some traditional and classical pieces, mixed with original material; I would be interested in hearing what this band could do in the studio, with better production. In all, listeners looking for a classic 70s progressive sound will do well to look here.

Peter Thelen
"Exploring The Boundaries of Rock"
Expose, USA
ptlk@expose.org
http://www.expose.org