My first reaction was to the artwork rather than the music, the packaging is excellent - the music is often disappointing. 'Tocsin' was interesting and 'Firebirds' ends with a riff used by Deep Purple on 'Smoke on the water'. 'Konzo Bélé' however with its breathy sounds is more like Art of Noise than Art of Zoyd. And 'I Szene' is an ecclesiastical new age piece.... Then thankfully the last few tracks are a vast improvement 'Danse de Mort' features an ultra low frequency throb and the cries of poor Mr Zaboitzeff being whipped! More challenging is the stereo vocal chanting and cyclic percussion of 'Fair Fair', which also has some evocative cello work. The final number is typical 1980's Art Zoyd fare, not spectacular and a bit too repetitive.
This is the second CD of a pair of studio recordings of the music performed on their 1992 tour of marathon twelve-hour concerts. 'La Belle et la Bête' is a stirring inventive mixture of circular chanting with some fine string accompaniment. The martial / robotic rhythms of 'Anamorphose' are one of the few highlights of this set. This combat spirit continues onto 'AZPP', which appears to be a live recording. Then the classic 'Mariée a la nuit' (Japanese version) burst forth - it's only really at this point in the pair of CD's that the real power of Art Zoyd comes to the fore. Until this stage the whole set has a laid back, new age feel which is not terribly inspiring. But 'Mariée' is a diamond. 'Tournoi' is an intensely percussive piece, but it fades out far too quickly. '2ème experience de vol' is a discordant mish-mash but the tuned percussion ending has potential. Foghorns herald 'Le lac des Signes' initially bearing resemblance to Magma's first album in melodic structure and particularly the vocal lines, but eventually this reverts to mediocre doodling (or noodling as Zappa would say). The closing theme is a sombre piece but no classic. Sadly I feel Art Zoyd have lost their magic again, temporarily.