ÉJSZAKAI ORSZÁGÚT [Ω III]

The third Hungarian album is more developed than its predecessor and it is in my opinion the best one featuring this line-up with Gabor Presser (soon to leave and form Lokomotiv GT). Particularly the first half of the record is full of energetic heavy prog rock with acid spices - guitar riffs, stomping rhythm section and nice Hammond organ backing. It is enough to hear first three perfectly played heavy songs so to check what year was this? 1970? OMEGA was actually quite contemporary with this sound! BLACK SABBATH just started while DEEP PURPLE just now turned heavy! Occassionally one can hear flute, piano and harmonica, but the overall sound is extremely heavy, in the best tradition of early British hard rock in the vein of URIAH HEEP.

"Az éjszakai országúton" and "Az Utcán, a térem" are the peak of the album, containing some healthy dose of symphonic arrangements and keyboards. These two tracks would usually be present in later compilations. By the end of the album, musical structure disintegrates a bit, having last 2-3 tracks with unnecessary psychedelic experiments, which together with decent but totally out of place blues number "Oh, Barbarella" prevents this album from being perfectly produced LP.

Still, "Éjszakai Országút" is highly recommended early heavy prog album from the turn of the decade, and surely one of the best non-English East-European albums of this era, pre-dating famous first Yugoslav prog rock albums of Drago Mlinarec, TIME or KORNI GRUPA.

PERSONAL RATING: 4/5

P.A. RATING: 4/5