OSIRIS

Osiris are not a band I know which is not surprising given that this is their first studio release for over ten years. On the strength of this release, I shall certainly check out their back catalogue. I enjoyed this album from the first listen. I am a sucker for fine guitar solos and this album has some exquisite sequences. There is not a bad track on the album. The title track, the longest at just under ten minutes, opens with a guitar solo that reminds me of David Gilmour at his best and then picks up the tempo before the vocal commences at the halfway point. Until We Meet is another notable track, an instrumental that builds slowly as a piano theme develops to be replaced by guitar just before the midpoint ? a lovely track. The other six tracks include another instrumental as a bonus track, and in total, make up a most enjoyable release and one of the best of the year. I have been playing this album on repeat and I am sure I shall continue to do so for a while longer. An excellent release worthy of five stars.

After 13 years of hiatus, Osiris is now in front of us again. Well, they had this inactive periods before.

As their quality of music is cemented over the years, they are more known than 1980s, their most active period. Take a Closer Look will hopefully introduce Osiris to newer generations, and I often listen to it. From the first seconds of A Bird of Play, opening track, melodies from Reflections, their 1989 album, pours down immediately to my memory. Take a Closer Look, 3rd track, also has some influence from Pink Floyd. Inner Thoughts, 5rd track is also worth listening with rich compositions. The Eleventh's hour, 7th track strongly reminds me of Paradox in A Major, much-loved song in Osiris (1982). Last track is similar to also last tracks of Osiris (1982) and Myths and Legends (1984).

8/10 from me. Keep up the good work! I recommend also that everyone should take a closer look to Osiris. :)

One of Bahrain's most popular bands in the 1980s, OSIRIS has undergone something of a renaissance in the last decade or so. First, "Visions from the Past" was notable for accentuating their native roots more than their prior albums, which had offered a mere splash of Arabic accents here and there. Then an archival live release "Tales of the Divers" made the rounds and, while both were ambitious and praiseworthy, they didn't quite ignite the old sparks. Apparently, at some point after "Visions", the band recruited a new and relatively young lead vocalist Ahmed Rawanbakhsh, and eventually issued a live DVD of that lineup which I have not yet seen. Interestingly, that document sports performances of several pieces that had not yet appeared on an OSIRIS studio or live album, which has become something of a peculiarity of the band ever since their inception. This situation is now somewhat rectified by the surprise release of "Take a Closer Look", which is a balm for the pandemic soul.

This is probably more of a straightforward neo/symphonic album than those released during their halcyon days, but what might be lacking in the ethnicity department is more than compensated by their fervor for the prog rock that is as much a part of who they are. Cautiously I want to say that this sounds like it could have appeared after "Myths and Legends", but that would be minimizing the impact of the last 30 years of prog revival. So, while comparisons to CAMEL, ELOY, FM, SAGA and even KANSAS still resonate, I also hear kinship with the grandchildren of that generation like CLEPSYDRA and TEMPUS FUGIT. Mohamed AlSadeqi continues to front with his stirring leads, but the twin keys of Nader Sharif and Khalid Al Shamlan shade "Take a Closer Look" slightly to the symphonic side. That's not to say that they have forgotten to rock out, and I think the vigor of Ahmed Rawanbakhsh contributes mightily in terms of newfound enthusiasm, particularly on briefer punchier numbers like "And it's over".

The album crests just where it should, on the longest tracks, particularly the hook laden but profound title cut, the glorious instrumental "Until we Meet", and the most proggy number "Inner Thoughts", which segues from the suspenseful first movement to a hard rock crescendo culminating in a convincing wail by Rawanbakhsh. About half way through the tempo is more jazzy, angular and thrilling. My only dissatisfaction is that it reminds me of somebody (besides CAMEL) and I can't quite grasp it in waking or in dreams.

If you are already a fan, I can't recommend this enough. If you are a neo or CAMEL fan or would be if both rocked a bit more, I recommend you zoom in here, and then explore their first couple of albums in order. 4.5 stars rounded up because this album's just got it. Bravo!

Prog from Bahrain?!!! Obviously inspired by the prog giants of the 1970s, this full, keyboard- and guitar-led band of young Middle Easterners launched full on into Prog World with a skilled and highly texturized Arabian-influenced rock sound.

1. "Fantasy" (6:00) opens with synth and electric guitar establishing a fast paced weave before drums and bass join in. Bridge and shift after the one minute mark into a bluesier section with bouncy organ for reverbed voice to enter and sing--somewhat ELOY-like (the singing, that is). Instrumental returns to the opening weave alternate with singing sections until the music holds fast for a two-guitar solo in the fourth minute, which then slows down and turns into a solid one-guitar solo before sliding back into the fuller version for the dynamic closing section and synth solo (90 seconds!) (9.25/10)

2. "Sailor On The Seas Of Fate" (11:46) seagulls, TD bass synth and Hammond open this slow tempo song before Arabian percussion instruments join in. At 2:25 electric guitar takes the lead, at first as if reluctantly, then with confidence. It's like I'm listening to an Arabian Santana! There is a break at 3:33 for Fender Rhodes foundation for effected vocal. TOTO-like rock theme introduced at 4:15 in lieu of a chorus. This back-and-forth goes around for two cycles until 6:50 when a flanged acoustic guitar starts doing arpeggi with wave-like cymbal play and a Fender Rhodes piano. This continues in a pretty theme until 9:30 when a nice MiniMoog solo begins to play over the vibes for the final two minutes. (21/25)

3. "Struggle To Survive" (5:01) a purely CAMEL song, even the vocals, as if it came straight off of Mirage or Moonmadness. Nice drumming. (8.5/10)

4. "Atmun" (5:11) this instrumental opens as a basic, simple classic rock song until 2:00 when a nice new motif begins. There is a weird shift at 2:45--a bridge--leading to a passage with nice guitar and keys in the fourth minute. Cool final minute. (8.5/10)

5. "Embers Of A Flame" (5:00) after a brief rock opening a Fender Rhodes plays alone beneath gentle vocals. The rock-gentle sections cycle around twice before an uptempo jam section features a soloing electric guitar in the third minute. Great solos! From the guitar, MiniMoog, and then Hammond organ! (8.5/10)

6. "A Story Of Love" (6:15) opens with a full CAMEL/Latimer feel and sound. The chorus sounds like something straight off of LOS JAIVAS' Alturas de Macchu Picchu album! At 3:35 a more aggressive instrumental section begins in which the soloing electric guitar is in the lead. There is some pretty flashy lead guitar and MiniMoog exchanges before the music returns to the rock/Los Jaivas rotation for the final vocal section. (8.25/10)

7. "Paradox In A Major" (4:06) using either a different lead vocalist or different effects on the vocalist this song incorporates a fairly simple chordal structure to present a CAMEL sound palette. It's a very tight weave, almost classical in its structure, between the vocal verses. There is a very interesting two-channel (chorus?) effect being used on the electric bass over which a SANTANA-like guitar solo is being nicely performed. (9/10)

Total time 43:19

My favorite song elements are the Arabian percussion, eclectic electric guitar and keyboard voices, and the strong bass and drums. Everybody is competent and skilled, holding together the music flawlessly. Though the chordal structures are often quite simplistic, the transitions and shifts are usually quite dynamic and unexpected.

Four stars; a solid contribution to early 80s progressive rock music--from Bahrain!!!

I cannot claim to be an expert on arabian progressive rock. Yet one of my all time favorite albums hail from the region. Osiris originate from Bahrain and seems, by all accounts, to be the only prog band from this country. That might be a shame but since Osiris is such a potent and formidable force I'd rather say "Praise the lord they're here" than wish for a plethora of bands.

The band hail from an illustrious past that meant playing western styled rock in a slight progressive vein, gigging all over Bahrain, but it wasn't until 1980/1981 that the band formed themselves as Osiris, after some members of the earlier incantations returned from studies abroad. By now they focused entirely on progressive rock. Yet again in a western styled manner but adding touches of arabian tastes and smells. That mixture results in a Genesis-ian or Camel-ian concoction of arabian influenced progressive rock. Quite a blend and a thrilling listen. The tracks range in duration from the 4 minutes long "Paradox in A major" to the lenghty (11+ minutes) and very fantastically titled "Sailor on the seas of fate".

Soundwise you're served quite a moody piece of prog. There are, as previously mentioned, many references to Gabriel styled Genesis or Camel and those two bands will give you an idea of what to expect. But Osiris aren't a carbon copy of those bands. Rather they form the base on what is then built a magnificent tower of prog that differs. The arabian styled elements, though not overwhelming, are there and gives you a different sensation. You could also expect a lot of vintage keyboards and syntesizers that gives the album a very lush and embracing sensation. It's not all about being lush, though. You get several bursts of harder sounds aswell with distorted guitars. The vocals are very pleasant and fits the music to a T. The recording is not soundwise the best, so there is something to have wished for but that does not detract my attention from the power and beauty within.

The best tracks on the album is surely "Sailor on the seas of fate". The fact that it's the longest track isn't the only reason for this. It's just that it is so elegantly built around the western and arabian styled elements and is like a bite of everything they stand for and are capable of. "Atmun" is another of those great tracks. This time more spacey and I get a slight feeling of Hawkwinds more etherial and ambient material around the same time. I love "Embers of a flame". Such a great track. The electric piano acts like stars in the heavens and the ditorted guitars gets you on your toes. The ending "Paradox in A major" reminds me of Kansas a bit, though decideldy more middle eastern in approach. The songs not mentioned are not disregarded or inferior in any way. I could listen to any and all of the songs on this album and find myself to be ridicilously, hopelessly in love.

Osiris first album is a wonderful piece of progressive art. Hastily recorded with an inferior sounding product the glory of the material shines through. I have loved this album for more than a decade, must be coming on 15 years now, and everytime I listen to it I find myself to be in the most spirited moods wondering why I don't listen to it everyday. A great album with only minor flaws that needs to be discovered by more people.

While the rich symphonic prog laid down by Genesis on their seminal album "Wind & Withering" would become a blueprint for a new wave of English progressive rock bands such as Marillion, IQ, Pendragon and Arena that would retrospectively become tagged as neo-prog, the subgenera carved out of the greater symphonic prog universe encompassed a much more expansive sound than the pioneers of the English scene would let on. Coming from the most unlikely setting for progressive rock, OSIRIS emerged from the tiny independent nation of Bahrain which lies in the Persian Gulf right next to Saudi Arabia, which arguably could be considered one of the least progressive of scenes in the world! However, the brothers Mohamed and Nail Alsadeqi had always been interested in music and started their very first funk band all the way back in 1969. After the two were sent to study abroad to London and Texas, their exposure to the musical wonders of the Western world proved irresistible and upon returning to their native island became pioneers of Arabian progressive rock with their mini-moog dominated band that took a few cues from Camel, Yes and Pink Floyd and added a healthy dose of exotic sounds to the cauldron.

As you can imagine, the daunting task of finding likeminded musicians on a tiny island nation the size of a large American city in a not so progressive area of the globe was the most difficult task of all but perseverance paid off as the brothers recruited Mohammed Shafii (bass), Sami Al-Jamea (keyboards), Mohamed Amin Kooheji (guitar, bass, vocals) and Abdul Razzak Aryan (second keyboards). The next challenge was to find the only 8-track studio that existed in Bahrain at the time but once they did, the band managed to record their eponymous debut album in only three days. Since there was no way to print the album in their country, they had to outsource to the Philippines, had 1000 copies made for their homeland and a bunch more for the rare record shops in the UK and North America. The band produced just the right mix of symphonic prog driven rock mixed with a catchy funk beat and a bit of Arabian exotica thrown into the mix. They became all the rage in Bahrain and also gained a bit of fame abroad.

The band took their name from the Egyptian god OSIRIS which is associated with youthful energy via resurrection and regeneration. The band gained a loyal following with their outlandish live shows after they found a new charismatic lead singer in the form of Isa Janahi who knew how to play the rock star role as he donned outrageous clothing and had a magnetic personality that interacted quite well with the crowds. The live shows were also quite ambitious with laser and light shows and smoke bombs thrown around. Musically the band delivered hard driving guitar riff driven hooks laced with strong interlaced melodies, sizzling keyboard workouts all stitched together in complex musical compositions that never tipped the balance too far in either direction. OSIRIS had the perfect mix of heavy pop rock tinged with psychedelia, prog complexities and heavy rhythmic percussion.

Anyone who loves hard rock from the cusp of the 70s meets 80s era fused with elements of progressive rock will love this one. While more on the hard rock side of the equation rather than the prog for much of the album, there are moments of extended complexities and time signature deviations. The musicians are all top notch with extraordinary guitar and keyboard workouts as well as stellar vocal performances by Janahi. Lyrics are all in English, showing the band's intent to market abroad and the melodies are all easily digested without being too sugary sweet. Overall, OSIRIS dishes out an excellent debut from one of the far flung places that the early prog rock scene failed to reach during its heyday. Perhaps the one negative of this experience is that the production as one could expect didn't reach phenomenal heights given the time and place where this album was recorded. Personally i don't have an issue with bad production and am much more in tune with the music, however for anyone with an aversion to mediocrity in the production department then you might want to skip this one. For the rest of us, this one should not be missed!

The live performances of Osiris as of entering the 90's decade became even more rare, until in 1993 the band made a short break.A few years later though they were discovered by the management of the veteran Prog label Musea, which eventually reissued the whole back catalogue of the band, making them more famous to the public.While collecting the tapes for the reissues, a live cassette of the band from 1991 came to the attention of the members.This meant to become the fourth CD of Osiris on Musea, released in 2002 with the title ''Beyond control live''.The crew performing at the Diplomat stage in Bahrein were brothers Mohammed Al-Sadeqi (guitars, vocals), Nabil Al-Sadeqi (drums) and Sabah Al-Sadeqi (lead vocals) along with bassist Ali Khonji and keyboardists Nader Sharif and Abdul Razzak Arian.

Soundwise the album was recorded live on a single tape recorder with no effects or outer interventions and for such an amateur case this one sounds pretty cool, although in several parts some of the bass lines and drum parts sound a bit buried.This would be just a collectable live record by Osiris, if it weren't for the unreleased tracks contained in here and never made it to a regular album of the band, making some sort of a must-have for lovers of the band.''Medley from tales of the divers'' is a highly symphonic potpourri from a never released 80's concept work by Osiris, coming also as a potpourri of 70's and 80's Prog wiith CAMEL-esque organs and guitars next to MARILLION-esque odd synth lines and featuring also decent vocals and some big symphonic keyboard grandieur at the latter part.''Until we meet'' is yet another hidden pearl of Osiris' repertoire, opening with some very atmospheric synths and piano lines in the vein of SOLARIS and slowly developing into a melodic, instrumental Prog Rocker with definite Neo Prog colors, especially displayed during the tireless electric solos.''Ones upon a time'' (was that a mispelling on purpose?) reminds me actually of Italian's ATON'S and ABISSI INFINITI, it's very romantic and melodious Prog Rock with light symphonic overtones and alternations between laid-back and harder textures, containing good breaks, tempo changes and some PENDRAGON-like atmospheres in the instrumental moments.Last unreleased track is ''Bird of prey'', typical of Osiris' stylings with nice CAMEL-like guitar and keyboard flashes and a fiery rhythm leading the way.The rest of the tracklist, ''Reflections'', ''Wasted'', ''Lost and found'' and ''Fantasy'', represent all three studio efforts of the band and come as a pretty nice selection of songs.

Sound quality is between average and pretty decent, music of Osiris is somewhere between decent and simply fantastic as always.Thus ''Beyond control live'' is followed by a warm recommendation, an underground effort of quality Prog Rock with symphonic textures...3.5 stars.

Line-up changes continued for Osiris through the mid-80's.Lead singer Isa Janahi and Debbie Moss had to leave the band and their replacement was Mohamed Shafii, who could play keyboards, flutes and sing.They had a good opportunity to play in Phillipines, where they were quite popoular, but lack of finance prevented the tour.However they reached a few TV broadcasts and played a small number of lives in 1986'-87', even if line-up shakes always struck the band.The younger of Al-Sadeqi brothers, Sabah, returned from the USA and provided vocals for the new album, which started to be recorded in the band's own and new-established Osiris Studio.During the process Khalid Almutawa left Osiris and bass duties were handled by Mohammed Al-Sadeqi until the arrival of 18-years old Ali Khonji.Sami Al Jabea provided additional keys on ''Reflections'', originally released in 1989 in cassette format in about 500 copies.However the album never got a proper vinyl issue and only came to surface many years later by Musea in CD format.

For the most of its part ''Reflections'' shows a tendency by Osiris to flirt with the 80's British Prog sound, sounding pretty similar to PENDRAGON, even having a more pronounced keyboard presence and more balanced guitar textues.This does not mean that the level of the compositions is decreased.Osiris still played a phrenomenal Progressive Rock with strong CAMEL and GENESIS vibes, led by incredible melodies, memorable solos, flashy keyboards and dreamy atmospheres.Vocals appear to be the best ever provided by the group, displayed with an almost perfect English accent.While the production is not of first class, it is sufficient enough to support Osiris' slightly updated style.The music is simply great, absolutely melodious and perfectly executed, full of dual keyboard lines, extended instrumental ideas with bombastic moves and lots of changing climates.After the middle the sound becomes more vintage-friendly, always based on the British school of Prog Rock.Razak-Aryan appears to use a Roland organ in order to deliver an old-fashioned touch in the keyboard parts, which sounds extremely charming in combination with the Moog synthesizer of Mohamed Shafii.Moreover the CAMEL influences start again to dominate the music.From the fiery guitar moves the music suddenly passes through more emotional soloing, while melodic flute lines eventually take a role in the instrumental lines.Rich, elaborate arrangements full of finesse and high quality.

Well, these guys came from Bahrain, but you should actually start to take them seriously in the worldwide prog scene.Yet another winner by Osiris, impressive Symphonic/Neo Prog with dramatic, dense and grandiose musicianship.Highly recommended.

Osiris evolved around teh efforts of Al-Sadeqi brothers, a dedicated guitarist and drummer. though they started early in the seventies, they did not manage to produce an album till early 80s. the brothers were exposed to different tastes of music since their childhood and they both mastered their instruments when they were just teenagers, thanks to their father who was very interested in music. Mohammed studies in Europe (or in USA, not sure) during the 70s and I am sure that gave him good opportunity to experience the golden age of rock music and he was mainly interested in Progrock. it has been said by many reviewers that the band's main influence is Camel, to some extent that is tru but still they were successful to forge their own style which was stick to original Progrock ata time when progrock giants like Yes, Genesis and even Camel went"commercial" and mainstream during the 80s when Pop was dominant. This album is a live album from 1985, remastered from a long forgotten demo tape. recorded live at the Gulf Hotel in Bahrain. it is considered as a Progfolk album as it pays much respect to the culture of Bahrain before the oil boom when the main profession was pearl diving. you will find many passages of Poems in Arabic with native musci on the background and the specific type of hand-clapping rhythm which is called in Arabic "Saf- gha". it is a concept album dealing with the adventures of pearl diving and the risks surrounding it mainly drowning. it is a well structured album with many solo instrumentals mainly with guitar and keyboards. the style is similar to Camel, however some songs even resembles Deep Purple (the storm song I found it very similar to Gypsy's Kiss from Perfect Strangers Album) you will also find some touches of Pink Floyd style especially with the acoustic guitar bits here and there. the album is very easy to digest and pleasant to your ear however, it does lack authenticity and uniqueness. I found the beginning of the last song is bit boring as it resembles Irish folk music which does not fit with the whole of the album. the weakest point of the album is the vocals but the band leaders were very aware of this point and thats why it was mainly instrumental one, but I do not think we should blame them for that as Camel themselves did not have a talented vocalist during their career like Peter Gabriel or John Anderson. the best song is It is always hard to say goodbye, it is a masterpiece from the 80s prog scene. this album deserves 3 stars but I gave them 4 stars because of the determination of the brothers Al-Sadeqi to stick to their original music in a country that singing in English is very unpopular let alone a Progrock and in the 80s when Progrock in Europe was something absurd. after all a very good effort and highly recommended album for Camel's fans and those interested in International Progrock like myself.

first of all, who should buy and listen to this album? if you are, just like myself, a ProgRock fan who is interested in International Progressive rock bands from countries other than Western Europe and the US, then this is a good example of Progressive rock with Middle Eastern (precisely from The Gulf region)traditional heritage music. Also if you are a fan of the band Camel ( the famous ProgRock band from the UK)then you will like this one. this is my third experience with Osiris, I started listening to their music just 2 years ago after I read about them in Progarchives. my first encounter was with their Tales of the Divers live album then their debut album: Osiris. As I mentioned in a previous comment on Tales of The Divers album, their music is a mixture of neoprog with folky touches in the form of local traditional music form this tiny Gulf Island. the album is a concept one mainly telling the story of the little Island Bahrain and how it has lost its heritage to modern western way of life, seen through the eyes of an old man from the Island. the album consists from verses and songs and the verses are poems recited in Arabic (the local Bahraini dialect). in addition to quite decent long tracks with nice guitar and keyboard solos in the neo-prog stream. it is more or less similar to Anyone's Daughter album Piktors Verwandlungen. the album, like the tales of the divers one, has more or less the same theme and the voice of the same poet reciting his own poems. "Is it time" is very interesting with very nice lyrics which seemed much more mature than their earlier works with very nice distorted guitar solo from M Alsadeqi (but unfortunately short one). the highlight of the album is track no. 9 which is We Will Stop for noone. it starts with a very nice solo on electric eastern string instrument called Qanoon, very well composed one and then gradually merges with Al-Sadeqi's guitar and A. Aryan keyboard sounds. the introduction has some touches to a famous Egyptian tune sang by the legendary Um Kulthoom singer from the song "Inta Umry" Finally, the last track is a solid neo-prog piece. the lyrics of the album reflected the how far the band has progressed in Lyric writing over their 3 decades career. drawback about this album: production is unfortunately less than adequate which is quite a shame. nobody can blame the band for that if we look at the difficulties surrounding making such music in the Middle East where hardly ever any production company is interested in such kind of music. second: vocals are not very convincing which is again a struggle that the band longlasting memebers Alsadeqi brothers and A Aryan have suffered alot from it with frequent line up changes. I wished if all the lyrics were in Arabic that will help the band to have more options for the lead vocalists and also will give stronger sense of originality to the album. however, it is apparent that the search for a wide fan base is the main reason to find someinternational success (however if we look at the Italian Progressive Scene we find the opposite, famous Italian Rock bands did very bad when they released albums in English as compared to their original Italian language. BDMS and Le Orme are just examples). the album deserves 3 to 3.5 stars but a gave them 4 again for their determination and faith in their work and music in such difficult circumstances