SOUND OF THE APOCALYPSE

Black Bonzo has sure changed since their first eponymous disc! That was practically a Uriah Heep Tribute Album; _Sound of the Apocalypse_ blends quite a few other influences into the mix. Namely Eloy, Nektar, Deep Purple and Omega. Maybe even a little of Jethro Tull and The Nice. In other words, these guys are as heavy as progrock gets. Keyboards (Organ, analog synth, mellotron, piano), drums, bass, and guitar, with occasional flute bits here and there. The vocalist comes in somewhere between the late David Byron (of Uriah Heep) and Pete Beck of Anti-Depressive Delivery; plenty of emotion there!

Great stuff, as retro as possible, but not slavishly imitative or heartlessly mechanical. These guys know the motions, but they do more than go through them. Most of the songs have a anti-war/anti-politician slant, as would be expected in the current climate. "Giant Games," for instance, is probably NOT a favorite at the Bush/Blair households: "Let's put on a show for all the people/make them believe we are victorious/We've fooled them before so why not once more?/Put them to sleep, the ones with disbelief"... For years my progrock motto has been "we don't buy this stuff for the lyrics," but _Sound of the Apocalypse_ is the exception to the rule.

Really nice. Quite superior to the merely fantastic first disc. Get yours now, before the seventh trumpet sounds. You'll have a hard time enjoying it if you wait till the locusts are upon us.