SKRYVANIA

Another lost gem of progressive rock? One way or another, Skryvania were a symphonic prog act, as short-lived as they were young, at least at the time of releasing their sole full-length. Over a decade later, Musea Records (an outlet to be respected for giving attention to these unknown artefacts) brought the album somewhat back to life with an expanded CD release. While it's always my desire when taking a look at these 'lost' albums to find some obscure marvel that like-minded listeners may love, I can't say there's that sense of revelation in hearing Skryvania. Although their grasp of progressive rock form is impressive given the fact they were all teenagers at the time of its release, there's no impression they were taking their obvious love for Yes in any particularly vibrant direction. By 1978, symphonic prog had become a pretty tired trend, and there's not a great deal about Skryvania's lo-fi copycat material to change anyone's mind.

Even so, I think Skryvania still deserve praise for their technique. While proficiency is practically a pre- requisite for almost all progressive rock, it's pretty easy to look past the obvious Yes and Genesisisms to identify a band with a solid technical grasp, not to mention a passion for the material they're playing. Regardless whether we're talking about the original release, or the expanded Musea edition, Skryvania's material was almost entirely instrumental, save for some poorly integrated singing towards the beginning. Listening to some of their more involved work in "Tristan & Iseult" or "Le château d'Orphée", you can tell they were part of that bloc in symphonic prog that can't decide whether they like Yes or Genesis more. Their higher energy moments sound like they may have been ripped from a Yes rehearsal tape; the aggressive bass presence of the late Chris Squire is there, as is Steve Howe's distinctive twangy style, which actually works rather well with the band's lo-fi recording. When they get slower however, they rely heavily on lush keyboards, just like Genesis. And that's basically it.

I don't think Skryvania needed to innovate their own brand of progressive rock to succeed; hell, I've heard bands that follow Yes even more closely (like the more recent Wobbler) that have created amazing albums in their image. The problem with these guys, ultimately, is that they fail to make a memorable imprint with their music. Their execution is solid in spite of an obviously lacking budget, but the songwriting sounds like it was inspired by surface-level symphonic tropes, rather than, y'know, from the heart. I think the issue with their capable but aimless composition is exemplified by how much better they sound when they're playing covers, like the snippets of Yes' "Ritual" and "Close to the Edge", and Genesis' "Hairless Heart" included in the expanded edition. I think someone with no prior knowledge of either of those bands would think those to be the album's highlights. And therein lies the problem of Skryvania; they had the technique of their influences down solidly enough, but didn't have the vision to make memorable music, let alone find a style of their own.

There was an exceptional tune on here, though it's not part of the album proper: The final bonus track, Le château d'Orphée, has focus, emotional content and builds to genuine climax. The actual album, however, just seems like guys playing a lot of notes in all directions, and since I'm not that into jazz or jam bands, this doesn't grab me or seem truly symphonic in the classic sense of that word.

Overall, Skryvania is desultory music very much in the style of Yes, yet lacking the compositional wisdom of Yes.

This is not only a prized collectors item but reveals that amateur preciousness and rebellious attitude shown by quality musicians who fight against the negative musical currents of a time.

4.5 cache caches

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012

Despite of the bad sound quality, this album is a homage to Yes and Genesis. This despite of most of the songs here being instrumentals. The music is drenched in synths and moog with some guitars on the top too. The quality is good throughout though. The lack of any really good songs here or any form of own identity is the main problem with this album. It is pretty much a run-of-the-mill synth drenched symphonic prog album. A major plus for the inclusion of the Yes/Genesis songs at the end and a safe 3 stars.

3 stars (barely)

In the magical mid 70s, a group of high school friends from the suburbs of Paris took their love of symphonic prog, abandoned their educations, named their band after a girlfriend, and really went for it. And they achieved something very nice although success was modest. They were a huge hit in the local auditoriums they played bringing hundreds to their feet cheering.

The band played a heavy symphonic rock with lots of very good wailing guitar, strong rhythm section, and good keys. Their heroes were Yes, Genesis, King Crimson, and Jimi Hendrix. They sound a little like their French counterparts Pentacle, Shylock, and Atoll but they are a young band and you can hear the sound of youth, both its good and bad aspects. But despite some clumsy moments here and there and a poor sound quality of the recording there is much to recommend. They lads practiced a lot and they can play their butts off, especially the guitarist and drummer. They can wail and their enthusiasm is so obvious. Fans of a thick saturated "wet" guitar sound will love this kid's playing bravado, he'll try anything and usually pull it off. He loves a fuzzy Hendrix sound too and often seems to be channeling Jimmy Page as he just rips it up. The bassist is no slouch either and you can hear him well always attempting something animated. Fans of vintage keyboard sounds will have fun too as they are prevalent. Their songs are pretty good from a compositional viewpoint as well, they keep it interesting and fresh. There are some vocals but they are somewhat minimal.

The generous bonus tracks serve up something really tasty. You'll get to hear these guys try and pull off parts of "Ritual" and "Close to the Edge." And yes, they do pretty good job! The Musea folks have done another fine job putting together a booklet with a very nice band history and photos. The sound is as cleaned up as possible considering this album has a reputation for awful sound quality. The sound is what I would call listenable, decent, OK, but certainly not good. I consider this album nearly essential for French prog and symphonic fans despite the sound, but if you absolutely need top notch production in your prog, you'd best pass this gem by. Humorously, the album cover is supposed to depict the band as the winged creature, driving Yes and Genesis (the rat) from their throne in order to assume their place. These guys did not have a self-esteem problem!

Skryvania is a true lost gem that is dripping with passion for symphonic rock and is a real treat. Do get a copy before it goes out of print and becomes impossible to find again. You won't regret it. 3 1/2 stars.

"Skryvania" has the classic symphonic rock sound with energetic, complex and changing melodies keeping the beauty sense. Despite the members youthness, they demonstrate that they were very good musicians (the guitar player job, specially, is superb), achieving a fresh sound -GENESIS and YES influences are strong, but nobody could say that SKRYVANIA is a sort of clone-.

The album includes as bonus tracks some short excerpts from YES' "Topographic Oceans" and "Close to the Edge", and from GENESIS' "The Lamb" (I guess some kind of homage), and the highlight is the magnificent first track, "Tristan & Iseult": From the first chords, you'll know you'll enjoy the whole stuff.

The only weak point I found is the record quality: isn't the best, but despite this detail, "Skryvania" is a very recommended true symphonic rock album.