PSYCHOGEIST

A few days ago there was a poll in one the forums in this website about Hungarian prog bands and our preferences. In that poll I said that I hadn't heard any Hungarian prog band but one, Age of Nemesis, whose album PSYCHOGEIST is the only piece of progressive-rock music from the Magyar land that I own. So it's only fitting that my hearing-cycle has coincidentally taken me to this disc again, giving me a chance to write a better-informed, current review of Age Of Nemesis' work.

First of all, as this is a mostly unknown band, let me say that Age Of Nemesis' music lies perfectly within the inner borders of what we called the progressive-metal genre. When I say "inner borders" what I mean is that this band really doesn't push any boundaries nor tries to break into other genres, but plays completely safe, totally traditional progressive metal. Power chords, riffs, sudden stops, double bass, zigzagging rhythms, every usual element of the genre can be found in this Hungarian group's music.

The musicians themselves are skilled, if not incredibly so. Nagy, the drummer, is probably the best instrumentalist in the band, alongside Fabian, the creator of most of the songs. Nagy (the keyboard player) and Krecsmarik (the bass player) are competent enough to play difficult, fast music. Kiss, the vocalist, sometimes sounds great and sometimes sounds very weak. His tonal voice lies somewhere in between the style of Dream Theater's LaBrie and that of Tate (Queensryche) but nowhere near the melodic capabilities of the former nor near the powerful strength of the latter. Just an average singer.

And average is the best word to describe PSYCHOGEIST. The album is divided in two: the first section contains six songs which form the suite that gives the album its name, a kind of conceptual-mini-album where the first and last songs share the same chorus. The remainder of the album is made of five songs, two of them instrumental pieces, in very much the same style as the "Psychogeist" Suite. The problem is that we can't find anything good to remember from either section. Sure, there are a couple of good solos here, a couple of good rhythmic sections there, but nothing stays in your mind, as everything sounds too generic. This is one of those Dream Theater-like bands that, curiously, have given the original band a bad name, for inspiring such a big array of copy-cats and clones. Age of Nemesis is almost a complete clone, the DNA in its cells almost the same as in DT's, but without any of the magic, the melody, the virtuosity, nor the power of the New York formation. The music is so mundane progressive-metal that I can't even pick up a single song to highlight, as none have any memorable chorus or solo or verse or anything. It's just by-the-rules progressive-metal, without any of the good elements that other better DT-inspired bands offer, such as Vanden Plas or Ivory Tower. One of the rare unique moments we can mention is in the song "Psychogeist", where the chorus is sung in a spoken, yelling way much in the vein of Slayer's Tom Araya (?!). But caution: it's just a moment I can remember, not a moment I actually LIKED.

I have given PSYCHOGEIST five listens and by now something should have at least started to get into my brain and heart as remotely different or interesting. As this hasn't happened, I have to give the album 2 stars. I don't give it only one because the music is well played, with no glitches and very professionally. But, beyond that, what we have here is GENERIC progressive metal.

Recommended for: Fans of progressive metal that don't mind the lack of originality; fans of DT that want another band that sounds something like them, but without the quality.

Not recommended for: people who want some new, unique, exciting progressive metal. People who want to listen their first Hungarian-prog record.

.you should wait until you can get yourself some real good prog.