NOSTRADAMUS BOOK OF PROPHECIES

When traveling in Hungary I saw in a record store a CD that seemed to be based on Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles (a book dear to me in my youth), by a Hungarian band (named after Stanislaw Lem's classic novel!), totally unknown to me. I did not risk buying it, hoping I come across it again. Later I found only the other CD (from 1999) which I bought. It was risky but succesfull purchase. First of all the level of their musical skill and a very balanced production were beyond my expectations. In deed it stood comparison with classic symphonic prog albums, and with the best of Neo Prog in terms of sound excellence. And there wasn't even a word sung in Hungarian (how would that sound?!). Instead there's some male choir singing in Latin in some tracks, but basically it's an instrumental rock album. _________ I feel I SHOULD like it more - play it more often, that is - since I have praised it almost like a masterpiece. Powerful, dramatic, also sensitive, and played fantastically. And there's even a flutist (which has no debt to Jethro Tull or Focus or any at all). But there is one clear but to me. It's a bit too heavy listening experience. Couple of tracks are not far from prog metal (a genre I dislike). For example in 'War Games' that male choir keeps repeating the title and the result gets pretentiously pompous. The long opening track is strong and majestic in a great way and I would wish the remaining album to calm down. It does that beautifully in the end (if you don't count the radio edit of the opener) but too much in between are full of heavy tension. All in all, friends of dramatic symphonic rock will most certainly enjoy this interpretation of the prophesies of Nostradamus.