VERBAL DELIRIUM

Verbal Delirium is a unique progressive rock band from Greece that has been around since the mid-2000s. This is their 4th album, but first that I've heard, and it is fantastic. A whirlwiond of different styles and influences blended into a totally unique musical experience. Although certainly Prog in its attitude, they combine many disparate elements (often within the same song), including pop, rock, jazz, soul, musical theater, and metal into their prog. The core of the band is Jargon (John Kosmidis), as primary composer, vocalist, and keybaordist, George 'K' Kyriakidis (guitars), and Nikolas Nikolopoulos (flute, saxophone, Mellotron). The title track is a whirling dervish of an instrumental having a convoluted Klezmer-esque feel, constantly moving and shifting into a sort of ELP meets Steely Dan exercise. 'Intruder' mixes in pop melodies, Beach Boys harmonies, punkish new wave, all leading to a big theatrical finish. The best tracks are also the longest ones, such as 'The Watcher', which starts out with a quirky new wave section, like something from Oingo Boingo, then drops in an 80's dream pop chorus (ala Crowded House, Tears for Fears) before shifting into a full Prog instrumental section, the return of dream pop, leading to a satisfying conclusion. Even better is 'Neon Eye Cage', which opens as a kind of blue-eyed soul pop number (ala Hall and Oates?) then goes into a more rockin' section that seems straight out of some lost Peter Gabriel album before elevating to a Genesisian instrumental finish. Closing the album is the lovely 'Fall From Grace', a beautiful song highlighted by Jargon's emotive, theatrical vocals and K's soaring guitar. Overall, their mix of musical styles are constantly merging in interesting and enigmatic ways throughout, introducing one clever element after another, while still maintaining strong melodies and emotions. Although I don't necessarily agree with all of their choices, their endlessly inventive and creative approach is certainly refreshing and enticing throughout. Best Tracks: Neon Eye Cage, The Watcher, Conundrum, Fall From Grace. Weak Tracks: none. Rating 4.5 stars

A band that I discovered because of Methexis' Nikitas Kissonas' participation on their first three albums has now evolved under the maturing and intrepid stylized vision of the creative force that is founder Jargon Kosmidis. Many of you might remember Jargon's impressive and highly-acclaimed 2020 solo release, The Fading Thought. Fans of theatric prog combining the sounds and styles of QUEEN, MEAT LOAF, and MATTHEW PARMENTER and PETER HAMMILL will definitely enjoy this.

1. "Falling" (2:50) heavy and theatric in a bombastic PETER HAMMILL way. Very impressive. (9/10)

2. "In Pieces (4:59) opens like the opening of EMINEM's "Lose Yourself" before changing chords and turning into a BEATLE's like collaboration with Brian Wilson or the boys from the Bay City Rollers, Pilot, and early ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, finishing with a choir-led bombast that is much more like this latter reference than the former. (8.667/10)

3. "Intruders" (5:30) feels like a 21st Century realization of a Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) collaboration with MEAT LOAF's Jim Steinman (especially in the second half). The "I don't exist" part, of course, is more reminiscent of M. HAMMILL, but, it's but a brief leitmotif. Interesting. (8.667/10)

4. "The Children of Water" (5:42) a truly virtuosic vocal performance from Jargon--on the theatric and emotional level of the work of That Joe Payne. Amazing! Too bad for the rather generic chorus. (8.75/10)

5. "Conundrum" (6:32) a klezmer-styled instrumental conveying a cabaret-like music in which the instrumentalists are given full license to express themselves as fully and virtuosically as M. Jargon himself. What results is, to my ears, a kind of interesting and impressive blend of ELP, Symphony X, and Mr. Bungle. Impressive! (9/10)

6. "The Watcher" (9:03) Wow! This one sounds so much like a MATTHEW PARMENTER (Discipline) piece! Down to the keys and definitely in the vocal performance (and recording effects), the Discipline-like territory continues to express Jargon's totally au courant biting commentary/critique of the cyber age. Then, at 6:56 everything smooths out for a pretty, dreamy passage with choir- "Ooo's" and "aaah's"It's actually a very pretty song, too! I really like this song a lot-- on many levels, from many aspects! (18/20)

7. "Neon Eye Cage" (9:30) opening as a very pretty stage-crafted song (as if he should be on stage in front of a live audience in a Broadway theater). After 90 seconds, the full band bursts into rock format but then a minute later they take a left turn into some kind of Meat Loaf-like territory. (17.667/20)

8. "Fall from Grace" (5:53) Brilliant, this: adjacent to the cyber age commentary song is a song that opens with nature sounds and the sound of children playing outside. This sad song about distance between two people in relationship (and seemingly inevitable breakup) seems perfectly placed to express the consequences of our screen- and self- absorbed world and the challenges it places on interpersonal communication. I'm not sure the instrumental passage in the fourth minute was really necessary--the song was so powerful just in its tragic verbal message--but it's a nice reminder that this is, in fact, a prog album. Definitely a top three song for me. (I am, once again, completely under the spell of Jargon.) (9.25/10)

Total Time 49:59

This is an album of style, theatrics, and vocal performance, not so steeped in complex "proggy" musical constructs as it is in musical creations intended to support and carry forward a vocal idea. Jargon is a very creative and expressive singer-songwriter.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic and theatric music--definitely an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection!

Review # 118.

I "discovered" Verbal Delirium back in 2013 with the release of the album From the Small Hours of Weakness, and I am following their career ever since.

I must say that I'm really impressed with their improvement, both in studio and on stage as well. Every new album is better and more mature than the previous one, and Conundrum is not an exception. Although they maintain their usual dark and melancholic style, their compositions have improved a lot and I dare say that right now they are one of the best "new" bands around.

Also, I'm not sure how many bands I know that have been influenced by Marillion, but Verbal Delirium is definitely not one of them! They have a darker sound, which, in combination with Jargons excellent vocal skills, they bend towards Peter Hammill and/or Van Der Graaf Generator in my opinion. But despite that, they are more "easy going", and listener friendly, but without becoming mainstream.

Another important thing is that they do not afraid to try new things, and include in their music elements of other music styles, such as Progressive Metal and Jazz for example.

I won't get into details for each song, because if I do that, I will only tell you my personal opinion, and I believe that It is better to listen to the album and form your own one instead; but in a few words, I believe that Conundrum is a fantastic album, and definitely one of the best albums of 2022.

So, do yourselves a favour and find a way to - at least - listen to it! Give it a couple of listens and then probably you will understand what I'm talking about.

For me this is a 4.5 stars album, but since I cannot do that, I will give 5 stars and I know I won't regret it!

My Rating: 5 Stars.

VERBAL DELIRIUM founded in 1999 to give another image of progressive rock, a band outside of the MARILLION loving prog musical shackles on which they fall and which makes them think differently about music with a prog and psychedelic sound of the 60s and 70s, with touches heavy and jazzy. Experimentation leads them to merge PINK FLOYD, CARDIACS, QUEEN of course, MUSE. A 4th album of prog dark heavy jazzy theatrical pop unclassifiable finally with a current and modern sound of which I will tell you the pieces.

"Falling" Dantesque atmospheric intro with polyphonic voices and choirs reminds me of XTC madness; a brutal riff, out of tune and menacing sounds like a setting before the start of the show; grandiose art-rock, one of the most beautiful intro of the year with that of MILLENIUM lately which brings "In Pieces" melody reminiscent of QUEEN and THE BEATLES; Jargon plays his voice accompanied by an operatic chorus making the title bombastic; dark prog break so on mysterious keyboards amplifying the theatrical symphonic side of the opera, the finale on the EPICAs. "Intruders" changes tone with a fresh, upbeat nursery rhyme, the BEACH BOYS muted; the chorus with QUEEN-like vocals; sampled break of violins, choirs for a musical verbal delirium reminding me of SPARKS, XTC, the soundtrack of 'Phantom Of The Paradise'; creative and enjoyable with the heavier instrumental in return for the grandiloquent storm and the musical madness. "Children of Water" follows on a bewitched keyboard, a Joe PAYNE voice, strong, dark, powerful, moving. QUEEN can rest easy, I'm happy that VERBAL DELIRIUM finally uses this creative niche; mysterious atmosphere between spleen and latency and a quivering, superb Jargon. "Conundrum" where Balkan rock revisited? That of BREGOVIC? Sax and clarinet jam on an upbeat tempo; instrumental where the organ comes to mingle bringing a convoluted gypsy folk-jazzy air, strange but the frenetic holds the stake; the final crescendo rise seems to come out of a 320 volt outlet, amazing.

"The Watcher" arises a strange, grating, borderline jarring title; then soft ballad of a blow rounding the ears; the melodic line surprises in the opposite direction and the keyboard ends up melting; the first third and the madness of the creative SPARKS reaches me, the guitar becomes heavy, the thunderous break in electric crescendo; final with ethereal choirs and Jargon which rocks us with its inimitable voice with an explosive festive air. "Neon Eye Cage" jazzy-soft for folk-ballad title à la QUEEN, soul music too; the more subdued voice reminds me of SAGA, the second period, the stereo keyboard break positively attacks the ears; it rises calmly, melodically until the instrumental drift where guitar and keyboards return the notes with force and gravity, George bringing me back for a moment to the master MALMSTEEN; stunning, outro jazzy. "Fall from Grace" completes the album with a delicate melody; the ballad that takes us from QUEEN to SAGA with a muffled, fruity, languorous sound where the guitar quickly comes to accompany Jargon; the declination launches the solo that kills, tears, grinds and leaves you speechless, one of those that makes you say that prog, musical art-rock still has something extra, and that you're happy that few can listen to this masterpiece, a prodigious paradox in fact.

VERBAL DELIRIUM has released a musically rich, varied, creative, well-anchored art-rock album; quality compositions with Jargon in mind, developing a whimsical and fantastic alternative modern rock-pop; lyrical and melodic, grandiloquent and ethereal, sublime and... sublime! An extraordinary approach where the lyricism of Jargon illuminates the darkness, where the chiselled and brilliant notes refer to dark airs alternating beauty and emotion. A fusion led by a master voice with a psychedelia of the years 2023. Grandissime.

This prog band from Greece, have quite a wide range in their musical radius , sometimes sounding like Pink Floyd, with very spacey soundscapes, sometimes sounding like a cross between Van Der Graaf Generator and Audience, not to mention some very beautiful intervals of pure brilliant symphonic prog! . They manage to go all over the progmap without loosing their identity and most impressive they create these mentioned spheres with "simple" means, keyboard (piano) bass, drums and superb vocals, be it lead vocal and/or harmony vocals/choir, add to that some great flute, saxophone, trumpet intervals, yes there are guitars just not used in the traditional prog way, all instruments seems integrated in the total sound picture of this very exciting new band, which is very impressing. FROM THE SMALL HOURS OF WEAKNESS is a very pleasant and surprising album, it has got to be one of the best surprises of the year in the prog realm!! Once you have heard them you will agree.

Despite the rather obscure title and the unfortunate abbreviation of their name, not to mention its connotations with rambling on and on without any sense - unlike, I hasten to add, the writer of this piece, no matter what you've heard to the contrary! - verbal diarrhea is the last thing you could accuse these guys of. Together since 1999, it nevertheless took these five lads from Greece of all places ten years to put together their first official album - though there was a demo back in 2007 which seems to have been deleted - and this is their second effort. I was so impressed by this that I immediately bought their debut, and although I haven't listened to it yet I'm expecting great things. The key factor about Verbal Delirium (no I will not call them VD!) is that they mesh many different styles of music together, as do many prog bands of course, but Verbal do it in a way that surprises and takes you unawares. Take the opener for instance. It's built on a soft little drum pattern with a whispered vocal that reminds me of no- one as much as Matt Johnson, a quiet little piano passage and a gentle little flute sound that recalls seventies Floyd. I can't place it but that keyboard/flute melody is very familiar. Could be classical. Could be Marillion, Zep, or something completely different. Speaking of something completely different, you've just about assigned this band the level of Big Big Train or maybe early Genesis when suddenly it blasts into a heavy guitar and organ riff that you just do not expect.

Mind you, it's almost four minutes into the five-and-change that "10,000 roses" runs for before this about-face happens, and indeed it's that long too before the vocals come in, and quickly thereafter it returns to the soft, pastoral piano and crying guitar on which it fades out. As the kids say, awesome. And a great opener that just reminds you not to judge from the first few minutes of a song, or album. "Desire", then, also opens on a gentle passage of piano and guitar, again recalling early Genesis but with some folk rock added in. The vocal this time is soft, almost breathed rather than sung, and in ways reminds me of It Bites. It may be seen as a racist comment, but I'm constantly amazed how "foreign" singers can sound so English. There's not a trace of a Greek accent here - not that I'd recognise a Greek accent if I heard one - but the vocalist, who goes by the name of Jargon, has perfect English and not a hint of any accent. Like the previous song, this one soon morphs into something more powerful, ditching for a while the Tony Banks style synthesisers for a heavier, perhaps more Spock's Beard vibe, the percussion coming in hard and heavy and some fine neoclassical piano joining the melody before it too all winds right back down into a solo piano ending and into a very short instrumental called "Erebus."

I've read other reviews of this album and the band has been compared to Van der Graaf Generator. I see this now in the instrumental, in the somewhat jazzy brass, but it doesn't last long before we're into a big bassy upbeat piano to open "Dance of the dead", and it's here indeed that Jargon on piano and Nikos Nikolopoulos on both sax and flute really shine. Again I see the VDGG comparisons, but I'm not the biggest authority on that band. I have all their albums but have listened to only one or two, so personally for me the sax brings more to my mind Supertramp than VDGG. Interestingly, this turns out to be two instrumentals in a row. Speaking of Supertramp, some piano very much in their style introduces one of the standouts on the album, the almost nine-minute "The losing game", where the title of the album is mentioned (there is no title track) and again Jargon's voice is controlled but strong, soft yet insistent.

Some fine mellotron recalls the best of seventies prog, and some great sax from Nikolopoulos brings the Supertramp influence back in, along with some very Roger Hodgson guitar courtesy of Nikitas Kissonas; in fact, put Hodgson or Davies behind the mike and this could very well be the latest Supertramp song. If they hadn't gone to total sh*t after the last album. It bops along with real purpose, and throw in some Steely Dan guitar while you're at it, sure why not? Just makes a good thing sound even better. An almost three-minute instrumental outro that really allows our Nikos to give vent to his pipes on the saxophone delivers the icing on this very tasty cake, and we've still got four tracks to go. Well, three and a bit.

"Disintegration" opens on a rising bassline that reminds me of the beginning to Foreigner's "Urgent" then pounds out into a real nice little rocker with hard guitar and a great hook. It's almost metal until some high-pitched mellotron comes in, but then that drops out again and the guitar takes the melody. Sort of a semi-punk feel to it, the likes of Buzzcocks, The Knack or maybe Blondie. Then a sense of Threshold in the midsection with big droning synth and some nicely-placed piano before the bass and percussion brings it all back up to a head and the guitar powers back in. Some fairly manic piano before Kissonas takes off on a really smooth guitar solo and a big organlike finish then takes us into thirty-seven seconds of "Dance of the dead (reprise)", which is of course the third instrumental, though really it's just hammered chords and notes on the piano, sort of marking time before we hit the other standout, the beautiful ballad "Sudden winter".

A rippling soft piano opening from Jargon which puts me in mind of ? well, nothing really. This is Verbal Delirium's own signature sound. Actually, here I can hear a slight inflection in the vocal, but that's nothing to complain about. Makes me think of Riverside, can't say why. Very emotional song, with again a hook to die for; would make a great single but it's about five minutes too long at just over eight and a half minutes. Not too long, not at all: just too long for a single or radio airplay. And there's the gorgeous sound of mandolin, which fits into this song like the slimmest glove fits on a lady's hand. God I love mandolin music! The track ends in the seventh minute but then comes back with a sumptuous piano reprise that just adds a final layer of delight to this beautiful song.

And being a prog album, you'd expect the obligatory epic, wouldn't you? And you would not be disappointed, my friend. "Aeons (Part 1 and 2)" runs for almost thirteen minutes, and closes the album in superb style. The first part is a soft atmospheric melody driven mostly on piano with a gentle, almost sotto voce vocal that mirrors the best of early seventies Gabriel, then it kicks up in about the second minute with a powerful, dramatic, almost ominous guitar and slowly pounding drums with the vocal getting sort of chanty is the only way I can describe it. Not quite a mutter, not quite a growl (a grutter?) before the tempo picks up and the guitar takes over, Kissonas driving the tune now.

I'm not totally familiar with either but I think there's a sort of merging of ideas from Porcupine Tree and Riverside here as the track cannons along, only to slow right down then with a sort of eastern sound - or maybe it's from their native Greece - on the piano accompanied by some nice thumping bass. From here it goes on a sort of spacey keyboard/guitar romp for a few minutes, with echo and reverb and god knows what else, and sort of moaning voices like spirits trapped in a netherworld of ? ah you have to hear it. Bit like the end of "A day in the life", though not really. I think at this point we've crossed over into part 2, though I do find that this section is a little overdone and stretched rather to breaking point. The vocal comes back in around the ninth minute, spoken only though in rhythm, while the effects go crazy in the background, and again I have to say this smacks of a song being extended beyond its natural run just for the sake of it, a thing which a lot of prog rock bands are accused of, often rightly.

It's a pity really as it almost - but not quite - leaves a sour taste in the mouth when you realise how the album is going to end. It's been consistently great up to that point but then it just fades out like a bad Hawkwind remix and you're left with a feeling of being ever so slightly cheated that the epic consisted of about five to six minutes music and almost the same in effects, long-drawn out echoes and moans, and not a lot else. Sad.

Even given the somewhat flat and disappointing ending, there's still so much to recommend in this album that I would almost ignore the last six minutes or so of the closer and just concentrate on the previous seven-and-a-bit tracks. For a band from Greece whom nobody seems to have heard of, this album is nothing short of a stunner, and I can't wait to hear what comes next!

Review #34. The very talented Greek band Verbal Delirium is back with a new album, which can be characterized as their most "serious" one. The style and the sound are similar with their 2 previous works (So close and Yet so far Away & From the Small Hours of Weakness), but now the band seems more mature than before. The compositions have become more complicated, the sound became heavier, and the performance of Jargon, their singer, is more theatrical than ever.

Those who know Verbal Delirium from their previous works will not be surprised, because they already know what to expect more or less. But those who don't know them yet, will find themselves in front of a dark and heavy album, filled with beautiful and haunting melodies, that suddenly are changing to heavy guitar riffs, in an endless chance of rhythm and pace in almost all the songs. The album includes 7 songs, and has a total running time of almost an hour. For the first time, there are 3 songs over 11 minutes in length included.

The album's opening track is Words, which gives to the listener a first idea of what is going to follow. Dark, melancholic, almost haunting I could say. It's nothing really special actually, but it works fine as the album's intro. And exactly after that, the powerful guitar riff of Close to You enters and catches you by surprise. The guitar riff lasts only for a few seconds, before the rhythm turns to a jazzy cool part with the flute entering and changing it completely. But that part doesn't last too much also. The guitar enters again, and the song is changing once more, becoming something different as it evolves. Close to You is a very good and musically interesting song, one of the album's highlights and one of my personal favorites. Next, comes Misleading Path, another favorite of mine. It begins with a cool Jazzy rhythm, but very soon it will start changing into something more complex and beautiful. Very nice "touch" are the small parts that the band shows its Greek heritage and influences. Images from a Grey World that follows, is a powerful - almost Prog Metal in parts - song, which proves that Verbal Delirium can compose and perform powerful songs equally well. And now we come to the 3 last and long songs. All 3 of them are musically interesting, but the absolute highlight of the album is the 13-minute-long Fear. Words cannot express its quality. Definitely one of the best songs I've listened to this year, and a true epic! It begins with a melancholic first part, that tends to be Verbal Delirium's trademark, it evolves on and on, and every time it becomes better and better. If for nothing else, then it's worth buying the album only for this song. Yes, it's that good!

Before you decide to buy this album, you should have in mind that this is not something that you will have it play in the background, while you are washing your dishes. It will require your full attention in order to totally appreciate its beauty. It is a dark, melancholic, powerful, gentle, romantic, and kind of noisy album in parts, that already occupied a spot in my yearly Top-10 list. I don't think I can put under 4 stars to it. Highly Recommended!

Images from a(n even) grey(er) world

Even if the first 'single' of the record ('Images from a Grey World') is totally deceptive of Verbal Delirium's trademark sound, one thing is for sure: 'The Imprisoned Words of Fear' presents (to my ears at least) a darker, heavier, perhaps slightly more sinister sound compared to VD's previous works.

A set of compositions that have remained imprisoned for almost a decade (according to the band's frontman Jargon, a version of these was released as a demo back in 2007) have now been reworked with better arrangements and refinements. The sound remains close to the alternative, melancholic, and near-gothic feeling that VD works portray. There is a lurking Katatonia/Type'O Negative and rough-around-the-edges atmosphere and 90's atmospheric metal influences blended with the group's diverse orchestration reminiscent of the likes of Genesis and VDGG.

The legacy of Greek music can be heard in my favourites 'Misleading Path' and the epic 'Fear' (with its Moonlight Sonata closing), which resemble to the exquisite ballad 'Sudden Winter' from the band's second album. 'Images from a Grey World' is a near-progressive metal tune mixed with a Muse character that initially put me off; with the passage of time I got used to it but does not represent a high note in the band's portfolio. The three 10+ minute closing tracks are really where the band displays their talent in improvisation; organ-like lush keyboards, blended with a Hammill-ian eclectic approach, jazzy interludes (see e.g. 'The Decayed Reflection') and trip-hop/electronica combined with blast- beats (!) (e.g. 'In Memory') would leave fans of experimentation extremely satisfied.

Added to all the other diverse stuff that is going on in this album, I realised an influence from the sound of Saviour Machine, mostly on the vocals; a very theatrical and dark performance from Jargon resembles to Eric Clayton's underrated 90's pioneers (see e.g. 'Fear'), while still maintaining the group's trademark sound.

Yet another esoteric and strongly emotional album, this is a candidate for the year's top-10 and lives up to the high expectations VD have cultivated. I very much look forward to the group's appearance in HRH prog festival this year. Recommended to those who enjoyed 'From the Small Hours of Weakness' and those looking for a theatrical/eclectic though, accessible, modern prog album. Absolute highlights: Misleading Path, Fear.

Verbal Delirium is an indie and pretty unknown band from Greece. I discovered them on the Prog N Roll show of the JustIn Case radio. And I thought that the music was very great. From the awesome Dancing Generation to the beautiful The Scene Remains, this album shows a real talent. This band have to got a bigger reputation. If you like bands like Porcupine Tree, Sylvan or Marillion (Hogarth-era), Verbal Delirium is really a band that you have to check out. The singer Jargon have a real potential and could have a real and big career. So congralutations for this band, hope that the future with as good as their music.

Although I hadn't heard any music from Verbal Delirium before this, I was aware of one of their members as Nikitas Kissonas was providing guitars at this point, and he of course is also the person behind Methexis who released the excellent album 'The Fall of Bliss' earlier this year. So, I was intrigued to hear this, especially as it has been available free on Bandcamp. Yep, totally free, gratis. Well, it certainly starts slow and during the introduction of the first song I started to wonder what I had let myself in for but all of that was soon blown away as the guys kick in. There are some moments within this album where the music just soars and it is only delicate piano that really holds it all together. It is an album that isn't content to stay within just one area of prog, but moves around and it is more than just the introduction of saxophone that makes one think of VDGG.

There are times when it is experimental, others where it is symphonic, and yet others when it is warm and inviting which certainly makes for an interesting album to follow through the journey. This is something that will appeal to fans of bands as diverse as King Crimson, Gentle Giant, VDGG and even Muse while definitely refusing to conform to anyone's preconceived ideas of what an album should sounds like. Loads of different styles, instrumentals combining with songs and the Sixties and Seventies coming headlong into the current day this is an interesting and intriguing album and at this price how on earth can you resist?