THE HALL OF FLOATERS IN THE SKY

Hungary's premier rock group, Omega have incredibly featured the same five-man line-up since 1971(!). They have issued both English-language and Hungarian-language albums over the years, in the process originating from humble late-sixties beat-and-psych origins to, by the mid-seventies, fully-fledged progressive rock concept album creators. The most successful of all Hungarian rock and pop groups, and even finding an audience abroad, Omega's lengthy career simply can't be summed up in a paragraph or two, their output prodigious in the extreme. Issued in 1975, 'The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky' is premium Omega circa their progressive phase, a good place to start for the curious and a wonderful example of full-steam-ahead symphonic-style prog done European-style yet obviously heavily influenced by the likes of Yes, Genesis and even Todd Rundgren's Utopia. Featuring plenty of jagged synthesizer blasts, topped-up with metallic guitars, burnished with gritty English vocals and filled with enough instrumental invention to make most mid-seventies rock groups blush with envy, this is a truly remarkable album, though don't expect any cultural Hungarian tweaks or traditional East European folk-or-zydeco influences; this is harsh, hard and energetic music filled with catchy melodies and some fiendishly inventive solo's from the groups five-man line-up. Being from 1975, it leans more towards the electronic- sounding production that would arrived with the 1980's, though a 1970's sensibility still lurks amongst the album's six entrancing tracks. Best of all are 'Magician', which powers up via some muscular guitar histrionics courtesy of axeman Gyorgy Molnar, and the eight-minute closer '20th Century Town Dweller', which balances shimmering synth lines with throbbing basses and some truly chest-thumping percussion licks. Whether this is a good example of the work of Omega in general is a good question; this critic, although a fan of 'The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky', is in no position to answer as much of the group's work is simply inaccessible to Western audiences. That said though, if their other 'key' albums of the 1960's and 1970's are anything like this impressive opus then Omega must be one hell of a group. This is tough, creative and classy progressive rock and fans of all types of the genre are urged to investigate immediately. And what about that cover art. Hungary eh? Who'd have thought... STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013