KISEMBER

Having reviewed this Hungarian band's second album and finding it a true surprise, I reverse engineered my way to finding and listening to their debut. The previously mentioned influences are even more overt her, with the astounding guitar phrasings of band leader Dezso Murguly (in the hungarian language , we put the last name first like the Chinese ,where the magyars originally came from to settle in Europe a thousand years ago). This creative land has already provided some truly first rate prog through the decades , to which we must include this delightful musical journey. Healthily sponged by the spirit of Floyd, the correctly indentified hints of Hawkwind (powerful rythm guitar base), Gong (swirling synths guiding the leads), Ozrics (they groove, man) and Sensation's Fix (the tone of the six-strings) are blended into an atmospheric trip that is enthralling and exhilarating , which is what Space-Prog is all about. As explained in the liner notes, "Kisember" means "Ordinary Man" and is inspired by Pink Floyd's "Division Bell" and the theme is :What is on the other Side of the Moon? Pretty good question, no ? Surprising no one thought about it, as it would seem to be a natural "Progression" , whay with the continued success of the" Dark Side of The Moon". First track - Budafok- lays down the carpet (red, of course) , preparing the adventure to follow. Second track -Hold ( Moon, in Hungarian) - wastes no time in blowing one headfirst at warp speed , smack into the deepest realms of space, with a relentlessly loud, almost leaden riff , mercilessly pounding the momemtum forward (Hello, Ozrics!) . The fourth track is the title theme track , a story on the hohum routine mixed with "nice or awful happenings in the world" and human restlessness, delivers on all counts with the exception of so-so vocals (he sings but he ain't no singer, dig?), which are not at all distracting from the superb music and that confounded gueetar.The midlle tracks are all excellent, spacey tribulations , setting us up for the last triumvirate of classic pieces , beginning with a world-class prog instrumental to die for, "Otthon" (Home), a Oldfieldian recurring piano motif , slashed by a hysterically controlled snake guitar phrasing , underpinned by electronic bass burps and farts (no, really) and a five and a half minute pure joyride , as good or better than anything you have ever heard. "Christine" is breathtaking , as it plows pitilessly into audience submission (Okay, its a fiver!) , relenting just in time to offer a farewell piece "Without Worlds". As the angelic voices rush to elevate the emotions, Dezso simply loses it in terms of melody, totally entranced and entrancing. While not an outright masterpiece, a debut like this cries out for recognition and the propulsion to continue their craft further into the future, so as one day (perhaps the third album?), the theme will be : "What is on the other side of Earth", as we all slowly melt away our planet and really need to start looking beyond the stars , wherelse can we rapidly destroy with our technology . Dream On! 5 pulis

Well here's another great Psychedelic / Space Rock band from Hungary to trip out on. The music is rhythmic, spacey and quite powerful. I thought of PINK FLOYD quite often. I wasn't expecting this to be so good but then I saw tszirmay's 5 star review and realized i'm not alone in my high praise for this one.

"Budafok" opens with percussion and guitar reminding me of FLOYD. Synths a minute in. It picks up a minute later then settles as contrasts continue. "Hold 1" opens with spacey synths but it turns heavy quickly. Vocals join in. Spacey synths and thunder end it. "Blues 2000" has a powerful undercurrent and vocals arrive a minute in. What a great sounding tune. "Kisember" opens with sounds that echo. Drums 2 1/2 minutes in,vocals follow. "Hold 2" is heavier with guitar playing over top. Vocals after a minute as it settles. It kicks back in heavily a minute later.

"Frog's Final Day" is spacey to start but it kicks in quickly. This song kicks ass. "Hold 3" has such a powerful rhythm to it. "Sodoma" has a good uplifting intro then it settles before a minute and vocals join in. It's still powerful though as contrasts continue. Love this song. "Otthon" opens with piano followed by heaviness before a minute. Nice. Check out the guitar after 3 minutes. Piano comes and goes. "Christine" sounds so good. A beat with guitar and synths as it builds. "Without Worlds" features guest female vocal melodies to start with synths. Piano and organ follow. A beat 1 1/2 minutes in then it turns heavy.The guitar sounds fantastic !

This is highly recommended to you space freaks out there.

D Sound's debut album is inspired by Pink Floyd, but I'd say they manage to carve out a little bit of space rock territory in their own right. Less heavy and abrasive than Hawkwind, slower and more contemplative than the Ozric Tentacles, less flippant than Gong and dreamier and spacier than the Dark Side of the Moon-era Pink Floyd they drew inspiration from this time around, the band provide a keyboard-heavy space trip which is gentle, mellow, and altogether a pleasure to experience. The weak link in the chain seems to be Zsolt Murguly's vocals, which are just about competent but aren't likely to win many awards, but with the long instrumental passages that are a focus of the album this isn't such a problem overall. A credible beginning - perhaps not one to put on heavy rotation, but it's enough to make me think this group has potential.

Zsolt Dezső Murguly formed D Sound in 1992, but by 1994 they had broken up due to the old onion 'musical differences'. Over the next eight years he kept writing material and over the last three years has been recording over 100 minutes worth of music with different musicians. It is this that has formed the basis of the album, although he has played most of the music himself as well as providing the vocals. The lyrics are in Hungarian but in truth that is not of great importance as they appear more for effect, with most of the album being instrumental. This is an album that has been heavily influenced by Pink Floyd, with touches of Ozrics here and there. It can be light and exciting, but often is dark and haunting. It is divided into four separate movements, and I kept thinking that at times this is what music would sound like if Pink Floyd were being led by Gordon Giltrap at a Hawkwind convention. It is spacey, effective, and very enjoyable. Contact the label at www.perifericrecords.com.

Originally appeared in Feedback #70, Oct 02