PROGNOCIRCUS

Apparently I have the honor to do the first review of this album. It's from 2003 so it's high time I feel. When I listened to the opening track I recognized a bit of strong similarity with Saga. Just for a minute or so but I went to have a look at the band description and there it was: Saga was mentioned as one of the influences. Not so strange when you realize Morphelia is a German band and also recall that Saga is huge in that country. But let's not exaggerate here, it's just slight similarity. Another band they remind me of are their fellow countrymen Atmosfear (2nd track !) and also to Dutch bands Egdon Heath and Dilemma.

So that means the style is right in between neo prog and heavy prog with a touch of art rock. Nice addition to my collection is my overall feeling when I listen to the rest of the songs. The album lasts about 70 minutes so that means you get material for your money. And there are no poor fillers on this debut so that's another advantage. It's funny by the way that one of the shorter tracks on the album is my personal fav actually. Fourth track A Winter's Tale is truly excellent (brilliant composition). Funny because in almost all cases I prefer the longer songs on any album.

In the end it turns out to be another tough nut to crack where the final rating is concerned. Because that's once again right between 3 and 4 stars. And again I have to conclude: whichever rating I pick, it's not quite right. Especially with being the first to review and rate you want to be accurate and careful. I let the consistency be the deciding factor here and choose the four stars but it's really 3,5 so don't get your hopes up too much. The rounding up is meant as an encouragement for the band and I don't want to sell the album short. But I happen to know many proggers don't like long albums so if you're one of those you'd better skip this very fine debut by Morphelia.