APOCALYPSIS

One of the few Greek bands to play in a Classic Prog style, Apocalypsis were found in 1979 in Athens by keyboardist Vassilis Dertilis and singer Yannis Palamidas.The original line-up consisted also of Achilleas Spyrou on guitars, Stavros Sidiropoulos on drums and Haris Fotopoulos on bass.The band was known for perfmorming theatrical shows in the vein of GENESIS with costumes and light shows and their self-titled debut was released in 1980 on the legendary Minos label, produced by Elias Venetos.

Their style was heavily orientated by the Theatrical Progressive Rock of GENESIS with emphasis on the dominant keyboard parts, the dramatic vocals and the smooth guitar touches.While the production is not the best, Apocalypsis' arrangements are full of passion, intensity and different colors with some nice interplays between the synths and guitars, plenty of sudden breaks and a great amount of vintage organ passages.Palamidas' voice is also decent, having a nice range between theatrical performances, regular singing and operatic lines.There are also numerous melodic multi-vocal harmonies throughout.The whole release flows in a Classic Symphonic Rock vein, divided in atmospheric offerings, dramatic vocal parts and strong keyboard-based themes with a good sense of melody.

If you don't find an original copy of the album, there is a nice CD compilation with both Apocalypsis releases out from Minos.Guaranteed Symphonic/Classic Progressive Rock for all fans of retro adventures, though the production is a bit muddy and the style unoriginal.Recommended.