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Estradasphere

Palace of Mirrors Live DVD

Review by Gary Hill

I remember when I saw Alan Holdsworth live. My mouth was open nearly the entire set because the band was so incredible. I remember thinking that every musician could see the show because it would give them a sense of humility – and when you consider that my main musical genre was progressive rock, that says a lot. Well, I get the same feeling from watching this DVD. This band is simply incredible! They are all over the map in terms of musical styles and in terms of their compositions. The amazing thing, though, is the music is coherent and never really loses you. That’s some feat. Musicianship like this is an extremely rare commodity. These guys play ultra heavy crazed metal with symphonic and world music leanings one moment and then pure classical textures the next. I really mean it when I say that this is all over the place. I thought when hearing the album that perhaps they were able to pull such things off because it was in the studio. Well, this DVD shows that it just isn’t true. Estradasphere moves from jazz to metal to symphonic to klesmer and does it all with a tight performance that’s about as close to flawless as you can get. This might well be the most talented band currently on the face of the earth. I can’t recommend this DVD enough. While the filmography is adequate (and not much beyond) anyone interested in seeing just how far music can be taken in the right hands must pick this up. And then you need to sit back and prepare to be amazed. That pretty much sums it up.

This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2008  Volume 1 at lulu.com/strangesound.

 
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