ARIES

— First review of this album —

Ram-bam-ba-lamb! It's written in the stars that Aries are the most exciting thing to happen in Greece since the ancient Battle of Thermopylae, when the Persians defeated the Spartans, winning 2-1 after extra time. You don't need to climb Mount Olympus to meet the prog gods, because the tremendous trio of titans are all right here on this one amazing album. This is Space Rock, Jim, but not as we know it, going boldly where no Space Rock album has ever gone before (split infinitives permitting!). "Because of My Fears" is light years ahead of any Space Rock album I know of, and where you'd have to travel to the distant galaxy of Andromeda to hear anything even remotely approaching this magnitude of brilliance. Aries shines as brightly as a distant Quasar - the brightest object in the known universe. The album is one long continuous five-part suite of music, so set the controls for the heart of the Sun, power up into interstellar overdrive at max factor five and prepare for a fantastic voyage of a lifetime in the best 43 minutes you've ever spent outside of the bedroom. It's a stellar stunner! What REALLY sets this fabulous album apart though, is the beautiful siren-song call of the charming female vocalist. After all, when was the last time you ever heard a female lead singer on a Space Rock album? Probably never. The pounding percussive power of the Duracel drummer is worthy of a mention too, sounding like a battering ram with an artillery barrage of sound the like of which we haven't heard since the furious fusillade of cannon fire at the climax of Tchaikovsky's triumphal 1812 Overture. And let's not forget the incredible guitarist either, whose psychedelic, purple-haze freak-outs would make Jimi Hendrix jealous. This stunning Space Rock extravaganza is a sonic blast from beginning to end and one of the most electrifying albums you'll ever hear this side of the Milky Way galaxy. Ad Astra!