VERSUS X

A very good, if not exactly excellent album. This band in general gives me a sense of some decent hobbyists making prog albums in their spare time. I think Arne is a chemist by trade, so this may be an accurate description of this band. Judging by the time in between releases, it does seem that this is not a full time gig for any of the members (but that is certainly not unusual in the modern prog scene).

Having said all that, I like this album quite a bit. The first song is, so far, the best Versus X song I have heard. It has a very nice, if quite long, development of themes and melodies and the most understandable and well written lyrics of any of their songs. The vocals I've never had a problem with. They are not particularly great, but they are not bad by any stretch. The are considerably better than many neo-prog bands I've heard, though I'm not sure this band is really neo-prog (they are certainly NOT crossover, which is what they are categorized under here......I can only assume that the people who put them in that category never listened to any of their albums after the debut). In any case, the standout for me is the piano playing of Nahm. I love his playing and I think he really gives this band some character and a sense of technical proficiency. Because, I must admit, they don't come off as the most technically impressive band I've heard. But that doesn't mean they are not good, far from it. I've heard far worse prog albums for sure. But I'm making this sound worse than it is I think.

The second track is much slower paced and darker, and I think takes a bit too long to develop and doesn't really do much when it does. The lyrics are more obtuse and it's more obvious that he is not a native English speaker, and they are quite dreary as well. But it has interesting bits. Probably the only one I find to be a bit too long and not quite on par with the other two tracks. Not a bad song overall though.

The final epic track (I suppose they all are pretty epic in length, if not scope) is the most traditionally prog in its development, even containing a somewhat uplifting finale. It features a number of changes as well as faster paced material mixed with slower paced sections. Overall, a very good song.

This is not one of the best bands in prog music, no doubt. But there is something I really enjoy about their dark, fairly technical compositions. The lyrics are often hard to understand, but that is not a big issue for me. Shaffer's vocals are nearly without an accent (except on the pronunciation of certain words) and are pleasant enough in a nondescript yet competent fashion. So for myself, this was an excellent addition to my collection. To others, I would say this is good but non-essential. So 3.5 stars then. Rounded down, because really in the scope of this site, this band doesn't stand out nearly as much as a lot of others. Neo fans in particular may want to give it a listen though.

Masterpiece !

This album is a masterpiece. As common, a masterpiece is often difficult to listen at the first. As a "Tales From Topographic Oceans" in 1973, which was misunderstood at the first release, this one may be in the same situation. With a complexity and a subtil writing, Versus X offers to us a fantastic album of VERY VERY good progressive music.

With a lot of differents themes (classical, jazzy, rock and others) and a lot of influences (Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson, Van der Graaf Generator, Gentle Giant, The Tangent), it sounds like the best groups we know on this progressive planet.

But keep in mind, you need to listen to this album several times before understanding how this music is so great ... If you like Yes, The Tangent, The Flower Kings, and others bands mentioned in this review, you'll like this fabulous album. Enjoy.

3.5 stars really.

This is a long overdue review on my part, but I figured I'd get this one done before I move on to the next album.

For the most part, this is a band that seems to be definitely a part time project. The time between albums bears this out. Still, this album sees the band sounding considerably more sophisticated than the first two albums and the previous live album. This is due largely (if not entirely) to the addition of a new drummer who fits the bands style far better than the previous one (who was still quite good), and a new bass player who is leaps and bounds better than the previous one.

The music is still in the same style, symphonic prog with a neo-prog sheen (why this band is listed as crossover prog is beyond my comprehension.........they do not fit that category's definition as given on this site in any way, shape, or form). However, everything seems more precise, more tight in execution. The first track, a 21 minute epic, is probably their best yet instrumentally. The first few sections are taken up by the vocals, which carry some interesting melodies and culminate in the chorus (this band doesn't really have traditional versus and choruses and bridges, but that is not unusual in prog). The entire second half of the song, about 11 minutes, is given over to the best instrumental ensemble playing Versus X has ever delivered. Great dynamics and variety, and showcasing some of their most complex and interesting melodies and progressions to date. All in all, a fantastic song.

The next track is a bit mellower, but features an incredible acoustic guitar melody that dominates the song. Some very interesting vocals over this lead into a heavier section towards the end that develops the initial guitar melody further. Fantastic drumming during this part of the song.

The next two tracks are something of a let down after the two excellent opening tracks, though both have things to like. Strange Attractor is a fairly disjointed song that actually reminds me a bit of Van der Graaf Generator in the way it jumps all over the place. Many of the transitions seem odd and forced and the song definitely doesn't flow very well. Still there are some good instrumental moments within, but the vocal melodies never really seem to work and certainly don't stay with you after it's over.

The Hostile Sea is the track most similar in sound to their previous album, and considering it was performed with the previous lineup it's easy to understand why. This one has a long melodic theme that is worked through in the first half, followed by some instrumental development of that theme, which is then resolved back to the end of the original melody sung over floating synths to create a very ambient conclusion. A decent song, but not particularly memorable or one of their best.

So two great tracks and two not so great tracks. I'm going to give this a 3.5 out of 5, because it is quite good, but probably not essential. This is a second or third tier band when you come right down to it, and only really of interest to neo prog fans that lean toward the more symphonic and somewhat more complex side of that genre. Personally, I really enjoy this album and this band and I'm not really a fan of much neo prog, so this band probably fits more squarely in the symphonic prog category. Worth checking out if you are digging deep into the obscure corners of progdom.

"Primordial Ocean" is an album in which German ensemble Versus X reinforces its retro-symphonic trend. As I remember, the band started on a prog metal-meets-neo vein ("Disturbance" being a clear testimony for this line of work), but by now the band has managed to deliver a development toward the pompous, nostalgic roads of old-fashioned symphonic prog. Keyboardist Ekkehard Nahm operates as the pivotal man for the full band's instrumental schemes and explorations. As points of reference, Versus X has a musical feel very related to 90s Flower Kings, the resucitated Kaipa, High Wheel, and why not, The Tangent - as a matter of fact, guitarist Arne Schäfer's vocal range and style remind of Eloy's Frank Bornemann y The Tangent's Andy Tillison. The band feels at ease when creating and elaborating long compositions: four are the ones comprised in this "Primordial Ocean". 'The Pulse of Earth' gets teh albums started with ceremonious organ and mellotron layers, with a controlled power that gradually gets more patent as the whole band develops the themes. The increase of sonic power is not generated by way of contrast, but with a well-measured build-up. The most magnificent moment of this track take place between minutes 8 and 15, whose melancholic atmospheres are convincingly portrayed by the synth washes, mellotron layers and lead guitar phrases, in this way paying a great tribute to old-school space-oriented symphonic rock. 'From a Distance' is a brief piano solo piece whose meditative tone serves as a proper prelude to the impetuous intro of the next track, 'Essentially Human'. This suite goes for more extrovrted moods than the opener, even getting deeply into the most sophisticated side of progressive things (some specific instrumental passages take hints to Gentle Giant or Van der Graaf Generator). The mellotron sounds are pretty recurrent here, while the guitar harmonies and leads always stay loyal to the moods created by the keyboards (organ chord progression, mellotron layers, piano scales) - in fact, the lead guitar is the crucial item for the track's melodic development, except when the synth assumes the leading spot. The emotional climax literally fills teh air around the attentive listener. 'Fingerprints' begins on a very ethereal mood, alternating spacey synth layers and classicist piano interventions. When the whole band settles in, they elaborate an effective linkage of various motifs, bearing diverse levels of intensity. The track's second half is dominated by a very groovy motif, obviously catchy while ornamented with some sophistication in its rhythmic basis. The last minutes are filled by a languid closure. The longest suite in the album (it last a bit less than 23 ¾ minutes) is the last one: "Into the Vast Unknown" follows the path of musical ambition pursued by the two preceding suites, even giving more room to the instrumental deliveries. Particularly relevant is the fact that bassist Thomas Keller makes his instrument steal the limelight for a few moments. Complexity is an essential rule here, with the band exploiting the compositional paraphernalia enthusiastically between minutes 10 and 13 - simply delicious! Actually, tracks 3-5 can be enjoyed as a contant zeniyh of the album. In conclusion, Versus X has delivered a great retro-prog album with this 2008 effort "Primordial Ocean". Not unlike Thieves' Kitchen, The Tangent or Brighteye Brison, Versus X has shown us that 2008 is yet another year of good health for old-fashioned symphonic prog.

German outfit Versus X have made a really strong album with their 2008 release Primordial Ocean.

4 long epic tunes, all of them complicated and quirky affairs, with a multitude of segments constantly evolving and moving; but with an emphasis on symphonic elements and strong melodies. Long instrumental passages is a key feature here, with sweeping and at times grandiose segments dominated by multi-layered synths just as dominant as more mellow passages with piano only and more driving parts with guitar riffs and organ taking the lead.

The only weakness I came across were the vocals, which seems to have a hard time following the slightly quirky melody lines in some passages.

Apart from that, this is a killer release for most people fond of bands like Genesis and Yes, and the level of complexity might make this one of interest to fans of Gentle Giant as well.

FIRST REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM

This German band is rooted in 1984 when prime mover Arne Schäfer plays in the trio Vague Venture and one year later starts to sing. Their sound is a blend of New Wave and New Romantic. While the music turns into more and more progressive many changes in the line-up follow and eventually the name of the band becomes Versus X, derived from the chemistry. They began to play gigs, the reactions are very positive and in 1994 Versus X releases their eponymous debut album, followed by Disturbance (1997), The Turbulent Zone (2000), Live At The Spirit (2002) and recently (again after some changes in the line- up) the new studio album entitled Primordial Ocean (2008), the fans had to wait eight years for a successor of The Turbulent Zone, their previous studio effort.

The running time of this new CD is more than 70 minutes and it contains five compositions, four between 15 and 25 minutes along the short track From A Distance (a dreamy piece with solo Grand piano). The four long and alternating songs sound as warm and very melodic 24-carat symphonic rock, deeply rooted into the Classic Prog tradition. We can enjoy lots of howling guitar, supported by the distinctive Moog Taurus bass pedals and lush vintage keyboards (in my opinion samples) like the Mellotron, Hammond organ and Minimoog synthesizer. To me the music evoked many 'goose bump moments' like the intro of The Pulse Of Earth (intense violin-Mellotron and bass pedals) and the compelling bombastic sound featuring heavy Mellotron, fat Minimoog and sensitive electric guitar runs in Essentially Human, Fingerprints and the final piece Into The Vast Unknown (long and moving guitar solo with wonderful support of the unsurpassed Mellotron).

Listening to this CD often Skandinavian prog like White Willow, Anekdoten, Wobbler and especially Anglagard (loaded with Mellotron and frequent interplay between powerful guitar and Hammond) comes to my mind, I enjoyed it very much. But I have to admit that in my opinion the vocals don't succeed to generate the same excitment as the music, I miss power and the accent is very obvious. But it didn't disturb me, also because Versus X their music on this new CD contains a lot of instrumental parts, on those moments this promising band showcases their compositorial skills and appreciation for Classic Prog like Seventies King Crimson (violin-Mellotron) Genesis (choir-Mellotron, Moog Taurus bass pedals and volume pedal guitar) and Yes (Hammond and Minimoog runs), I have been in Prog Heaven! My rating: 3,5 stars.

www.progwalhalla.com

Awesome album.

You must add Anekdoten and maybe IQ in the atmospheric rock moments to compare their style of prog. rock.

That´s the fantastic thing about this album .It is difficult to find this product very simmilar to the music of all the bands named

Impossible not to concentrate in their original and dreaming melodies when you play it.

The long tracks are in the exact lenght to close all the musical ideas this band want to plasmate.

The instruments participation is very equilibrated

5 stars

Well, I'll keep this fairly short. This is a live album, and the sound quality is not exactly stellar. But for as obscure a group as Versus X, it still isn't bad. This album features the line up from the second album, Disturbance, and is interesting in that they perform some material from the following album, that would see a new drummer and bassist (both of whom are considerably better in terms of bass, and far better suited for the band, in terms of drums). The opening track features the beginning section of Cutting the Veil from the upcoming album, segueing into a complete rendition of the first song on their first album. This works pretty well, and the transition is smooth. Next we have the longest epic from Disturbance, which pretty much stays true to it's studio counterpart, but does feature some varied playing in certain sections. The other Disturbance song, and probably their best song ever, Curtain Call is a faithful reproduction of the original. The final song, that would appear on the next album with the altered lineup, is the most interesting. It is considerably different in the fact that the final 8 minutes or so are something of a psychedelic jam session, which in itself is unusual for this band from what I've heard.

On the whole though, this is not terribly essential. The band lacks power and energy in the live setting and definitely comes across as a band that doesn't do this for a living. But if you like the studio albums, you will probably enjoy this for the most part. For me, it's barely 3 stars, but I'll go ahead and grant it that rating.

As one might expect for a first album of a part time band, this is rather undeveloped. The first track is enjoyable with some, as always, excellent piano playing by Nahm. Versus X and To Go Free are the other stand out songs, not surprisingly also the longest. But on the whole this isn't a very interesting album. The shorter songs seem awkward and poorly written, while the longer ones have more interest but still are a bit lacking on the compositional side. For myself, this is one I don't listen to much, but is not terrible. I rate it about 2.5, but I think considering the fact that this band has never been a top tier prog band, I will round down to 2. But it's really not that bad and if you like their other albums you will no doubt find some things to like here. But get it cheap, if you can. The leap in quality on their next album would be quite dramatic.

At least in terms of style little had changed here compared to their previous effort, now there's one track more listed and running times are between 6 1/2 and almost 22 min. The Schäfer/Nahm duo has been now supported by the new rhythm section Jörg Fischer and Uwe Völlmar which works slightly more efficient than the previous one I have the impression. The lyrics are still telling rather interesting stories one can find notes about on their website. Musicianship is flawless and the moderately complex compositions are an enjoyable listen. There's little apparent difference in quality compared to 'Disturbance' and I just say once again that fans of epic Prog should check out this band. Listen to the samples provided on their website and if you like what you hear start with any of the two albums. If you still like their style you might get the other as well. Not an essential one but certainly a very good work (***1/2 really)!!