AKRITAS

The empire strikes back! An "Akritas" was a frontier soldier of the Byzantine Empire, guarding against the Muslim hordes from the Middle East. Alternatively, it's also the name of a Greek-Cypriot football club, although we'll stick with the former definition as it's more in keeping with the theme of Akritas' compelling concept album. The stunning artwork on the album cover depicts a young girl floating in the endless depths of space with a huge spiral galaxy pictured in the background. "Fascinating!" - as Mr. Spock would have said. And so, onto the music itself, which takes us to the final frontier of prog, - and just like Captain Picard - it's baldly going where no one has gone before. It's really difficult to pin this enterprising band down to one particular genre - as we like to do here at ProgArchives - and so, inevitably, Akritas have found their way into PA's Eclectic Prog section. One thing I can say about this amazing album is, it sounds like the best album that Aphrodite's Child never did. It's a rare treasure of Greek psychedelia, which sounds so Greek that you're almost there in the ancient Acropolis of Athens with the warm smell of moussaka rising up through the air. So why not break open a bottle of ouzo and celebrate one of the most obscure and mesmerizing albums to ever emerge from the Greek archipelago. Go tell the Spartans, and go tell all of your friends too, because this is the most exciting musical act ever to come from Greece since George Michael first arrived on British shores and formed the pop duo, Whamos Ridgeleyakos Kakos, otherwise known as Wham!