APOCALYPSIS

Holy Moses! Apocalypsis are a Revelation and a Testament to the awesome power of prog that this Biblical epic has really stood the test of time. The music is served up in Biblical proportions too, with gallant knight and keyboardist Vasilis Detilis boldly leading the way on his gleaming white charger, ably assisted by The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypsis. Namely, Giannis Palamidas on vocal duties, Achileas Spyrou on guitars, Harris Photopoulos on bass and Stavros Sidiropoulos bringing up the rear on drums. Apocalypsis' eponymously-titled debut features six fairly lengthy compositions with suitably intriguing titles, consisting of:- 1. Metepsychosis; 2. Threat; 3. Expiatory Victim; 4. Lies, Mistakes & Closin' Eyes; 5. My Death at a Rugby Game; and 6. Journey in the Night. The histrionic falsetto of the singer, with trousers so tight you can guess his religion, is something of an acquired taste, sounding like a curious cross between Russell Mael of Sparks and Daevid Allen of Gong, but at least the lyrics are all in English - although it's not always easy to tell. The music is mainly keyboard-driven with enough dynamic changes of tempo and sudden chord changes to keep even the grumpiest of prog fans happy. Apocalypsis' second and final album sounds even better than the first, with grandiose pomposity in abundance and with noticeably improved production standards too, making it an album you just can't say "No" to. All in all then, Apocalypsis is not the end of the modern world as we know it, but the beginning of a love for the ancient world of Greek prog - especially for the bearded classical Greek prog scholars amongst us.