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.

One of the few Greek bands to play in a Classic Prog style, Apocalypsis were found in 1979 in Athens by keyboardist Vassilis Dertilis and singer Yannis Palamidas.The original line-up consisted also of Achilleas Spyrou on guitars, Stavros Sidiropoulos on drums and Haris Fotopoulos on bass.The band was known for perfmorming theatrical shows in the vein of GENESIS with costumes and light shows and their self-titled debut was released in 1980 on the legendary Minos label, produced by Elias Venetos.

Their style was heavily orientated by the Theatrical Progressive Rock of GENESIS with emphasis on the dominant keyboard parts, the dramatic vocals and the smooth guitar touches.While the production is not the best, Apocalypsis' arrangements are full of passion, intensity and different colors with some nice interplays between the synths and guitars, plenty of sudden breaks and a great amount of vintage organ passages.Palamidas' voice is also decent, having a nice range between theatrical performances, regular singing and operatic lines.There are also numerous melodic multi-vocal harmonies throughout.The whole release flows in a Classic Symphonic Rock vein, divided in atmospheric offerings, dramatic vocal parts and strong keyboard-based themes with a good sense of melody.

If you don't find an original copy of the album, there is a nice CD compilation with both Apocalypsis releases out from Minos.Guaranteed Symphonic/Classic Progressive Rock for all fans of retro adventures, though the production is a bit muddy and the style unoriginal.Recommended.