Artist description The Red Masque is an original experimental band from Philadelphia.

Music Style Experimental, avant rock with psychedelic and gothic influences

Musical Influences King Crimson, Bauhaus, Van Der Graaf Generator, Magma

Similar Artists King Crimson, Van Der Graaf Generator/Peter Hammill, Pink Floyd, Magma, Bauhaus, Amon Düül II

Artist History Formed in Feb. 2001

Group Members Kiarash Emami: guitars, mandolin, keyboard Brandon Ross: bass guitar & acoustic guitar, keyboard Lynnette Shelley: lead vocals, percussion & lyrics Brian Vonorn: drums & percussion, keyboards, theremin, flute, celtic harp & other oddities

Instruments Celtic Harp, Keyboards, Theremin, Flutes, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Mandolin, Bass, Various World Percussion Instruments, Drums, Female Vox

Albums Death of the Red Masque EP (2001), Victoria and the Haruspex (2002), Feathers for Flesh (coming in 2003)

Press Reviews The Red Masque are an avant-prog 4-piece group from Philadelphia, and The Death of the Red Masque is their new 3-song EP. After my first listen, I was quite impressed with this group's direction. The music here tends to mix Krautrock-like experimentation, American avant-garde (John Cage, Henry Cowell, and Cecil Taylor), and King Crimson's(or if you would like, Bubu) dramatic instrumental interplay with Gong's spaced-out psychedelia. Each of the lengthy tracks on the EP offers a different musical exploration. The first track, for example, starts off with a John Cage-like build-up, that includes Gongs and other percussive instruments, but soon the band enters a lengthy avant-prog section featuring dissonant vocals, and unpredictable instrumental turns(sounding like a mellower Il Balleto Di Bronzo). The second track slowly builds intensity until it explodes into a colorful, Gong-like, space-rock jam. The third track, which comes closest to pure prog rock, reminded me of a mixture of Faust and Bubu. All of the musicians in this band are impressive, but there are two that really stand out. The first one is vocalist Lynnette Shelley. Her voice brought Thinking Plague's Deborah Perry and Rufus's Gudny Aspaas(from the album New Born Day) to mind. Lynnette's vocals are dissonant, soulful, theatrical, and generally unpredictable. Her lower register, and avoidance of 12-tone like melodies, also gives the music an eerie sound that is different from standard RIO and avant-garde classical. The other musician to stand out is guitarist Steven Blumberg. His style leans more towards the avant-garde side of the wall, as he has the tendency to use his guitar to create noises, and sound explorations, that sound like something out of Faust's The Faust Tapes or one of the early Amon Duul II records. Many sections also feature heavier, riff-oriented, guitar lines. Overall, this group really stands out. The Red Masque will appeal to fans of RIO, 70s krautrock, and complex progressive rock. -- From Zoltan's Progressive Rock Webpage

Additional Info www.theredmasque.com

Location Philadelphia, Pa - USA

Copyright notice. All material on MP3.com is protected by copyright law and by international treaties. You may download this material and make reasonable number of copies of this material only for your own personal use. You may not otherwise reproduce, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, or create derivative works of this material, unless authorized by the appropriate copyright owner(s).