SOLARIS

The 20 minute + "Zoo Galactica" launches this new adventure with considerable aplomb, settling rapidly into a cosmic introduction that immediately ushers in the prototypical Solaris sound: lush keyboards and synths, twirling flute, a solid rhythmic pulsation and soaring electric guitar leads that together decorate the sonic universe with a myriad of impressions of vastness, power and imagination. "Shadows of the Creators" veers toward a more cinematographic inspiration, delicate synthesizer melodies that initially steer into more contemplative realms with the miraculous flute in the lead, the ominous distant threat of orbiting guitar shifts never far behind, in the shade of time and space. Stoic and reserved at first glance, "The Guardians" assumes its authority with confidence and resolve, as the buildup generates an upheaval of density, again marked by a stinging guitar riff, and whooshing synths that clatter, collide, and ultimately explode in a cosmic ballet. Decisively raising the contemporary conundrum of technology taking over unsuspectingly our daily routine, "I or A.I." tackles this new horizon with a clever old-school classical flute essay that showcases the achievements of the past and then slams the concept hard with a rousing, aggressive organ-drenched, choppy axe riffs galore rant that shovels ahead like a bank of super computers gone AWOL. "Inflection Point" takes that even further, highlighting the impossibly carnal attraction of the piano to wrestle with all the electronic laser-guided sounds, in a battle for galactic supremacy. Bogdan's slithering stun guitar in particular causes quit a stir, giving way in the end to the piano insisting on its rights to fight on.

Change of pace on the "Ballad of Deluge" spanning 21 minutes, an orbiting space station platform for a way more symphonic approach, with booming orchestral timbales, accumulating violins and cello, as well as a three-person choir to the flute-led arrangement on the opening "Prologue", finished off by a deafening gong. Unexpectedly, a churning organ hijacks the spacecraft with a cool, somewhat countrified slide guitar motif, like a vintage Jethro Tull ditty suddenly peering out of the command module. "Island of Survivors" is a real treat in combining a massive church organ to the mix, synths flying off the handle and a flurry of turbo-charged fretboard to further delight, fingers snapping in utter delight. Reverting to a more laid-back moment, "The ARK" has a jazzier approach, with deft drumming, a romping bass furrow, twirling piano adornments and a Magma-esque choir, as the electric guitar pretends it's a violin, the eccentric strings putting the final nails into the exploratory wooden ship led by some Noah guy, reminding us that the flute is ultimately a magical instrument. With delightful Asian overtones, "The Ballad of Deluge" also has Hungarian lyrics sung with a sense of acceptance and fate, as if the global tsunami yields nothing less than a rebirth, a renaissance of sorts, perhaps a return to the blackboard (computer screen) is in now in order. A magnificent voyage, indeed.

On CD 2, the nearly 40 minutes of "Dream Valley" welcomes the preceding collapse and the impending renewal, a further discourse on a new day, in a new world, with a reawakening of courage, hope and determination. But like in all dreams, one must face the "Nightmares" first, and this bruising sympho-hard rock blast serves to wake us up in a dreaded sweat, shock to the system by definition. The marshaling drums show no patience for contemplation, the bass guitar paving the way like a guiding light within the darkness, the flute donating an added layer of salvation, the church organ motif offering absolution, as the synths and guitars duel it out like in a gruesome Western movie, pistols ablaze. Superb piece. Oxymorons displayed on "Future Memories", a contrasting tug of war between the previous and the potential, voices and instruments at odds with each other, doomsday electronics muscling in on Edith Piaf-like musings, a cleverly orchestrated slice of sonic expediency, a mezzo-soprano voice (I am a sucker for that kind of sound) wailing as if a great gig in the sky is being planned for the astral listeners. The sizzling guitar solo is astonishing, egging the synthesizers to howl at the moon, the stars and even at a few passing asteroids, the aria returning for another chance at showing off lung power. The flute and acoustic guitar also have their say, in convincing fashion. What a blend of various moods and sounds! The chaotic "Golden Raven" is experimentally resonant, a short etude in preparing for another cornerstone piece (the longest on the album) "Dream Valley", as perfect resume of what this release is all about, a deliberately restrained, modern /classical electronic arrangement that gives the opportunity to really appreciate the passion, the atmosphere and the sublime melodies these Magyar lads are so gifted to possess. To make matters even worse for me, a fretless bass solo takes over and sends me into a paroxysm of joy! The percussion section is off the charts vivid, the gypsy violin severely romantic and the chanting vocals utterly hypnotic. Playfully intricate, at times appearing effortless, the vibrant music is simply hyper creative, deeply entertaining and unpredictably comfortable, permeating deeply into the soul. Highlight track, bar none. Flutist Atilla Kollar gets to vent (pun intended) on "Paradox", hurling notes liberally at the clanging guitars, the moody ambient sections adding to the swoon, a whistling voice, gruesome vocal effects, and twinkling inspiration. There is a strong Spanish/Moorish influence, as it morphs into a sandstorm of sensations and echoes, keeping the listener on constant edge, a contradiction fulfilled. The flute reestablishes control, defiant and valorous, repulsing attempts by the churlish wah-wah guitars and the throttling organ counterattacks to take over the dominion. Kick- ass display once again. Two brief affairs to finish off this masterpiece: the majestic breath-taking grandeur of "Monument", a progressive shrine of mood and substance, with a massive killer choir fest to seal the deal. And, as perhaps predicated by all the preceding understanding, a serene flute and a beautiful Hungarian poem of hope and a dream for a better world for all.

Literally a personal soundtrack to the imaginary movie that plays in one's mind, I can see Ian Anderson listening to this and yelling out loud "Hot night in Budapest"! This should easily sit right on top of the 2024 mantel, as its is a full upgrade on the 2 preceding Martian Chronicles.

5 clash of titans

If you have your first listening session with this mainly instrumental album I am sure you will be blown away by the skills of the classically trained musicians, not only on the instruments but also as composers. The sound of Solaris is build upon The Holy Musical Trinity of flute, guitar and keyboards, with lots of dynamics, tension and musical ideas. The one moment mellow with tender classical flute, the other moment a sumptuous outburst with spectacular pitchbend driven Moog synthesizer flights. Or an electronic atmosphere with hints from Jean-Michel Jarre, like in the first part of the titletrack.

I highly recommend this masterpiece from Hungary, a bit forgotten during the years.

Although their debut album came out in a period when prog was an ugly word, by the time 1999 rolled around a revival was well underway, and it would have been all too easy for Solaris to take a more retro-prog route, with lots of analogue synths to really drive home the nostalgia factor. However, they don't take that route: instead they produce an album replete with a mixture of very ancient sounds (the aforementioned chants) and extremely modern ones, with synth-wrangler Róbert Erdész using a slate of digital equipment to add a futuristic sheen to things.

This, of course, is all very apt to the concept - the album itself sounds like it is unstuck in time, drawing heavily on the long-ago past and the imagined future but with a gap where the "present" sits, with the end result being simultaneously truly inventive but still close enough to symphonic prog in ethos that prog fans will find it an enjoyable prospect.

For connoisseurs, from the first minutes of "Returnity", the river piece which opens the album and which displays no less than thirty-four minutes, we recognize the SOLARIS leg whether it is by the flute of Attila KOLLAR or the guitar multiplied by Csaba BOGDAN, sometimes metallic, sometimes melodic; of course Robert ERDESZ's keyboards are no exception but above all provide the symphonic foundation of this "Nostradamus 2.0", Doctor Robert is not a character who is used to pulling the cover to him.

The six episodes of this peplum correspond to six dates for which I have not necessarily found historical traces; for December 2, 1942, we have the first nuclear chain reaction; for April 26, 1986, a recent date of sinister memory, the explosion of the CHERNOBYL nuclear power plant; for June 30, 1905, place to Albert EINSTEIN who sends to the German magazine "Annalen der Physik" his manuscript with the following question "Can we run after a light ray and catch it?" In this case, what would we see?

1969: September 2 is the birth of the ancestor of the Internet and July 20, of course, are the first steps of man on the moon!!! Thank you gentlemen ARMSTRONG, ALDRIN and COLLINS ..... And with all that in mind, well the listener does not see the piece pass, all in his thoughts and his dreams that he is! We will add at the conclusion of this historical unfolding, "Deep Blue" on May 11, 1997, it was the first time that a computer beat a human being in a game of chess and not just any chess since it was about Garry Kasparov.

Admittedly, the unfolding of this chronicle is more like a history lesson than an in-depth study of the music of SOLARIS, but that was the minimum to understand the approach of our Hungarian friends; conclusion, the music of SOLARIS goes very well with our time and what is happening there, if you like progressive music with a symphonic tendency, with here very rare sung passages it's simple, go for it.

Solaris can do nothing wrong, every one of their studio albums are excellent. They are however few and far between, and this album came out of nowhere last year without warning. 20 years after Nostradamus - Book Of Prophecies comes Nostradamus 2.0 - Returnity (Unborn Visions). If you are familiar with the former 1999 album, you will have a pretty good idea of what to find here, and both albums are equally great.

The album holds only four songs, but one of them is over half an hour long. The vocals are (as far as I can tell) sung in Latin, and there are both male and female voices to be heard. The focus does however lie on the instrumental attack of flutes, keyboards, guitars, bass and drums.

Personally, I like the band's two Martian Chronicles albums even more, but I am very happy to see that Solaris are still active and releasing new material in their inimitable style. I am less happy though to see that they are not getting the attention they deserve. If you enjoyed past Solaris releases, this one will not disappoint.

Highly recommended!

Hungarian formation Solaris is one of my favourite bands from the Post Classic Prog Era (1967-1979), what an exciting musical encounter between rock and classical! I am still delighted about their studio-albums Martian Chronicles (1984) and (2-LP) 1990, and the Live In Los Angeles CD release. I have discovered Solaris in the early Nineties in the Syn-Phonic catalogue, in those days a kind of pocket version of the Bible for progheads.

The Hungarian formation Solaris was originally founded by some school friends in 1980. The band's name was derived from the title of book by SF writer Stanislaw Lem. After they made impression on a talent contest at The Budai Park for a massive crowd (mainly youth), the band was offered an opportunity to make a record. In '80 Solaris released their first single entitled Rock Hullam (actually this was a split single, Solaris got the B-side). They released the second single Eden/Counterpoint in '81. In '84 Solaris released their first album The Martian Chronicles, it sold almost 40.000 copies. In those days progrock was popular in Hungary: Omega had crowds of 100.000 spectators! In '90 the controlled Hungarian record company was finally willing to release early Solaris recordings entitled 1990 (a 2-LP). Then the members of Solaris went their own way and joined or founded new bands.

In 1995 Solaris was invited as the headliner of the Progfest Festival in Los Angeles by Greg Walker, mastermind behind the USA progrock label-mailorder service Syn-Phonic. He succeeded in persuading the band for a reunion concert (recorded on a 2-CD and partly on a video with other progrock bands Ars Nova and White Willow). The band got a standing ovation by a bunch of progheads! A year later Solaris performed on the Rio Art Rock Festival, organized by the Brasilian proghead Leonardo Nahoum.

On December 27th 1998 guitarplayer Cziglan died of an incurable illness. One year later Solaris released their third studio-album entitled Nostradamus, featuring work from the late guitarist Cziglan. And in 2014 Solaris stunned the world of prog with a new studio-album entitled Martian Chronicles II, in 2015 followed by a live CD and a live DVD/CD set, entitled Martian Chronicles Live. This review is about that set.

The concert was recorded in Hungary in 2014, in a wonderful and cosy theatre, with full house. Solaris start with a JM Jarre inspired electronic intro (Martian Chronicles Part 1) featuring sensational Moog Voyager synthesizer flights, with subtle use of the pitchbend button, and very pulsating arpeggiator notes, it sounds evenmore impressive and lush than on the 1984 album. Then gradually the other members enter the stage and we can enjoy Solaris their awesome blend of rock and classical, including delicate work on the flute traverse. An impressive solo piece on the piano (from tender to sparkling) emphasizes the strong influence of the classical education of all members. Solaris continue with playing Chronicles Part 3-6: an outstanding and dynamic rhythm-section, great interplay, spectacular soli on synthesizer, guitar and flute and, last but not least, Solaris their trademark featuring The Holy Trinity of keyboards, flute and electric guitar, wow! The music varies from up-tempo beats and bombastic outbursts to slow downs, accelarations and dreamy atmospheres, very dynamic and compelling, performed by excellent musicians. One of the highlights is Mars Poetica: two keyboards players and two guitarists delivers outstanding interplay and soli, and again we can enjoy The Holy Trinity as multi-instrumentalist and band leader Attila Kollar switches from electric guitar to the flute travers, what an amazing musician. This track is followed by a mid-long and inventive drum solo.

The concert features also a tribute to the late guitar player Istvan Cziglan (cancer). First a wonderful duet entitled Duo between the flute and acoustic guitar. Then an emotional and very impressive piece featuring screen projections and a mime actor, he does a very good job by expressing the pain, anger, despair, illness, fighting back and finally the death, supported by great music on tape by Solaris, including guitar by Czigi. The composition Counterpoint is another tribute, now to drummer Vilmos Toth (who recently passed away) with images from Vilmos and the exciting Holy Trinity. This is followed by the piece Solaris, it starts dreamy with flute, then a slow rhythm with a moving guitar solo, finally with a wah-wah sound (by Tamas, the son of keyboard player Robert Erdesz).

The most interesting part of this concert is the first live performance of their Martain Chronicles II album from 2014. The music is in the vein of trademark Solaris but more adventurous and varied. It features a classically trained female singer and a saxophone player, the music sounds very dynamic with a bombastic conclusion featuring powerful saxophone work and wah-wah guitar. Part Two contains tender classical piano and jazzy acoustic guitar, gradually a more lush sound and in the end sparkling piano and expressive female vocals. Although this new music is not always my cup of tea I am impressed by Solaris their skills and musical ideas, what ahigh level! The official concert is concluded with three more tracks from Martain Chronicles I, my highlight is the sensational up-tempo track Apocalypse featuring a very dynamic rhtyhm-section and again exciting interplay between the Moog, flute traverse and propulsive electric guitar riffs, goose bumps, this is trademark Solaris in its full splendour! The concert ends with two encores. First E-Moll Concerto Allegro Con Molto: a longer version, ranging from tender flute and piano to heavy guitar work and a lush Hammond sound, awesome 'rock meets classical'. Finally Micky Mouse, an up-tempo track with sensational Moog flights, sparkling flute and propulsive guir riffs, finally supported by pleasant Hammond waves.

During this (mainly instrumental) two hour concert Hungarian formation Solaris showcase that they are one of the best progrock bands in the Post Classic Prog Era. So highly recommended, especially to the fans of Camel, Jethro Tull, Focus, Yes and early Manfred Mann's Earth Band.

P.s.: The CD version of this concert is the same as the DVD, except 3 deleted tracks: the drum solo and Duo and Beyond.

4.5 stars

Contrarily to other countries, progressive rock was still very popular during the 80's in Eastern Europe. In Hungary, after OMEGA during the former decade, its best representative was undoubtedly the cult band SOLARIS. Very first opus by talented multi-instrumentalists, these "Martian Chronicles" - inspired by science-fiction writer Ray Bradbury's well-known novels - are just a genuine sonic adventure.

Almost entirely instrumental, the music is an epic space progressive symphony, with multiple themes, rhythms and instruments, always changing and evolving, unpredictable but fluent and highly melodic. The titles are a colorful mixture of symphonic hard rock of CAMEL, ELOY, SAGA with lyrical progressive electronic such as VANGELIS and NEURONIUM, as well as some neo-prog synthesizers. Although not as complex as YES or GENESIS, the compositions offer different ambiances supported by rich and varied sonorities, the surprise factor being constantly present on each title. That way, the disc succeeds at maintaining the listener's attention as well as a high standard of musicality.

The first side features the 23 minutes "Martian Chronicles" suite, divided in three tracks. Part I opens with a few lines spoken in Hungarian through an alien sound filter, to unveil spacey synthesizers and a fast trippy electronic sequence. The cosmic trip is just beginning, somewhere between NEURONIUM and VANGELIS' "Albedo 0.39". Nice! Parts II-III display numerous genres, such as symphonic, hard rock, and even neo-prog, using a wide range of instruments: keyboards, guitar but also piano, choirs and futuristic sound effects. The music alternates powerful and touching melodies, reminding CAMEL at times. Parts IV-VI are my favorites. This SAGA- esque retro sci-fi musical tale is stellar with its crying guitars, calm passage and celestial final choirs. Simply epic!

The second side gathers short titles, still overall very good. "M'ars poetica" is surprising, playful and energetic. Some heroic moments sounds even possess a distant classical music vibe. On the contrary, "If the Fog Ascends" is the only average track of the record. A bit soapy, but its mysterious interlude is rather enjoyable. The epic space hard rock "Apocalypse" transports us through the universe... until the short "Prelude in E Minor" brings us back to the time of strongholds and chivalry with a medieval flute! Pleasant, however quite out of place. Heaviest composition of the disc, "Undefeatable" is a powerful synth space metal piece! Wow! The album concludes with the band's first single, "Solaris", recorded a few years earlier and already containing multiple sections despite its 5 minutes duration. The nice calm Floyd/Camel-esque melancholic overture abruptly changes and progressively accelerates into a sonic supernova! The Hungarians were already promising back then!

The 1995 and 2010 reissues feature two bonus tracks, enjoyable although less impacting than those of the original release. The synthetic "The Planet of Orchids" is more ambient, interrogative, while "The Yellow Circle" evokes the discovery of a new planet... to then surprisingly turn rock 'n 'roll, with tribal percussions and vocalizations! Fun and refreshing.

Except ELOY, there are not many symphonic space prog albums really worth the listen in the 80's. "Martian Chronicles" is definitely an exception, a meteorite, a refreshing unexpected surprise in this desolated decade. The music uses known recipes to weave its own charm and identity. The band members have a natural ease and high ability to switch between instruments and ambiances while mixing various styles, making the compositions unpredictable. Therefore, the surprise factor of this sonic and lyrical symphony is renewed at each listen.

SOLARIS' first opus is a genuine breathtaking and stellar journey, a real pity this wasn't released outside Hungary in 1984. Simply essential for space rock and symphonic prog lovers!

Solaris is pretty much Camel, if Camel didn't change so much in the 80's and decided to record albums like The Single Factor and Stationary Traveller. The only difference really are the heavier guitars.

All in all the whole album is really solid, great flute parts, heavy guitars that Rock, keyboards that are not all that dated (for the 80's that is) and very good drumming. The production is tight, tries to go forward but doesn't bury all the sound in the terrible production of mid 80's.

My only pick with the album is that it is all instrumental. If that's not a problem for you go for it and be happy cause the album gives you that, as for me i's a bit hard to enjoy all instrumental Prog.

Anyway, great first album of this HUngarian band.