Band:	Blue Coconut
Album:	End At 953
Style:	Progressive rock
Website:	http://www.blue-coconut.net
Release date:	2008

01. Torn
02. Snuro
03. ZZZ
04. Black Earth
05. Cage Of Sands

Sometime I'm lucky because some really good unknown (in a not pejorative way) bands contact me and ask me to review their release. Who ever hear anything about Blue Coconut before today? I doubt that you're a lot but let me tell you that we should all be ashamed. Sure it's not easy to find self-released albums but "End At 953" truly deserves to be discovered, especially if you like classy Progressive Rock/Metal.

Blue Coconut comes from Spain and its members probably have good musical tastes because when I listen to their new release "End At 953" I have the feeling that we're in front of really good musicians who all have great inspiration. The album which only features five songs but with has a length of 42 minutes is a really great piece of Progressive Metal. Between Dream Theater and Rush, the music of Blue Coconut is catchy as hell with some great tunes and a lot of cool riffs. This is extremely complex of course with crazy guitars and keyboards soli but the five songs remain accessible and are not boring in the end. Sure this is pure Prog Metal with all what you need in the recipe, from the soli of course to the long break without vocals and complex rhythmic structures. Even if this release is a self production, this is impressive and doesn't have to be ashamed to be compared to a lot of famous combos which play in this category. If you like pure classic Prog Metal, "End At 953" is a must!

"End At 953" is well produced for an auto-production even if the sound is not the best that we heard lately. The voice of Erik is maybe my only problem here. Our guy is not a bad singer but his voice can be monotonous sometime. In my opinion this is just a matter of work and time and I'm quite sure that he will progress a lot because the potential is here already (you'll see?). Despite this little problem, I have nothing to say against "End Al 953", this is just a classy Prog Metal release which is highly recommended to all the fans of the genre.

If we were looking for a real classic Progressive Metal band from Europe, I think that we have a winner here. Sure our guys are not perfect yet but I'm sure that they can do great things. I don't know if you'll find a way to buy this release but at least have a look at their myspace and you'll see that I'm right . "End At 953" is a great surprise I'm already waiting for the next step of the band. Blue Coconut is a name that we will have to remember!