MARTIAN CHRONICLES II

I did quite many reviews last year trying to find out what modern prog was and see if the music could compete with the seventies' prog. I am not finish with last year yet and one album I have longed to hear for a long time is the Hungarian band "Solaris" fourth studio album "Martian Chronicles II" and this week I have finally heard it sometimes and I can't wait to say: listen to it, it gives us a fantastic musical experience that is very unusual nowadays. "Martian Chronicles II" can absolutely compete with the old prog and does it successfully.

The cover shows us a martian landscape in red. I love the cover and its colour and the musicians on the record are Csaba Bogdan(guitars), Robert Erdesz(keyboard), Attila Kollar(flute), Laszlo Gomor(drums), Attila Seres(bass) and Ferenc Raus(drums). Together they have created such a wonderful musical web that I would like to hear it many times more. Every minute it happens something new and lovely and the album also is a great whole which starts, keep you interested and ends with splendor. I don't exaggerate when I tell you how unusual this record is. The instrumental unity could be compared with Harmonium's flowered record, Camel's The Snow Goose or other gems of melodic and symphonic prog rock. I had'nt heard Solaris before I played this record, but of course I will hear all of their music now. Together with Clearlight and Ian Anderson this is 2014's best record.

It is hard to pick favourite songs but the suite "Martian Chronicles II Suite" is of course one of the hightlights(10/10). The music there is so marvelous. You van hear things that reminds you of Oldfield, perhaps Japan and such many other things. "The world without us" too is a totally beautiful song(10/10) and the closer "Alien" where they try to whistle couldn't become better than it is(10/10). Well every song is much more than mediocre and the album is best if the songs are heard in a row, a 45 minute music experience. This is an obvious five star record in my book(4.7). A must hear record!