FROM THE SMALL HOURS OF WEAKNESS

I must admit I was not aware of Verbal Delirium before listening to ''From the Small Hours of Weakness'' so this came as a bit of a surprise.

Ploughing through the 50 minutes of the band's second album, I can see the honest effort to express feelings through a multitude of methods and moods. Whether their 'weakness' is expressed via popular patterns, 70's heavy prog, Peter Hammill's and Gentle Giant's quirkiness or majestic piano passages that resemble some of the greatest Greek artists of the previous century (Manos Hatzidakis in particular, although the main composer, Jargon, revealed to me that he had not listened to before composing this album!), here we find ourselves being engrossed in deep, atmospheric, captivating music.

It would be unfair to tag this album as purely crossover prog as there is so much going on here. It is extremely interesting to notice the various 'faces' of Verbal Delirium: alternative and pop mix together in the first half of the opening track, the Muse-influenced Disintegration and the closing Aeons which borrows something from late Anathema; synth-driven dynamic heavy prog appears in the second half of the opening track (2013 Riverside anyone?); a touch of obscure classical music and eclecticism comes in mainly in the instrumental Dance of the Dead (and less in the more melodic Desire) where ELP, Gentle Giant and VDGG all come to mind. What strikes me though (and others, from the reactions of people I have seen so far) is the blending of their Greek heritage into this amalgam. Most listeners aware of the era of Manos Hatzidakis' music will be able to distinguish the passages here that resemble to trademark 70's melodies. The best example of this is Sudden Winter, who some may blatantly call a 'ballad' but surely isn't, and The Losing Game.

The majestic work on the piano surprises me as it shifts from simple melodic tunes to totally obscure experimentations, and this is another high point. Hats off to Verbal Delirium for creating something that really has not been tried and achieved before, something that progressive rock really needs more and more. This must be among the best releases of 2013 for progressive rock.

Ultimate highlight: the nostalgic Sudden Winter, a delirium of senses...

Share this VERBAL DELIRIUM review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to aapatsos
• Report this review (#941114)
• Buy VERBAL DELIRIUM music online with PA partners
• Show all VERBAL DELIRIUM MP3/Stream
• Go to VERBAL DELIRIUM page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to From the Small Hours of Weakness page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for VERBAL DELIRIUM related discussions