AMENOPHIS

1. "Suntower" (5:18) a symphonic piece in the CAMEL tradition--except for the fact that the guitarist playing the incredible Spanish classical guitar from 3:45 to 4:45 seconds may be much more talented/skilled than Andy Latimer. (9/10)

2. "The flower" (7:31) (13.25/15): - a) The appearance - intricate and delicate instrument play over which singer Wolfgang Vollmuth sings with a pleasant voice not unlike a higher-pitched Greg Lake. A bit of a Camel, Eloy, Novalis, and perhaps Focus feel. (4.25/5) - b) Discovering the entrance in the shadow of a dying bloom - The heavier, more dynamic part of the song with sounds and riffs reminding me of some of prog's giants--even some of those from Italia. Nicely composed and rendered; these are some very skilled and cohesive musicians! (9/10)

3. "Venus" (7:03) Wow! Do they know how to capture the eery lonely feeling of space! The vocal performance is a little out of the pocket--even pitchy--and the band does not seem to be quite as tightly synchronized on this one. Meanders a bit until the final minute when it settles into a driving instrumental section similar to other German prog bands of the era. A little to disjointed and uncentered for my ears and brain. (13/15)

4. "The last requiem" (24:32) (46.75/50): - a) Looking for refuge (12:00) opens with solid wall of complementary rock instruments presenting the first themes--with flute helping out on one of them. The opening three minutes feel like either the presentation of multiple themes to be developed later or else a succession of ideas patched together in order to be dynamic and eclectic. I count seven separate, different motifs! And it keeps on going--keeps on being added to! I hear a lot of Camel and Focus in these themes and instrument sound choices--with John Wetton-like vocals As a matter of fact, at times I think I'm listening to an interpretation of the "Hamburger Concerto." Interesting how often I hear the rhythm section fall into familiar patterns but then they're gone, moved on, with a couple of measures. (24/25) - b) The prince - opens with a standard prog rock drum track with Andy Latimer-like lead guitar singing over the top. Then, suddenly, everybody switches: into air raid readiness mode. The ensuing high speed section is straight out of STEVE HACKETT's instrumental masterpiece, "Spectral Mornings." (Maybe he's the prince?!) After a couple brief recapitulations we move into a gentle, very melodic, almost AMERICA-like, acoustic guitar-based section over which the Latimer guitar picks up his beautiful wailing with a new melody. After a brief vocal section we move back into some more multi-speed instrumental passages. It's like we're driving an emergency vehicle through the cluttered city streets of a city that's under attack. (14/15) - c) Armageddon (3:40) at 20:40 we move into the final section of the suite, a quiet, spacious, almost Ambient/electronic VANGELIS/SYNERGY-like soundscape which finally bursts into full flower after about a minute only to proceed into a continued electronic analog synthesizer exploration of some heavenly Bar-do we do not remember. Nice. (8.75/10)

The real positives about this album are the extraordinary quality of musicianship, quality of composition, and the high quality of sound engineering--all of which are notable for remaining true to the original examples set by the original "masters' of the "classic" era of prog in general--not falling into the trappings that many German prog bands did of succumbing to the pop pressures to simplify and uniform as well as to temper or dilute of the displays skills--not to mention the choice to buck the trend to adopt 1980s computerized technologies to take over some of the work.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of "classic" analog progressive rock music--and this, in 1983! Definitely a must have for any self-proclaimed lover of progressive rock music!

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