AMENOPHIS

This is truly one of the lost classics of German symphonic prog, all the more impressive as it hails from the dark days of 1983 and seems to avoid all the horrid trappings of that decade while still sounding original.

Amenophis on this debut is more ethereal sounding than any of its admittedly mellow influences, like Camel, Genesis, Yes, Eloy, Renaissance (listen to instrumental break in "Venus" to see what I mean - think "A Song for All Seasons") and perhaps even Focus and Sebastian Hardie. The vocals are emotive although spare, keyboards rich, and the guitars varied in expression. Not to mention that the monster epic track, "The Last Requiem", features some pretty nice flute during its purposefully meandering 24 minutes.

The bonus cuts are somewhat new agey, being acoustic guitar and string synth duets. and would not be worth 5 stars on their own, but they are pleasant enough and follow logically from the original album that I cannot dock a star for their existence. They represent a fascinating experiment in lush minimalism.

Amenophis comes with my highest recommendation if you are into the pastoral side of symphonic progressive rock.