The amazing US Xian band Tetelestai in 1984

Again I have to interrupt my humble preplanned series of albums to bring you a wonderful discovery.  I have to thank the assistance of my friends again, appropriately this time of year, without whom I would never have the chance to hear so much fantastic music nor be able to share so much without incurring a horrific financial cost which is not exactly in the bank account or rather, credit line, this year...

Not the most catchy name for an artist but a gorgeous piece of music that landed out of the blue from the grace of my friend's diamond needle reminding me most of the New Cross mix of new wavy prog with echoes of my wonderful discovery of heretofore Rantz.  Right from the prologued spoken biblical anecdote (Israelites taken to Babylon) with the guitar /synth arpeggiating a colourful musical tapestry we know we are in the great American progressive tradition:





Here there are hints of Fripp's guitarwork, especially with the reliance on insistent obligato patterns, hyperemotional Hammill singing, perhaps interpreted through Peter Gabriel, synth-abetted orchestral compositions with their crashing drama-- everything we ask for from this style.  Sometimes I'm reminded of American band Babylon, surprisingly for this style of vocalist there are three part harmonies in places.  I think what I love most is the dramatic changes in tempo and style that each track features, an aptitude that Genesis really mastered but that is lacking (among many other things) in the "neoprog" genre, to which some might compare this as well, appropriately at times.  Track A3 (Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream) really illustrates this nicely:




I won't even upload the best tracks, that is, the most progressive and ingenious compositions, for your surprise to discover-- then you will see how pleasantly delighted I was myself...

The album is not expensive at all, but clearly undiscovered.

Back to the artist name, what does it mean?  Well thanks to The Great Google we don't need to wonder at all.  I'll quote the explanation in full here:

Literally translated the word tetelestai means, “It is finished.” The word occurs in John 19:28 and 19:30 and these are the only two places in the New Testament where it occurs. In 19:28 it is translated, “After this, when Jesus knew that all things were now completed, in order that the scripture might be fulfilled, he said, ‘I thirst.’” Two verses later, he utters the word himself: “Then when he received the sour wine Jesus said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.”  The word tetelestai was also written on business documents or receipts in New Testament times to show indicating that a bill had been paid in full. The Greek-English lexicon by Moulton and Milligan says this:  “Receipts are often introduced by the phrase [sic] tetelestai, usually written in an abbreviated manner...” (p. 630). The connection between receipts and what Christ accomplished would have been quite clear to John’s Greek-speaking readership; it would be unmistakable that Jesus Christ had died to pay for their sins.