THE FALL OF BLISS

With the exception of Vangelis, this is the first time that I listen to Prog Rock music from Greece, and I didn't know that this kind of music was popular enough in that country and less than there were some solo musicians and bands composing and recording albums there with this kind of music . So, maybe this is more due to my ignorance that anything else. Anyway, this album is an independent production done by Nikitas Kissonas (currently the guitarist of Yianneis, x-member of Verbal Delirium). I have to say that I don´t listen very often to Dark music and lyrics, which is the predominant style of music that I can identify in this album. But even if I don´t listen to Dark music very often, it doesn´t mean that I don´t like some of this music. Nikitas Kissonas is a multi-instrumentalist in this album, but there is also the participation of a very good drummer called Nikos Miras, who plays drums on all tracks, and also the participation of a pianist called Jargon in a track called "Lines on a Bust". Well. It seems to me that this is a conceptual album. The lyrics themes are predominantly speaking of disillusionment with love and maybe with the state of the world in general, and maybe (but this is my own interpretation) they even talk about some political and economical criticisms. Even if the Dark themes of doom and unhappiness are there, some of the lyrics talk about hope, and the album closes with an optimistic message of "it can be done if it is done together". I think that this lack of optimism in some of this Dark music is more the reflection of the modern times and the influence of some ideas that come from the uncertainty of the modern world (these are my views anyway, but I could be wrong). In comparison to the Prog Rock music which was composed in the seventies, I think that in the seventies there was more hope reflected in the lyrics and in the musical atmospheres. But, this album has very good music, played and recorded very well, with some unusual chord changes (at least for my ears anyway) and very good musical arrangements and production ideas. I don´t like the vocals very much, but there are some interesting vocals arrangements. The mixing is very good too. So, it sounds like it was done with a lot of care. My favourite tracks from this album are "Lines on a Bust" (a piano piece with lyrics) and "Track the Saviours" (with very good distorted Heavy Metal guitars in sound).