THE COLOSSUS OF RHODES

I just love these Colussus projects (the name of the organization that puts these together). This particular one, The Colossus Of Rhodes, is quite good. On the whole, there are 3 excellent pieces, one very good, and 2 that are a bit below par. I'll start with the two I don't like as much. The worst thing about them is probably the fact that they end each CD, and the final song by Revelation is my least favorite on the album. The Sinkadus piece is not really bad at all, but I think their style does not lend itself well to extended epics. For Revelation, it's more a matter of personal taste. They are much smooth and neo sounding for me, and 29 continuous minutes of that style is just too much.

The finest epic is the first one, by Leviathan, a band I'm not at all familiar with (in fact, the only one I've heard before is Sinkadus). They manage to incorporate all the best aspects of 70's Italian prog rock, while maintaining a fairly original approach. Greenwall and Mad Crayon sound considerably more modern, but still pull off great compositions. This is very engaging music over all. Velvet Desperadoes seem like they may be a young band, as their epic follows a pretty traditional formula for epics. They sound like they are more comfortable in the Deep Purple/Led Zeppelin style of hard rock, but manage to acheive some interesting symphonic moods and structures as well.

Considering all the bands were asked to use only authentic analog equipment (barring the recording and production equipment I assume, since all the compositions have a very modern production and recording to my ears), and were told to make the epics in a 70's prog style, it is very impressive that this set (and all the Colossus releases so far) has such a high quality. Even the concept was given to the bands, meaning it wasn't their own artistic visions that spawned it, which can often lead to disasterous results. Overall though, well worth having if you like 70's style prog (none of the suites is going to win any originality awards, but they are not overly derivative of any particular bands either), but not essetial or a masterpiece.