REIFICATION

4.5 stars. SYRINX are a four piece band from France.They had originally chosen to remain anonymous like some of the old time artists who refused to sign their art, instead allowing the art to be the sole focus. It has been revealed though that the Maurin brothers, the guitarists for NIL and THORK are the brains behind this project. The SYRINX project is concieved to be developed over several albums.

The theme of this record is Greek mythology, but check out their web site for an indepth answer to what the theme is exactly. I would describe the music as dark, atmospheric, beautiful, melodic, subtle and complex. Similar sounding artists are NIL, EXSIMIO and GUAPO. There are no electric lead guitars, but the acoustic guitar is used as the lead and is stunningly beautiful throughout. The keyboards are used a lot to create the mood and also the atmosphere. So there are lots of synth washes, and they are usually used to create a dark atmosphere, much the way mellotron is used to create a similar mood. The drumming is amazing, bringing the band TOOL to mind at times. It's hard to put into words how great the playing is on each of the five tracks.The production top notch as the sound here is crystal clear. And this means so much when you hear the acoustic guitar picking.

So put the head phones on and turn out the lights and take a trip that will blow you away.

Syrinx is a French instrumental project formed by musicians from diverse tendencies united by the common need to create something new in an artsy manner -something they label as metamorphic music. The album "Reification" bears a patent mystic vibe to it, and that means that they successfully blend the sonic colors of their compositions with the concept behind them. Their sound is quite chiarobscure, built on main melodies, orchestrations and tonalities that seem to be born out of the misty ambiences from dew- wet forests in an autumn evening. The lyrical sections feel somewhat sinsiter, while, in contrast, the scary passages bear a melancholy texture that keeps them from becoming overtly creepy. It is incredible how the acoustic guitar, being the least loud item in the instrumentation, leads so effectively the nervous development of the main ideas and the subtly complex links between them. The organ solos, the synthesizer washes, the powerful rhythm duo, all of them have an undeniably punch to them, yet the acoustic guitars' arpeggios, leads and strums seem stubbornly stuck on the center stage. The most wonderful thing that Syrinx accomplishes is a perfectly polished sense of ensemble, but it's not their only wonderful achievement: great melodies, captivating atmospheres, efficient balance between all moods that successively build up the continumm of each track. Each compositional piece has a Spartan structure to it, but the instrumentation goes beyond playing them and becomes a real arranging tool, which sets a dialectics of extra composition. The namesake opening piece fills the album's first 17 minutes, clearly defining the band's ideology. The sonic panorama is enriched by controlled yet ambitious expansions of the basic motifs, never getting into the excessively self-indulging thing. The sense of control doesn't work opposite the musicians' creative freedom, but as a complement to it. 'Emanescence' and 'Le Vingtieme Cercle' have each a shorter room for expansion, but this small detail doesn't stop them from including a notable set of rich variations and mood shifts. The atmospheres are, in comparison to the opening track, a bit more colorful without letting go of that special mysterious vibe that is intended to fill the whole album, sound by sound, second after second. That is particularly true for the eerie interlude of 'Le Vingtieme Cercle', to put a random example. 'Orbis Ubique', with its 14 ¾ minute span, offers a more ambitious strcture, not unlike 'Reification', albeit digging deeper into the most somber side of the band's musical vision. Perhaps this is the main reason why it stands out as one of the definitive highlights of the album. A special mention has to go for the very, very creepy synth solo that emerges like something out of the underworld. Finally, 'L'Hypostase des Archontes' reincides on the album's overall essence, although with a more explicit dynamics, which is no doubt due to the special dose of energy provided by the rhythmic section. The drum input during the concluding climax has to be the most impressive performance delivered by Philippe Maullet, and indeed, he helped his partners to shine at their respective instruments especially for this section. This track is another amazing highlight, but this section has merits of its own. An incredible ending for an incredible album - "Reification" is a progressive classic for the millenium and Syrinx is a name to be included in any good prog collection. 4 to 4.5 stars for this album!

Syrinx are a modern prog quartet coming from Annecy,France.The four musicians of the band are all experienced regarding the prog field.Brothers guitarist David Maurin and bassist Samuel Maurin has played both for Thork and Nil,drummer Philippe Maullet has also been a member of Thork and Benjamin Croizy played keyboards for Nil.However this project aims to explore brand new musical horizons than those of Thork and moreover Nil.

Definitely a KING CRIMSON child,Syrinx play dark,mysterious and complicated jazzy Progressive Rock,all instrumental.All five long tracks are highlighted by an obscure atmosphere with complex breaks,acoustic passages and heavy bass lines.The drumming is often very complex certainly following a jazzy mood and synths appear from nowhere to create some more mysterious soundscapes.When the whole band jams together,the interplays are adventurous,abstract and even hard to follow,but the overall atmosphere is quite unique.Good thing is the band uses KING CRIMSON only as an influence and it's very far from the plagiarism phenomenon.Another positive: Melody is not totally absent,a few atmospheric passages hold some interest regarding this part,even some lovely flutes pop up somewhere.

This ''Réification'' debut album is a massive musical attack against demanding ears and can be a really painful or a simply majestic experience,depending on what the listener searches for.For me it's a very strong first step that deserves 3.5 stars,while the band shows great potential for even producing a masterpiece in the near future.