CONUNDRUM

VERBAL DELIRIUM founded in 1999 to give another image of progressive rock, a band outside of the MARILLION loving prog musical shackles on which they fall and which makes them think differently about music with a prog and psychedelic sound of the 60s and 70s, with touches heavy and jazzy. Experimentation leads them to merge PINK FLOYD, CARDIACS, QUEEN of course, MUSE. A 4th album of prog dark heavy jazzy theatrical pop unclassifiable finally with a current and modern sound of which I will tell you the pieces.

"Falling" Dantesque atmospheric intro with polyphonic voices and choirs reminds me of XTC madness; a brutal riff, out of tune and menacing sounds like a setting before the start of the show; grandiose art-rock, one of the most beautiful intro of the year with that of MILLENIUM lately which brings "In Pieces" melody reminiscent of QUEEN and THE BEATLES; Jargon plays his voice accompanied by an operatic chorus making the title bombastic; dark prog break so on mysterious keyboards amplifying the theatrical symphonic side of the opera, the finale on the EPICAs. "Intruders" changes tone with a fresh, upbeat nursery rhyme, the BEACH BOYS muted; the chorus with QUEEN-like vocals; sampled break of violins, choirs for a musical verbal delirium reminding me of SPARKS, XTC, the soundtrack of 'Phantom Of The Paradise'; creative and enjoyable with the heavier instrumental in return for the grandiloquent storm and the musical madness. "Children of Water" follows on a bewitched keyboard, a Joe PAYNE voice, strong, dark, powerful, moving. QUEEN can rest easy, I'm happy that VERBAL DELIRIUM finally uses this creative niche; mysterious atmosphere between spleen and latency and a quivering, superb Jargon. "Conundrum" where Balkan rock revisited? That of BREGOVIC? Sax and clarinet jam on an upbeat tempo; instrumental where the organ comes to mingle bringing a convoluted gypsy folk-jazzy air, strange but the frenetic holds the stake; the final crescendo rise seems to come out of a 320 volt outlet, amazing.

"The Watcher" arises a strange, grating, borderline jarring title; then soft ballad of a blow rounding the ears; the melodic line surprises in the opposite direction and the keyboard ends up melting; the first third and the madness of the creative SPARKS reaches me, the guitar becomes heavy, the thunderous break in electric crescendo; final with ethereal choirs and Jargon which rocks us with its inimitable voice with an explosive festive air. "Neon Eye Cage" jazzy-soft for folk-ballad title à la QUEEN, soul music too; the more subdued voice reminds me of SAGA, the second period, the stereo keyboard break positively attacks the ears; it rises calmly, melodically until the instrumental drift where guitar and keyboards return the notes with force and gravity, George bringing me back for a moment to the master MALMSTEEN; stunning, outro jazzy. "Fall from Grace" completes the album with a delicate melody; the ballad that takes us from QUEEN to SAGA with a muffled, fruity, languorous sound where the guitar quickly comes to accompany Jargon; the declination launches the solo that kills, tears, grinds and leaves you speechless, one of those that makes you say that prog, musical art-rock still has something extra, and that you're happy that few can listen to this masterpiece, a prodigious paradox in fact.

VERBAL DELIRIUM has released a musically rich, varied, creative, well-anchored art-rock album; quality compositions with Jargon in mind, developing a whimsical and fantastic alternative modern rock-pop; lyrical and melodic, grandiloquent and ethereal, sublime and... sublime! An extraordinary approach where the lyricism of Jargon illuminates the darkness, where the chiselled and brilliant notes refer to dark airs alternating beauty and emotion. A fusion led by a master voice with a psychedelia of the years 2023. Grandissime.

Review # 118.

I "discovered" Verbal Delirium back in 2013 with the release of the album From the Small Hours of Weakness, and I am following their career ever since.

I must say that I'm really impressed with their improvement, both in studio and on stage as well. Every new album is better and more mature than the previous one, and Conundrum is not an exception. Although they maintain their usual dark and melancholic style, their compositions have improved a lot and I dare say that right now they are one of the best "new" bands around.

Also, I'm not sure how many bands I know that have been influenced by Marillion, but Verbal Delirium is definitely not one of them! They have a darker sound, which, in combination with Jargons excellent vocal skills, they bend towards Peter Hammill and/or Van Der Graaf Generator in my opinion. But despite that, they are more "easy going", and listener friendly, but without becoming mainstream.

Another important thing is that they do not afraid to try new things, and include in their music elements of other music styles, such as Progressive Metal and Jazz for example.

I won't get into details for each song, because if I do that, I will only tell you my personal opinion, and I believe that It is better to listen to the album and form your own one instead; but in a few words, I believe that Conundrum is a fantastic album, and definitely one of the best albums of 2022.

So, do yourselves a favour and find a way to - at least - listen to it! Give it a couple of listens and then probably you will understand what I'm talking about.

For me this is a 4.5 stars album, but since I cannot do that, I will give 5 stars and I know I won't regret it!

My Rating: 5 Stars.

A band that I discovered because of Methexis' Nikitas Kissonas' participation on their first three albums has now evolved under the maturing and intrepid stylized vision of the creative force that is founder Jargon Kosmidis. Many of you might remember Jargon's impressive and highly-acclaimed 2020 solo release, The Fading Thought. Fans of theatric prog combining the sounds and styles of QUEEN, MEAT LOAF, and MATTHEW PARMENTER and PETER HAMMILL will definitely enjoy this.

1. "Falling" (2:50) heavy and theatric in a bombastic PETER HAMMILL way. Very impressive. (9/10)

2. "In Pieces (4:59) opens like the opening of EMINEM's "Lose Yourself" before changing chords and turning into a BEATLE's like collaboration with Brian Wilson or the boys from the Bay City Rollers, Pilot, and early ALAN PARSONS PROJECT, finishing with a choir-led bombast that is much more like this latter reference than the former. (8.667/10)

3. "Intruders" (5:30) feels like a 21st Century realization of a Brian Wilson (Beach Boys) collaboration with MEAT LOAF's Jim Steinman (especially in the second half). The "I don't exist" part, of course, is more reminiscent of M. HAMMILL, but, it's but a brief leitmotif. Interesting. (8.667/10)

4. "The Children of Water" (5:42) a truly virtuosic vocal performance from Jargon--on the theatric and emotional level of the work of That Joe Payne. Amazing! Too bad for the rather generic chorus. (8.75/10)

5. "Conundrum" (6:32) a klezmer-styled instrumental conveying a cabaret-like music in which the instrumentalists are given full license to express themselves as fully and virtuosically as M. Jargon himself. What results is, to my ears, a kind of interesting and impressive blend of ELP, Symphony X, and Mr. Bungle. Impressive! (9/10)

6. "The Watcher" (9:03) Wow! This one sounds so much like a MATTHEW PARMENTER (Discipline) piece! Down to the keys and definitely in the vocal performance (and recording effects), the Discipline-like territory continues to express Jargon's totally au courant biting commentary/critique of the cyber age. Then, at 6:56 everything smooths out for a pretty, dreamy passage with choir- "Ooo's" and "aaah's"It's actually a very pretty song, too! I really like this song a lot-- on many levels, from many aspects! (18/20)

7. "Neon Eye Cage" (9:30) opening as a very pretty stage-crafted song (as if he should be on stage in front of a live audience in a Broadway theater). After 90 seconds, the full band bursts into rock format but then a minute later they take a left turn into some kind of Meat Loaf-like territory. (17.667/20)

8. "Fall from Grace" (5:53) Brilliant, this: adjacent to the cyber age commentary song is a song that opens with nature sounds and the sound of children playing outside. This sad song about distance between two people in relationship (and seemingly inevitable breakup) seems perfectly placed to express the consequences of our screen- and self- absorbed world and the challenges it places on interpersonal communication. I'm not sure the instrumental passage in the fourth minute was really necessary--the song was so powerful just in its tragic verbal message--but it's a nice reminder that this is, in fact, a prog album. Definitely a top three song for me. (I am, once again, completely under the spell of Jargon.) (9.25/10)

Total Time 49:59

This is an album of style, theatrics, and vocal performance, not so steeped in complex "proggy" musical constructs as it is in musical creations intended to support and carry forward a vocal idea. Jargon is a very creative and expressive singer-songwriter.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of eclectic and theatric music--definitely an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection!

Verbal Delirium is a unique progressive rock band from Greece that has been around since the mid-2000s. This is their 4th album, but first that I've heard, and it is fantastic. A whirlwiond of different styles and influences blended into a totally unique musical experience. Although certainly Prog in its attitude, they combine many disparate elements (often within the same song), including pop, rock, jazz, soul, musical theater, and metal into their prog. The core of the band is Jargon (John Kosmidis), as primary composer, vocalist, and keybaordist, George 'K' Kyriakidis (guitars), and Nikolas Nikolopoulos (flute, saxophone, Mellotron). The title track is a whirling dervish of an instrumental having a convoluted Klezmer-esque feel, constantly moving and shifting into a sort of ELP meets Steely Dan exercise. 'Intruder' mixes in pop melodies, Beach Boys harmonies, punkish new wave, all leading to a big theatrical finish. The best tracks are also the longest ones, such as 'The Watcher', which starts out with a quirky new wave section, like something from Oingo Boingo, then drops in an 80's dream pop chorus (ala Crowded House, Tears for Fears) before shifting into a full Prog instrumental section, the return of dream pop, leading to a satisfying conclusion. Even better is 'Neon Eye Cage', which opens as a kind of blue-eyed soul pop number (ala Hall and Oates?) then goes into a more rockin' section that seems straight out of some lost Peter Gabriel album before elevating to a Genesisian instrumental finish. Closing the album is the lovely 'Fall From Grace', a beautiful song highlighted by Jargon's emotive, theatrical vocals and K's soaring guitar. Overall, their mix of musical styles are constantly merging in interesting and enigmatic ways throughout, introducing one clever element after another, while still maintaining strong melodies and emotions. Although I don't necessarily agree with all of their choices, their endlessly inventive and creative approach is certainly refreshing and enticing throughout. Best Tracks: Neon Eye Cage, The Watcher, Conundrum, Fall From Grace. Weak Tracks: none. Rating 4.5 stars