AURORA DOS SONHOS

As I went a-searching for lesser known gems (an upcoming project for PA) of Symphonic prog , I came across this group and their album Aurora dos sonhos. Only 6 ratings and a very interesting review from Prog Jester. The simple mention of Marillion, IQ, Saens, was enough to set my hopes flying. This may have hampered my view of the album, as it doesn't really meet my expectations. Don't get me wrong. This is well played prog. I can understand the above comparisons, but would add to that, that Apocalypse come across a more symphonic version (i.e. less neo) of those groups. The guitars, for me, remind me more of Saga than your typical Neo or Symph player. The occasional flute & acoustic guitar solos bring to mind other south american groups like Los Jaivas. And the compositions are well structured with no excess to mar or drag out a song needlessly. So to summarize, imperfectly, I would compare them to Saga with lengthier compositions, a singer who's not as bad as one review here mentions, almost a less theatrical Micheal Sandler to come back to the Saga comparison. And for those of you who've been here long enough, you may recall some opinions stating of Saga being an influence on the initial wave of Neo prog groups. From there Apocalypse bring their own to the table and end up with a more symphonic style than Neo. Good, not great, and while they don't rock my world, they well merit a more prominent place in our prog world. Check out the samples, I might be underestimating them, eh ...