SARIS

It is inviting and compelling, at times quite dated yet also feeling modern, and the result is an album which is accessible, often fairly gentle with mild vocals. For it to move to another level it would need to have more of an edge, as this all feels just a little too mellow and safe and never really thrusting with the bite one likes to get from the genre, although of course this could be quite different in the live environment. A solid release, which fans of neo-prog could do well to look out for.

Saris' blend of hard rock and various aspects of progressive rock on "Ghosts of Yesterday '' is a very engaging one at it's best and a pleasantly engaging one otherwise. The first half of this album in particular strikes me as a strong example of relatively easy going hard neo progressive rock. While this is not an album I think will find favor among those who enjoy the more challenging aspects of progressive rock, I would suspect that those with an interest that spans hard rock and AOR style rock as well as neo progressive rock should find this album to be an interesting one to lend an ear to.

"Beyond the Rainbow" strikes me as a pleasantly engaging production, the kind of album that quite a few people will like and enjoy, but where the audience that will love and cherish this production will be more finite and in a certain niche. The niche in question here being fans of 90's era neo progressive rock in general, and those fond of bands with a harder edge and a focus on moods, atmospheres and majestic keyboard arrangements in this subset of progressive rock in particular.

Saris have definitely a retro style of playing, not actually linked to the 70's as most of the retro-styled bands, but resembling more to German Heavy/Neo acts of the 90's such as CROMWELL and CRYSTAL PALACE, adapting a sound, which includes both Hard Rock and epic elements and delivering their compositions through very artistic arrangements with lots of segments and mood changes.The tracks are quite long with emphasis on the harsh, attacking vocals, the memorable choruses, the pompous keyboards and the very sharp guitars of the leader Derk Akkermann.So, imagine a group, which makes an attempt to flirt with a Neo Prog style, take heavy doses of a Hard Rock/AOR vibe and throw in some pompous/symphonic keyboards and even a few string sections for good measure.Definitely among the most powerful bands of the style, which insists on coming up with passionate rhythmic tunes and striking melodies, not ever forgetting about more virtuosic, flashy and intricate instrumental parts.This particular style won't change even in the very long ''Mircales'', a 17-min. composition, which still retains the basic values established already by the band.However this is by far the most diverse track on the album with the length allowing plenty of changes between powerful orchestral themes, heavy guitar-fronted sections, an atmospheric lyricism and grandiose symphonic textures.

Among the very pompous and energetic releases of the year.Somewhere between Hard Pomp Rock and Neo Prog, driven by a bombastic team, which loves to play dynamic and rich music.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Saris released an album back in 1993 and then disappeared for 16 years before Curse Of Time saw the light of day. In the meantime, a lot of water had passed under the bridges crossing Rheine.

Curse Of Time was a fun album to make and it was influenced by the likes of Kansas, Saga, Nightwish, Dream Theater and Magnum..... Derk Akkerman stated in the interview I did with Saris some time ago. And that very much sums up this album.

The music on this album is much closer to pomp prog than neo prog. Well, the music here is pomp prog. It starts with some very strong references to Magnum, Saga and Kansas. The inclusion of female vocals and some acoustic instrumentations draws strong comparisons to Nightwish. The chugging guitar riffs is very similar to Dream Theater. There are even some strong German power metal influences here and prog/power metal fans will find this album a real treat. And some Scorpions influences has been carried over from the 1993 album too.

In short, the sound is very big and full of details. The songs are pompeous and full of multiple layers. Oh yeah, Saris has really gone for broke here and created a very big statement here.

The quality is good throughout. The lack of some really killer tracks is my main gripe here. But besides of that, this album is very good and I am sure it will find favour with a lot of people in PA.

3.5 stars

This album was recorded and released in the early 1990s when Scorpions was still pretty popular. And yes, there are some similarities in the music too. But Saris has also borrowed a lot from the two Toronto bands Saga and Rush. Marillion ? Not as far as I can hear. This album is an all out art rock album which also borders to AOR and heavy rock. Most of all; this album sounds and feels like one of those commercial German rock albums from the early 1990s. The musicians is competent and Klau.......ehh, make that Martin Gellhaus vocals is very good. But perhaps not to everyone's liking. The instruments is the usual tangents, drums and strings (guitar & bass).

The quality......... Well, the songs are not that great though. I have some issues with the sound too since I am nowhere near a fan of the German rock scene from that era. But I like the bands mentioned as their references (in case you missed them in my ramblings above; that's Rush, Saga and Scorpions). The music are competent enough, but this album has no really great songs. This album is and will forever remain as one of the forgotten albums in the scene. I am not sure what I should award this, but a strong 2 stars would suffice. This album is hard to get hold off too and not an album worth shelling out great money on Ebay for. But it is a good rock album though.

2.5 stars