4

They are back!!! Marillion is back!!! Ehmm..Oups! It's NO NAME ??? Are you sure? Damn, who cares: it's blilliant!!! Eight years, just like that. But listening to this record is like jumping on a time machine. My memory goes back to the end of the nineties, when Neo Prog was the real deal. On top of that, the sound, the maturity of compositions have improuved accordingly. Lush keyboards, roaring guitars, sensible vocals...all is there, the perfect neo prog record. For some reasons, the vocals remind me of Eloy, maybe the slight accent, don't know. But it adds to the sensation of...the time machine. And to fullfil your desire of a time stop, here there is, a 16 minutes epic. Well done guys! Acustic guitars and fluty synth. A nice crescendo...Marillion style. Synth solos, guitar solos, brilliant drumming, even a Wakeman emulation! Now, just what I needed: a piano concerto, a simphonic interlude. More keys solos. This record is british...but made in Luxemboug. Definetly the best Neo Prog album I've heard in years. Don't miss it, you'll regret it.

Very good neo prog band from Luxemburg. Certainly Marillion influences are evident, but I wouldn't go as far as Scandosh to say they are back. In fact, they sometimes sound to me more like Saga (mainly because of the singer's voice which is very similar to Michael Sandler's. And some keyboards arrangements too). Well, maybe he meant the spirit. No Name does not really sound like a Marillion or a Saga copy. They have their very unique sound, but there is no doubt that this is a very fine album, and although there is nothing really new here, they play with such a joyous abandon that I haven't heard for a long time. Those guys do believe in what they are doing. The songs are inspired and the playing is faultless. Some tunes may be better than others, but you can hear the album with pleasure from beginning to end (another rarety).

Nothing very spectacular, but extremely well done and convincing. If you're into neo prog you can't miss this one. An excelent release from this promising band.

All I have to do is just to sign under previous reviews - it's definetely MARILLION- inspired Neo-Prog, and one of the best Neo CDs from 2006. Varied in length and emotional texture, songs and epics evoke best Fish-era moments in memory. Not the clone like RED SAND or CLEPSYDRA, but a band which managed to create a wonderful piece of Neo Progressive Rock in that sincere and highly professional manner that was MARILLION's trademark. Highly recommended - die-hard fans of the genre must add an extra star to my rating.

No Name's fourth album is named likewise and I must admit I have no comparison to earlier albums. After several listening sessions 4 makes a fresh impression on me. This is indeed straightforward neo prog and with this release this band can be placed in the higher regions of the subgenre as far as I'm concerned. Not that it appeared a mindblowing experience but it's at least on some moments impressive.

Opening track The Curse is second longest of the album and is pretty vocally dominated. For an over 10 minute song it's remarkable there are so few instrumental passages to be found. I'm a real fan of those so I'm slightly disappointed about that but at least the vocalist is a real good one. The keyboards sound Marillion-like but the overall sound is just a bit alike. 3,75*.

Fountains of Dreams is again vocally dominated but this track is less compelling than previous. This one is half as long as previous and instrumental bits are even more absent here. To me the least song of the album. 3,25*.

Thoughts pay no Toll is almost a copy of previous but at least this one contains a nice key solo and therefore I will add a quarter of a star. 3,5*.

A Recollection of Dreams has the length of a true epic and it also has some features of it but it doesn't strike me as one of the best composed epics I ever heard. The build up is good though and it's the first track where enough room is given to the instrumental parts though even here the vocals win the battle. And they are very well executed too so in the end this track deserves a high rating. 4*.

With Visions I suddenly hear much resemblance with the vocalist of Knight Area (Mark Smit), maybe Patrick Kiefer is slightly better even but again this is a great vocal performance. Great guitar as well halfway the song making this nearly 10 minute song probably the best of the album. 4,5*.

Promises is another impressive song to close the album with and I wonder why not all songs on this release are like this. Good alternation between vocals and instruments. In this case they just did this with the three last songs. 4,25* for this.

This album has the same build up as Maze of Time's Lullaby album. Hardly impressive with first few songs but getting better and better later on. There's always the danger that if it's checked in the store or anywhere with first tracks that the potential buyer will leave it but other than that I like this way of building up an album. It leaves you with a satisfied feeling because the last songs are the ones that will be in the mind afterwards. Anyway, well done here No Name and it's a deserved four star effort in the end mainly because of the second best (behind Moon Safari) vocal performance I ever experienced in prog !

I got turned onto a lot of great bands by Hibou in the early days here, and this is one of them. NO NAME are from Luxembourg and play an emotional style of Neo-Prog. Well emotional to me anyway.That has been one of the main reasons that i've been attracted to this genre.The sound quality is excellent and simply put this is a beautiful album. A step up in my opinion from their "The Secret Garden" album of 11 years earlier.

"The Curse" settles in before a minute with synths and drums leading the way.The guitar comes to the fore quickly then back to the synths as they trade it up for a while.Vocals before 2 minutes.This is great ! Lots of pulsating synths then the atmosphere rolls in at 7 minutes with reserved vocals. It kicks back in around 8 1/2 minutes and it's very uplifting. "Fountains Of Dreams" opens with piano and reserved vocals.The bass joins in prominantly then drums and a full sound before a minute.Moving stuff. A heavier rhythm section arrives after 4 minutes. Excellent track. "Thoughts Pay No Poll" opens with synths and drums then laid back vocals and guitar join in.The tempo picks up before 3 1/2 minutes when the vocals stop. Lots of synths here.Vocals are back a minute later.

"A Recollection Of Dreams" is the longest track at almost 17 minutes. I like the sound to start. Reserved vocals after a minute. It's more intense before 2 minutes. Uplifting is the word 5 minutes in followed by an instrumental section. Piano only before 9 1/2 minutes but then it kicks back in quickly. Another calm with piano 12 1/2 minutes in and the vocals return in this pastoral section.Tasteful guitar after 14 minutes. Synths roll in to start "Visions" but it kicks in quickly.Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in. A relaxed guitar solo arrives 5 minutes in and it goes on and on. Nice. Vocals are back after 7 1/2 minutes. "Promises" is piano, synth and vocal led. The vocals stop 3 minutes in as the guitar and drums take over in an emotional section to end it.

A solid 4 stars and a must for Neo-Prog fans.