Nemo - R€volu$ion (2011)

Artista: Nemo

Álbum: R€volu$ion
Año: 2011
Género: Hard rock neo progresivo ecléctico (?)
Duración: 61:01
Nacionalidad: Francia

Lista de Temas:
1. Liberté, Egalité, Insurrection!
2. Je suis un objet
3. Révolu$ion
4. Aux portes du paradis
5. Seul dans la foule
6. Chiens en laisse
7. Loins des yeux (Barbares parties VIII a XII)
8. Notes pour plus tard..

Alineación:
- Guillaume Fontaine / keyboards, vocals
- Lionel B. Guichard / bass, vocals
- Jean Pierre Louveton / guitar, lead vocals
- Jean Babtiste Itier / drums, vocals

Todos los discos de los franceses Nemo son una maratón de musicalidad, compromiso social y pasión, y son los tres elementos que definen a la banda, también este disco. Es como una mezcla musicalmente emocional, dinámica, combativa y poética... sobre la calidad de lo que aquì estamos ofreciendo, les bastará hechar una ojeada a los comentarios que alaban en la entrada copiamos. Y si queremos romperles la cabeza... ¿qué mejor exponente podemos ofrecerles que Nemo?

La música de Nemo aglutina una serie de diferentes estilos dentro de sus canciones (así que es por eso que muchos los consideran y rotulan como "Progresivo ecléctico"): tienen guitarras metálicas, teclados sinfónicos, pasajes suaves, los patrones intrincados y mucho rock. Otro buen punto es cantan en francés, no inglés (por alguna razón me gusta que los grupos canten en su idioma natal, y en este caso debe ser así puesto que de otra manera estarían en contradicción con su lírica y su posicionamiento político). Este es un gran álbum con muchos puntos diferentes sobre los que reparar, tiene grandes canciones y largas suites ("Loin Des Yeux" dura unos fantásticos casi 25 minutos, y se las dejo para que la disfruten al final de esta entrada), tracks épicos y dinámicos, su música es impulsado por una guitarra multifacético que, si es necesario, no escatima en los riffs y solos corrosivos. Se apoya en los teclados impecables e indispensables en su propuesta, y sabe organizar partes atmosféricas agradables y pasajes instrumentales que nos dejan sin aliento... Las tensiones y emociones en el disco (mejor dicho, en cada disco) están repartidas por cada rincón, La parte vocal, sin ser grandiosa y en realidad siendo lo menos destacable de toda su propuesta, está perfectamente adaptado a los colores de cada una de los tracks. Un disco que, como pasa cada vez que estos brillantes músicos sacan algún álbum, muestrab una exhibición inspirada de talento original y descarga emocional.
Y sobre el contenido ideológico de la banda y del disco (otro elemento destacable y que no debemos dejar de considerar en cualquier obra artística cuando realmente tiene algo para decir) hablaré un poco màs adelante. Vamos ahora a un comentario de gente que escribe mejor que yo:

Desde que conocí la propuesta rock progresiva de NEMO, me cautivaron con su muy original poder emocional. Este hecho provocó que esperase yo con ansia cada nueva realización que produjeran, preguntándome por qué este grupo no gozaba de un reconocimiento más global. La historia se repite con el álbum oficial de estudio 7 de este gran grupo francés, alineado aquí con Jean Pierre LOUVETON (guitarras, canto), Guillaume FONTAINE (teclados, coro, gaita), Lionel B. GUICHARD (bajo, coros) y Jean Baptiste ITIER (batería, coros), quienes además reciben a David ZMYSLOWSKI (coros, guitarra en 6, 8) como huésped musical.
Aunque habré de reconocer que "R€volu$ion" «Revolución» no me satisfizo tanto como "Barbares", reconozco también la calidad rock progresiva que ha caracterizado a NEMO en cada uno de sus álbumes. Y no se trata sólo de una música que engancha y que cautiva, sino de su franca emocionalidad tan poderosa y su compromiso social, también característico tanto en la banda como, en general, en los franceses. Este país ha sido punta de lanza en varios de los movimientos que involucran a la sociedad, y la música como medio de esta tendencia no es la excepción. NEMO son —para mi gusto— uno de los grupos de rock progresivo actuales más importantes de la escena, y que hagan buena música con temas comprometidos los hace aún más valiosos.
Sin entrarle a los detalles con abundancia, diré que de este disco me parecieron espectaculares las canciones 'Seul dans la foule' «Solo en la multitud» y 'Loin des yeux' «Fuera de vista». El resto de los temas son bastante buenos, pero la verdad se quedan cortos junto a esos dos. Con todo y como siempre pasa con los discos de esta banda, "R€volu$ion" es un álbum muy capaz, lleno de motivos que intercambian su entusiasmo entre compases complicados y exquisitamente progresivos. También siento que los coros y vocales se restaron de calidad con respecto a discos anteriores, aunque 'Chiens en laisse' «Perros con correa» podrá matar mi comentario pues si hay algo que brilla aquí, es el trabajo vocal (además de sus complejas estructuras y sus lienzos atmosféricos crimsonianos). En fin, que lo que aquí tenemos es un disco con carácter, muy roquero, adornado con densos lienzos atmosféricos, emocional y comprometido con la calidad. NEMO, como buen grupo que son, logran nuevamente componer un disco calidoso, muy recomendable a quien le guste la buena música rock, enérgica y volátil, progresiva o no.

Alfredo Tapia Carreto

Sobre el contenido de su lírica, evidentemente sus letras se ocupan de la crisis global, de la masificación del hombre, de la falsa salida del consumismo, del peligro encerrado en los medios de comunicación (algo así como "Clarín miente" pero en francés). En ese sentido, Nemo vendría ser algo como uno de los agitadores del progresivo moderno.
El tema de la rebelión es algo que aparece con frecuencia en la música rock. Supongo que porque "no obedecer a los superiores" era uno de los lemas de aquellos lejanos setentas, con el rock como una de sus banderas, al lado de la libertad, la fraternidad, el sexo y la droga, la música rock fue una especie de guardián de lo que una generaciòn percibió como "los males del mundo" y se propuso cambiar el mundo, señalando problemas y gritando "la imaginaciòn al poder" mientras su música los acompañaba y se dirigía a ellos en consecuencia. Luego el sistema se los comió a todos (sea del modo que sea, los mató, los anuló o los chupó) y todo cambió, la estrellita de rock pasó a ser un pelotudo importante que solamente quería el glamour, el dinero, la vida fácil y es uno de los reyes del gran sueño americano en medio de un mecanismo destroza cerebros liderado por grandes pulpos que no solamente manejan a las grandes compañìas discográficas sino a todo un sistema de informaciòn y comunicación. No debería ser una sorpresa que una banda sumamente imaginativa y comprometida pueda hacer de sus discos una gran denuncia que gira en torno a estos temas, que además viene de la nación históricamente revolucionaria como Francia.
"R€volu$ion" es un disco que habla de la situación actual en el mundo, del poco margen que les queda a aquellos que realmente buscan una salida alternativa a este quilombo globalizado, y quizás simplemente sea una sensación mía, pero creo que parte del caudal emotivo que despide la banda tien que ver con que la música de Nemo está impulsada por algunas frustraciones sinceras con el mundo moderno. Frustraciones que, por otro lado y tomando en cuenta las leyes de juego que debemos aceptar, son perfectamente naturales en cualquier ser humano que se precie como tal.
Desde el primer tema "Liberté, égalité, Insurrection!" hasta "Notes pour plus tard" éste será el leitmotiv del disco: En este mundo del capitalismo deshumanizante, ¡necesitemos una revolución verdadera para volver a vivir!

Y ahora, algunos comentarios en inglés, para que veas lo que piensa otra gente sobre este disco.

Nemo is one of the most original “pure prog” bands in recent years. They, along with Beardfish, The Tangent, and a handful of others, are one of the few prog bands (and one of the few ROCK bands) I still listen to nowadays. They have managed to embrace the spirit of prog rock and retain their edge without succumbing to the awful post-modernism of modern prog. I am, of course, referring to the horrible self-awareness of prog, it’s tendency to obsess over itself. Nemo is certainly aware of its genre, but this notion is regarded with ambivalence more than anything else. Yes, for better or for worse, there was ample Dream Theater influence when they were starting out (for example), but Jean-Pierre Louveton has never played in the same soulless, blazingly fast style of Jean Petrucci, or sang with the same Robert Plantesque screeching androgyny as James LeBrie. He sings in thick, guttural French, so uncommonly heard in prog rock or even rock in general. It’s a refereshing change, to say the least, even if prog is not unfamiliar with other Indo-European languages such as the slightly more common Swedish and the much more common Italian (not to mention the ubiquitous English).
Nemo have gone quite far past their beginnings, which, as I said before, were rooted in a great deal of Dream Theater influence. They’ve progressed subtly from album to album, with the end result of R€volu$ion being much more symphonic, yet retaining a heaviness that Nemo has always managed to attain without being able to be labeled hard rock or metal. They can’t really be described as “symphonic prog” either. Instead they’re much more aptly labeled as “modern prog rock”, playing in the same incredibly complex, high-energy style as bands like The Tangent. This is R€volu$ion in a nutshell, but there are many other elements. There are dreamy flute sections, sweeping symphonic instrumental parts, and even some folksy bagpipes that lend the album a Celtic air at times. Perhaps the band is attempting to connect themselves to their Gallic cousins of ancient times, the Celtic inhabitants of France before Caesar committed his genocide and all but wiped them off of the European mainland.
I’m reaching quite a bit, especially since I don’t speak French, but there is certainly an air of defiance about the album. No doubt this is related to the album’s obvious subject, revolution. The different currency signs in the album’s name make the subject and its inspiration obvious: The Global Economic Crisis. The world is currently in a state of transition, and people across Europe, the Americas, and especially the Middle East are waking up to the problems of their governments. That an album by a French band with such a subject was released now is no coincidence – it is an embodiment of the zeitgeist of the new millennium.
Overall the music does not bring a more aggressive tone to Nemo’s ouvre. If anything the album is more pensive and symphonic than before. Grander, with more thought behind it. This is not a punk albim, calling for an anarchic proletarian revolution without any thought behind it. This is an album about the pain of our times, but with the beautiful inspiration of music to guide us and show us what could be possible if we changed our ways. I hope I’m right about that, I don’t understand the French lyrics, after all!

Dan Thaler

Since 2002 the French outfit Nemo has been working steadily on achieving a top position in the prog scene and with R€volu$ion, their seventh studio album in ten years - next to another three live CDs! - the band has arrived as far as I'm concerned. There's not one weak track to be found on this album, although the styles of music differ considerably. Of course there are many reminders of seventies prog and singing in French means that the connection with Ange is never far away, although the music itself cannot really be compared as such. As always the guitars of Jean Pierre Louveton and David Zmyslowski have the loudest voice and quite rightly so. Just listen to their duet during Seul Dans La Foule, a highlight on this CD. However, don't sneeze at the contribution of singer Louveton or the excellent rhythm section. They rock and I really mean: they rock! The band are able to let a track of just five minutes and a halve sound like an epic with all its twists and turns, its rock riffs and its lyrics dealing with the global crisis. Nemo is by now and without doubt the flag-bearer of symphonic rock with the emphasis on rock and for that matter symphonic.

André de Waal

Since Nemo's latest poped through my letterbox a week ago I've played it every day, it usually being the first Cd I reach for, such is my enjoyment of Revolu$ion, their seventh studio outing to date.
On the surface it's pretty much business as usual for Nemo with no great leaps or progression. After quite a few plays I'm still of that opinion but Revolu$ion comes up trumps with a consistently excellent collection of songs that equals the band's finest past moments and often surpassing them. Revolu$ion is if not the bands finest moment to date damn close and in the twenty four minute Loins Des Yeaux they have an epic to rival the the sprawling title track off 2009's Barbares, itself one of the best releases that year.
For those who aren't familiar with Nemo here's a bit of background and what to expect on a musical level. The band come from France and sing in their native tongue. They released their first album back in 2002 and apart from the occasional slight dip along the way have pretty much improved with each subsequent release. They're fronted by Jean Pierre Louveton, who as well as supplying vocals plays some stunning guitar. The rest of the band are no slouches either who easily deal with the complex arrangements and as much as I love the classic sixties and seventies keyboard sounds it's nice to sometimes here a more modern approach which Guillaume Fontaine has.
The band are at the heavier end of modern prog, sometimes drifting into metal territory. In fact on the whole Revolu$ion is probably their heaviest album to date with a higher than usual metal quotient. Don't be put off by that though non-metal lovers as it's not your usual prog metal by numbers that you've probably heard many times before. The arrangements are largely captivating and they've come up with some of their strongest melodies to date and they make plenty of use of quieter more restrained moments that give the songs room to breathe and the heavier sections even more impact as a result.
The highlight has got to be the previously mentioned epic Loins Des Yeaux (Barbares Parties VIII a XII). Without speaking French the bracketed part of the title gives it away that this is a continuation of the last album's title track. It's a killer from start to finish which after an explosive opening cools down somewhat. From there it shifts through a myriad of complex parts building to some climatic instrumental interplay that'll blow you away including a section using some pipes (bagpipes or something along those lines) that soar over an inventive staccato rhytm including some impressive drumming from Jean Babtiste Itier. The final vocal section hits another high making for a goose bump ending.
One track alone though, even as long as this does not make a classic album. Fortunately there are no fillers here, each track worthy of inclusion. The brooding Seul Dans la Foule, the highly melodic closer Notes Pour Plus Tard... and the driving metal of the title track for starters.
What a stunning return for Nemo then. I'm tempted to stick my neck out and say this is their finest to date but only time will truly tell. I'll wait for the dust to settle before coming to a conclusion on that one. What I can say is any fan of the band is almost certain to not be disappointed with Revolu$ion and this superb album deserves to bring the band a whole lot more fans too. Now hurry up and get on with the next one guys.

Paul Fowler

Nemo is one of those bands, you won't forget, if you once get familiar into it. With their typical and distinctive style of playing and songwriting, they manage to grip the attention of listeners. Revolusion is another strong evidence of that. After magnificent Barbares came out two years ago, I was convinced of future Nemo successes in the world of progressive rock music. Earlier, with Barbares and now, with Revolusion, they established themselves as one of the leading bands of eclectic movement.
This album is serious surprise in terms of expectations. It's totally different from Barbares, but it's not weaker or more colourless than its predecessor. It's just another type of eclectic prog. It's more guitar oriented. Full of frequent tempo changes and variety of the sound. It contains lots of genuine ideas and logical links between the parts. Extremely precise album with solid conception and professionalism. The epic composition - Loins des yeux (Barbares parties VIII a XII) - is another gem into the crown of prog. It contains bagpipe sound at the end with terrific style of playing. All other songs are real musical experiences for listeners with balance between heavy riffs, ballads, jazz rock sound, piano solos and pleasant vocals and everything essential for a masterpiece and produced in refine manner. Five stars out of five and another strong challenger for the annual crown!

Atanas Dimov

The theme of rebellion is one that pops up all too frequently in rock music. I suppose because 'obeying your superiors' doesn't make for as catchy of a chorus hook, but rock music has definitely been something of a watchdog for what its musicians perceive as ills of the world, identifying problems and making music that addresses them accordingly. It should not come as too much of a surprise then that a band could make an album that revolves around this topic, coming from the historically revolutionary nation of France no less. Nemo is a band I have never heard before 'Révolu$ion', but it is clear that they have met some great acclaim over their career. Beginning as a less distinct melodic prog metal band, Nemo have since gone on to become one of the brightest lights in modern heavy prog rock. 'Révolu$ion' has met some high acclaim since being released, and for good reason; 'Révolu$ion' reaffirms Nemo's place as one of the shakers of modern prog.
The sound here is quite a bit heavier than the typical 'symphonic' variety of prog rock that people may be used to. The title track here shows the band leaning towards progressive metal more than anything else, featuring gritty guitars and dark vibe, although the vocals keep things very melodic. A trend with this album though is that the quality of the tracks are indirectly proportionate to their length. Although the shorter tracks are excellent and get the blood flowing for the rest of the album, the real highlights here are when Nemo adopts a more epic approach to their writing, which is something that they do exceedingly well. 'Loins Des Yeux' is a piece of music that cycles through numerous different feelings and sounds, going from symphonic heavy metal to subtle prog to a incredibly well-built and powerful Celtic section, where the bagpipes drive the band's sound into a furious ecstasy. 'Aux Portes Du Paradis' is another part of 'Révolu$ion' where Nemo decides to take some folkish sounds into their music, using some celestial Far East instrumentation that lulls the listener into a sense of zen calm before hitting them with another dose of intelligently designed prog rock.
As the topic may indicate, the music here is very angry in nature, taking the rather volatile issues that Nemo are concerning themselves with and conveying them through heavy rock orchestrations. Louveton's voice is very melodic and warm, but the anger cna be heard here; it is clear that Nemo's music is being driven by some sincere frustrations with the modern world. At the same time, the band can be very intimate with their sound, closing off the typically crunchy music of the album with 'Note Pour Plus Tard', a song that could almost be considered uplifting, as if the revolution of which the band speaks of has a glorious outcome for all involved. Nemo's 'Révolu$ion' is certainly an album that speaks to the current state of affairs in the world, and while the shorter songs don't compare to the majestic nature of the longer pieces, Nemo has made an album that will be remembered for quite some time.

Conor Fynes

In this world of capitalism, we may need a revolution!
This is the seventh studio album by French band Nemo, a band whose music has entered in the progressive rock realm since the early 00s, and has maintained great expectations in every new release. The reason is simple, their music is great, so we are always waiting for some high-quality stuff. And this is not the exception, here we have an eight-song album with a total time of 62 minutes.
The first track is a short introduction, "Liberté, égalité, Insurrection!" shares soft piano which later is accompanied by the other instruments. The structure is repeated over and over for two minutes, then it leads to "Je suis un objet" which is an explosive, dynamic progressive rock track. The rhythm is fast, vertiginous and attractive, I like the kind of funky guitar and how the vocals in French perfectly complement the music. The song flows and when you less realize, the five minutes full of a vast amount of elements, have finished.
"Revolusion" continues with that vertigo, a sound that invites us to feel involved in the music. The keyboard is great at the beginning, creating a symphonic prog sound contrasted with some kind of heavy rock guitars, and even a catchy chorus. "Aux portes du paradise" is another short track, with two minutes of soft instrumental music that sounds a bit folkish and even new age, it is a beautiful track.
"Seul dans la foule" on the other hand, is the first of the long compositions of this album, sharing almost nine minutes of excellent prog rock. The first minutes are really slow, a laid- back atmosphere, but then it begins to add new elements and to progress, until that tranquility disappears and a heavier sound reigns. But guess what, it is only for a moment because later it slows down once again, implementing a nice guitar riff over that mid-tempo bass and drums rhythm. Later, it progresses once again, the intensity increases and the song finishes with that heavy prog sound. "Chiens en laisse" has a cool soft sound with guitars and vocals, later there is a moment where they remind me of Gentle Giant due to the harmony vocals, and the second part is a bit heavier, with nice guitar riffs and a cool keyboard background.
"Loin des yeux (Barbares VIII a XII)" is the most ambitious track here, a 24-minute song with an explosive start that lasts for more than two minutes, where the bombastic musician's technique is evidently shown. Later the music slows down, with electronic drums and voice, and little by little it creates different passages, different pieces that seem not to fit in the same puzzle, however they do and are essential for the song's success. I like a lot the faster moments, with heavy guitars and symph keyboards, but it is also worth mentioning that all the changes of mood, rhythm and style are well placed. That is why I say this is a complex, challenging and ambitious song, 24 minutes of a mixture of elements, of a prog eclecticism with a bagpipe highlight after 17 minutes.
The album finishes with "Notes pour plus tard", whose first three minutes are instrumental, with great use of both acoustic and electric guitars. The piano gives beauty, calm and tranquility, and then vocals enter with the same delicate style. A minute later the instrumental passages return, and the song flows and adds heavier moments in which one can feel Nemo's energy. So this is the end of the story, this is a very good, strong album by Nemo, though I must admit it is not my favorite of theirs. My final grade will be four stars.
Enjoy it!

Guillermo H. Urdapilleta

I wasn't aware of the French band Nemo at all, but they already got 8 studio albums and been recording since 2002. I got to know them because of their latest album, the double Le Ver Dans Le Fruit (2013). So, last year I went to their Facebook page and they had a giveaway for their fans and for the 1.000 likes of their page. They were giving away 50 promo copies of their previous album R?volu$ion (2011) and I was one of the lucky winners!
I was listening to the album on the other night and I was impressed. Nemo's music has a bunch of different styles within their Prog (thus that's why they're considered Eclectic). They have metal guitars, symphonic keyboards, soft passages, intricate patterns and much more. Another good point on R?volu$ion (2011) is that Jean Pierre Louveton sings in French, not English. Sometimes is very good to hear bands that use their native languages instead of English. In general R?volu$ion (2011) is a great album with many different bits for you to go with. You got great tracks like 'Je Suis Un Objet', the double 'Aux Portes Du Paradis/Seul Dans La Foule' and of course, the 24 minutes epic 'Loins Des Yeux (Barbares Parties VIII A XII)'. The only exception bein 'Chiens En Laisse' that's a track I didn't like that much.
All in all R?volu$ion (2011) made me really interested in Nemo and from now on I'll really check them out!

Diego Camargo

Started to be a huge fan of Nemo as of the album "Si partie I" and collected all of their music over the years. I even had the opportunity to see them live on stage on one of their few shows out of their home country. This makes it clear that I'm very curious at every new album whether Nemo will succeed in sustaining their very high standards. Both in writing as in performing the songs. And with R'volu$ion they did. Again. And perfectly. From the first to the last second this is again an amazing product, mixing progressive, eclectic, fusion and metal in their very own style.
Highly recommended.

Tourdeboer

It's been so long since my last review. After 2 full days of listening to this album, I decide to give this record a review.
CAVEAT. Firstly, I don't speak french. So basically I understand nothing about the meaning and plan not to comment about them. Secondly, this is only my second album from Nemo (first one is Barbares which I love it) hence again I know nothing about the band. I bought the record solely from my great experience with Barbares.
Now about R?volu$ion. One word: Spectacular. Nemo has been classified as Eclectic Prog band. That is wholly correct classification for Barbares but not this one. To me, R?volusion sounds much more like a fusion of neo-heavy Prog (ans a bit of Prog Metal.) The musicality is very refreshing and powerful. Great catchy melody while could retain all of the progginess...and pretty much hardhitting electric guitar riffs and solo. It's clear from this album that the guitar plays a major role here. However, it and all sound great. All songs/styles/instruments glue well together. Sublime sound engineering and production. Nothing short of perfection.
I like this album much more than Barbares and consider this album a strong contender of 2011 album fo the year. Full 5 stars

Ritti Rittidaj Mohprasit

What a brilliant piece of true art is this new NEMO release!Definitelly this amazing French band has managed once again to reinvent itself!It's hard to put in a category NEMO's music! Why?Because what this guys are doing is mixing in a very smart way the 70's clichees of prog with some modern aspects!The fact that they are continueing to sing is FRENCH is simply sensational!French is such a musical language and JP 's voice fits perfectly well with NEMO's musical message!Definitelly this album seems for me to be ,in a way,the most difficult to be understood by any NEMO' fan or any prog rock lover!We feel here some RUSH vibes and also some amazing technical wizardries a la DREAM THEATER,but ,God thanx,not in excess!BARBARES-LOIN DES YEUX-the monster track of the album of almost half an hour is a pure monument!Techically outrageous,complex,diverse ,with so many changes and twists-wow-pure ear candy and musical enchantment!What can we ask more?The Scottish traditional instrument present in the end of the song on prog rhythms is astonishing!Or it is a French folkloric instrument-a traditional one?Anyway-that's very interesting!An album made by mature musicians,with the purpose not to demonstrate anything-just a musical prove that NEMO is a band with an amazing potential and with neverending inspiration!Not only in my opinion-but this is the best French prog rock band-and with their will to sing in French,NEMO proves that not only English is the international language of music!All the musicians in the band are close to perfection and JP's voice is superbe-one of the best of the genre!This album is one of the major releases of 20011 and a superbe high quality album for any prog rock or eclectic prog-if we try to find a precise category for NEMO!4.5 STARS for a pretentious,intelligent and catchy album!More auditions are recommended fo fully understand the musical message od REVOLU$ION,that's for sure!BRAVO!

Ovidiu Dumitrescu

I'll start this review with a disclaimer: that I have written it after only having listened to Révolusion once, and will likely revise it after I've more perspective. Ironically for an album titled revolution, R?volu$ion (as an aside, I love the kitschy title) seems more of an evolution of Nemo's style than a dramatic change. The album is a little more ambient, or at the very least features more effects than past albums. The transitional track Aux Portes du Paradis is entirely ambient, for example, with fragments of themes playing across one another. This reminds me a little of the title track of Prelude a la ruine, but the difference in how the idea of a two-minute transitional track is dealt with there and how it is dealt with here shows some of the differences between the Nemo of 2004 and the Nemo of 2011. A better integration of the heavy elements of Nemo's sound with the symphonic elements is another noticeable difference.
Révolusion opens with Liberté, Egalité, Insurrection!, a short instrumental track that presents a theme, much like Introduction À La Différence or Les Enfants Rois in Si Pt. II. There is then a sudden transition to Ju Suis Un Objet, the first track proper. This track features an upbeat verse-chorus-verse structure with a space rock-ish instrumental in the middle. The melodies are great here, very catchy. A classic Nemo track.
The next track is the title track. What I've noticed so far is how much more assured the heavy instrumental sections sound here than on previous albums, when they could (at times) sound a little forced, and were normally redeemed by the quality of the ideas. A better job has been done on the production of these sections this time, I feel. The opening and ending sections are especially excellent.
Our next track is the aforementioned Aux Portes du Paradis. The ominous bass on this track particularly struck me. The balance on the whole album has much more weight on the bass. Fragments of themes, including that heard in Liberté, Egalité, Insurrection! play back and forth.
Seul dans la foule comes next. This track features one of the great Nemo melodies I like so much. The length of the track gives time to let this melody breathe, a lot like longer Nemo tracks such as Reflets; it's not so much about contrasting sections. Loins des Yeux styles itself as pts.8-12 of Barbares, the epic off of the last album. It stands pretty much on its own as far as I can tell though. I can't really say very much about this structurally after one listen, but I enjoyed the track a lot, and found once again that the heavy or grandiose elements seemed a lot better integrated into the track and a lot more convincing.
Notes Pour Plus Tarde is the final track, with Guillaume Fontaine-penned lyrics. This is a very upbeat end to the album, with a pretty melody and some lovely guitar work by JPL.
I'm a massive fan of this band. They write precisely the style of prog I enjoy listening to, and this is (although I've only listened to it once) at the very least as good an album as Barbares, although maybe not as good as the Si albums. No dip in quality, thankfully, although certainly Nemo have continued to develop their sound. Long may they continue to do so.

La fraisne

At first hearing I did not not know what to think about this album... the sound was heavier than in previous ones, with less catchy arrangements or melodies or even dissonances at several moments. But it didn't last... Since I received it, this is the only CD I am listening to, looping over and over again. And it gets beter over time. So clearly not an "easy listening" but a rich and dense music that reveals itself by learning to appreciate it. Their intention was to blend the 70's classic reference with a modern prog sound, and from my point of view, they succeeded in their objective.
Comparing their previous release ("Barbares") with this one, I have the feeling that something similar to what happened to Jethro Tull between TAAB and A Passion Play happened to Nemo: the first one is a masterpiece, with brilliant melodies that convince since the first hearing with still a lot to discover over time; the second tries to go further in the way they compose music, with more complex melodies or arrangement and more risks taken in relation to what their fans can like or love. But the comparison stops here: Nemo style of music is very different than Jethro (even if from time to time there are some closer similarities). R?volu$ion is also much easier to love than A passion play. At other moments, other big names of prog rock come to mind: PINK FLOYD, GENESIS or GENTLE GIANT for the classics. PORCUPINE TREE or DREAM THEATER for the more recent ones. To conclude, not all fans of Nemo will like this evolution, but most of them should. If you are not reluctant based on the small warning I gave you in the beginning of this review, go ahead this is an excellent album, an album that deserves the best rating as other "classical" albums.

JethroTree

I have had R€volu$ion essentially mothballed on my computer since the beginning of May and quite frankly never expected to listen to it. There are a number of reasons why. I vividly remember their release Barbares and how difficult it was to listen to the album without giving it full concentration and the several required listens to take it all in. While well done (except for the suspect vocals of course), the songwriting really wasn't catchy and it is hard for me to imagine anyone but prog rock fans liking it.
Looking at the title of this newest by Nemo, it SCREAMS Ke$ha and that is not exactly what I want out of my prog rock. The icing on the cake is the album cover with a gentlemen that appears to be the bother of the very unfunny and annoying comedian (I use the term comedian loosely) Carrottop. Hell, the entire album is sung in French and I don't know a thing about the French language except for what I learned from watching Beavis and Butthead. There is no hope of me singing along and putting the suspect lead vocalist to shame.
Whatever the case, I was in complete shock when listening to the first couple of songs after the token 2 min+ intro song. This some of the most accessible and catchy prog rock I've heard. The upbeat tempo and catchy songwriting of the excellent song Je suis un objet is excellent and really hardly seems like prog rock. Hell even the lengthy 24 min.+ track Loins des yeux has some excellent and catchy moments scattered throughout.
R€volu$ion is easily my favorite prog rock record of 2011 and is very deserving of its lofty rating at the time of this review. The melodies are nice and the musicianship excellent. There are some very nice off-beat portions as well as some excellent up-tempo songs. Was that a bagpipe I heard playing? BTW - the vocals are most suspect on the lengthy 24+ minute track but are pretty good the remainder of the album

Butterflyman

It is just a shame that they never seem to be able to do more than two great songs per album.
In this one, "Loins des yeux" & Notes pour plus tard are the amazing ones, both one of the best songs of this year so far.
But the rest of the album is just some average yet quite enjoyable songs, and some unnecessary fillers.
In short, this album is quite unbalanced, the same as its predecessor, Barbares, was. With two great songs that are really great songs which alone are worth listening and pulls up the overall album quality, while the other songs are quite ordinary, mainly obscured by the two amazing songs.
So, overall the album is quite enjoyable, but the two last songs of the album make an incredible difference and give it more value.

Musicodelic

En este último día del 2014 intentaremos hacer que tu cabeza estalle, pero con la mejor onda, y creo que para ello no hay mejor grupo que éste, un poderío de bellas y rabiosas melodías, un volcán emotivo irresistible y por si eso fuese poco, una de las más interesantes propuestas ideològicas en el vacío y éticamente plástico mundo de hoy.
Y esperamos mucho Nemo para el 2015!!!!