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NERONIA

Progressive Metal • Germany


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Neronia picture
Neronia biography
Founded in Darmstadt, Germany in 2002

Starting off as ULYSSES*, the band released a first album titled "Neronia" back in 1993. For legal reasons, however, they had to drop their band name and decided call themselves NERONIA. A whole decade went by where the band went through extensive personnel changes and without releasing any albums. Finally, in 2004, an independent release titled "Nerotica" saw the light which featured keyboard player and vocalist Falk Ullman (TIPSY SLUT), guitarist Mirko Rudnik, bassist Joerg Schaufert and drummer Robert Zoom. The music is a mixture of metal and neo-prog with an emphasis on the latter, giving it a feel similar to thr heavier neo-prog acts such as ARENA, ENCHANT and SYLVAN.

The album "Nerotica" offers plenty of drama and bombast as well as some excellent musicianship and a quality production. To those familiar with the band's former incarnation as ULYSSES, please note that all PENDRAGON and MARILLION influences have vanished from this new album, except perhaps for the epic closer where you'll still hear the ghost of old MARILLION, FISH-like phrasing included. Overall, however, the radio-friendly tunes and the high-pitch vocals sound more like a blend of old STYX/MEAT LOAF style with the 90's sound. Nothing groundbreaking on the prog scale but refreshing and fun if you like the genre.

Should be of interest to fans of ARENA, ENCHANT, SYLVAN, MARATHON and EVERON.

* Not to be confused with Dutch prog-metal band also named ULYSSES.

: : : Lise (HIBOU), CANADA : : :

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NERONIA discography


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NERONIA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.38 | 13 ratings
Ulysses: Neronia
1993
3.04 | 9 ratings
Nerotica
2003
3.60 | 5 ratings
Blue Circles
2008
3.86 | 10 ratings
Limnotapes
2014
3.71 | 7 ratings
Nero
2015
4.00 | 1 ratings
Pure
2017
1.47 | 8 ratings
Second World
2020
3.00 | 2 ratings
Phoenix
2023

NERONIA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

NERONIA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

NERONIA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

5.00 | 1 ratings
Pure
2017

NERONIA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

NERONIA Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 Second World by NERONIA album cover Studio Album, 2020
1.47 | 8 ratings

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Second World
Neronia Progressive Metal

Review by ssmarcus

1 stars Dear lord this is a bad bad album. Boring and derivative song writing, sub-par production, and terrible vocals all conspire to make getting through this album an absolute chore.

This album wastes little time in ensuring you can appreciate how bad it will be. In fact, by the second full length song, 'What Else Now,' the singer, by dramatically repeating ad nauseum the refrain "Scenes from a memory", seems hell bent on insisting that the listener compare his album to the incomparably superior album of the same name. A little bit of self-awareness on the part of this band would have, among other things, gone along way in avoiding this most unflattering comparison.

Given the paltry number of Spotify listeners and the aforementioned production quality, I initially gave these guys the benefit of the doubt: surely this was some kind of debut or sophomore record for an up and coming bad. As it turns out, this band has been around since the 90's! But I guess if the band mates are happy doing this, then more power to them. Just don't expect the rest of us to relish along with them.

 Limnotapes by NERONIA album cover Studio Album, 2014
3.86 | 10 ratings

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Limnotapes
Neronia Progressive Metal

Review by Windhawk
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

4 stars German band NERONIA can trace its roots back to the '90s, and a band at that time called Ulysses, which released its debut album "Neronia" in 1993. When they were forced to change band name they opted to go for Neronia, and released their first album under this new name in 2003. Self-released in 2014, "Limnotapes" is the third album they have made following their change of moniker.

Neronia's third album "Limnotapes" comes across as a well developed and fairly sophisticated creation of music within a neo progressive context, developed and executed with some care to emphasize the accessible elements, yet without loosing track of key elements needed to make this progressive rock rather than melodic rock. I'd suggest that those equally fond of bands like Marillion, Pendragon and Sylvan might be a key audience for this production, and suspect the greater majority of them should find this CD to merit an inspection.

 Nerotica by NERONIA album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.04 | 9 ratings

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Nerotica
Neronia Progressive Metal

Review by kev rowland
Special Collaborator Honorary Reviewer

3 stars Originally this band was called Ulysses, and had an album produced by Karl Groom and Clive Nolan some eleven years ago. Now they are back with a new line-up and name, but obviously haven't forgotten their history. This is German progressive rock that is looking as far into the past as it is in to the future. Although they have been influenced by other German bands such as Everon, it is to Canada where they have been looking most as there are Saga-esque touches, as well as the much missed (well, by me anyway) London-based prog act Winter. The vocals of Falk Ullmann (ex-Tipsy Slut, Waxmuseum) have a distinctive sound that moves them away from many of the modern prog bands; there is an edge, a real 'presence'.

This debut album is one that I have found myself drifting into, for the proghead this is music that is floating yet for the areas where it meanders along there are others where there is real purpose and bite. The gentle sections just serve to emphasise the power of the guitar ? for Neronia never forget that they are a rock band, although they are much more in the Pendragon are of music than Arena and light years removed from Threshold. It is an album that reminds me of the sort of material that SI were releasing, good solid prog, or even Marillion. It isn't the sort of music that grabs the listener but the more this album is played the more there is to be taken from it.

Originally appeared in Feedback #79, June 2004

 Ulysses: Neronia by NERONIA album cover Studio Album, 1993
3.38 | 13 ratings

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Ulysses: Neronia
Neronia Progressive Metal

Review by apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator

3 stars 90's German Neo Prog act from Wiesbaden, one of the many bands to feature the name Ulysses, eventually dropping it off for legal reasons in the following years.The line-up consisted of singer Gerard Hynes, guitarist Mirko Rudnik, keyboardist Thomas Dhiel, bassist Ender Kilic and drummer Robert Zoom, while on their debut ''Neonia'' from 1993 (on Pyramusic) Tracy Hitchings and Arena's first bassist Cliff Orsi appear in two tracks.

''Neronia'' is a classic-sounding album of the Neo Prog genre with clear influences from the early works of MARILLION and PENDRAGON, characterized by the careful melodies, the hypnotic guitar solos and the flashy synthesizers.The tracks are quite long with plenty of symphonic references in the keyboard parts and, as expected, a vocalist capable of delivering expressive singing lines.Ulysses' sounds fails to have its own personality and actually it does not escape the aforementioned influences at a single moment, but the talent is there to offer nice and pleasant compositions.The band blends quite succesfully the more melodic tunes with bombastic and intense instrumental passages, fronted by the good guitar work of Rudnik and the satisfying keyboard ideas of Dhiel.A couple of more mellow tracks in a ballad style are also added for good measure, but fail to improve the overall sound of the album.

As mentioned, Ulysses changed their name to Neronia after the release, to avoid any illegal issues, which was followed by a huge number of line-up changes.The band finally returned in the new millenium with a sound flirting with Neo Prog, Hard Rock and Prog Metal, producing two albums, ''Nerotica'' (2004) and ''Blue Circles'' (2008).

The debut and sole work of Ulysses should be an instant purchase for all lovers of Neo Prog.Melodic, passionate and slightly symphonic Progressive Rock, good enough for all fans of the style.Recommended.

Thanks to ProgLucky for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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