MARATHON

A well produced progressive hard rock record with a sound that reminds me of the better works of Saga. Well controlled metal guitar in sync with keyboard sounds with pinch as well with symfonic sounds of the neoprogressive pallette. Moreover, Erik ten Bos is a very skilled rock vocalist with powerful high notes.

I must admit, I usually listen to the first five tracks of the album. Beyond the Veil sets the progressive atmosphere of the album; powerfull vocals, great AOR leadguitar, nice rhythm changes. The songs to come are often very catchy and the musicanship is great. Man in the Mirror has a lot of catche themes and a great progression in the opening section. I really like the uplifting 'I'll be there' which reminds me of the energetic stadionrock of Vandenberg. The ballad Open Field suffers from its too enthusiastic performance. On the longer tracks on the second halve of the album the Saga influences become more appearant.

My impression: this would appeal to a lot of neo-progressive and crossover listeners. I kind of like the almost AOR appeal, though the songs don't lack the sophistication of a progressive rock record. Three and a halve stars!

I was rather fond of their debut album, with the Saga rip-off sound. On this album, the follow up, the sound is rather more AOR like Foreigner, Journey and Asia. There are still some hints of Saga here. But the AOR bit has taken over. That and some very generic neo-prog. Actually, call this an AOR album. This album is a blend of fast songs and emotional ballads. None of the ballads moves me. Actually, they makes me cringe. They are so 1980s and american big hair heavy metal bands. Poison and Mr. Big springs to mind. The sound is also pretty much american.

The musicians knows what they are doing. But the quality of the songs and this AOR/big hair heavy metal bands sound is not good. It is pretty dire. It is a cringe-fest. This is an album well worth avoiding unless AOR are your big passion.

2 stars

With a band name like that, the SAGA associations are pretty obvious. This Dutch band's debut album does not fail in that respect. Although not quite...... The other more obvious reference is MARILLION post Fish. Add PENDRAGON to the mix and you have MARATHON.

The music is pretty frisky with tonnes of good electric guitars and keyboards. The melodies is a mix of mid tempo pretty heavy stuff and some ballads. The opening track Beyond The Veil is pretty typical for this album. Unfortunate, this is also the best song of the album. A good song with some good guitars and keyboards. The male vocals is pretty decent. He also get a visit by a female vocalist on the track Voices and that to good effect. The sound is a bit dated, 15 years after the release of this album. It reminds me a lot about SAGA and RUSH on their '80s albums. Yes, this album is somewhere in this landscape. Elegant progressive rock with a bit dated sound. If all these bands are among your favourites, this may be the album and band for you. The First Run is a very decent debut album, but without the killer tracks. The material is a bit bland and the band does not take any risks. That is OK for a debut album. I may put in an order for their two other albums because this band seems to live in my kind of street.

3 stars from me.

Listening to this great Dutchband.

They sounded like Saga, Asia ,marillion.....

Give it a try...