TOMPOX

Tompox is the nickname of bass player Tamas Pocs of the band Solaris. Pocs formed his own band under the name of Tompox, and Reincarnation is the third album released under this name. Here we have an album that is more towards Fusion, but still with a spacy Solaris sound to some of the tracks. Flutes and keyboards feature prominently as well as guitars. There is a harder edge here and another comparison point would be Nostradamus - another Solaris offshoot that released an album called Testament in 2008.

Reincarnation is almost completely instrumental, with only the closing track featuring lead vocals by Beata Vincze. This track is very different in character to the rest of the album, not only in virtue of the vocals. With over 70 minutes of music included, they could perhaps have considered shortening the album somewhat. Having that said, I enjoy all of this music very much, and the musicianship is top notch. Fans of the great Solaris might want to check this out, but if you are expecting a new Solaris album you will of course not be fully happy with Reincarnation.

The album starts off with "Without Illusions" which is a 6+ minute jazz/rock fusion instrumental that is based off of a synth riff which appears in between the improvised soloing sections which highlight different guitar styles, pastoral flute solos and a piano solo. "Rings of Saturn" begins with a slower rhythm and later speeds up during a guitar and synth "call and answer" style improvisation. The tempo shifts back to a slower, pensive rhythm with a guitar and wordless vocal section. When the drums come back in, the sax takes over with a solo. After the bass noodles around a bit, the speed picks up again and guitar riffs and synths build things up and the sax and flute take the melody. Things turn strangely electronic at the tail end of the track.

"Milfyway" (no that is not a typo) features a slightly heavier sound with more guitar and synth soloing against a fast drum beat. Later the sax comes in against a somewhat lame synth effect that is rather annoying. For being a more rock oriented instrumental, this track loses steam as it doesn't seem to be very convincing, the riffs are not very catchy and the sound gets a little tired. "Pompeii" gains back a little more ground with a nice staccato-style riff, probably produced by synths and some layered flute against a thumping guitar background. Later, the flute and guitar trade the spotlight back and forth. The tempo gets more intense and a synth solo comes in later traded by a surprisingly rousing guitar solo. "Speed Limit" plays off of a heavy guitar riff adding a synthesized brass section to give the track more power. Little pieces of flute appear between more powerful guitar flourishes. Later, a jazz guitar plays a solo followed by a heavy guitar.

The instrumental jazz/rock sound continues through the album. There are sections that seem to be going in a free floating direction that suddenly become heavy only to return to a laid back feel. There are some great passages with impressive sound, and other places that are pretty average. Overall, there isn't anything groundbreaking here, or really anything that stands out as far as performance or musicality. It's simply decent jazz-rock fusion, mostly all instrumental, nice for background music more than anything. All instruments get emphasis at several places in the music, but it is pretty much just average sounding. It's good, it's just nothing astounding, and seems to be more fusion style than it does symphonic.

Indeed, the outstanding aspect to this album is the up-front bass presence of Tamas Pacs (aka Tompox) who, like Chris Squire, dares to actually play the bass in a manner other than the droning "thum THUM thum" of most bass players who resign themselves to hang out in the background with the drums.

The highlight of the album (for me) is the ever-present bass work of Tamas, particularly on the track "Meteorite", which has some outstanding bass leads and solos. It's a faster tempo, higher energy piece than most of the rest of the album.

Throughout the album, there is some notable (but perhaps not outstanding) guitar, flute, and keyboard work, as well.

If I had any criticism, it would be that the album lacks an overall concept, and the tracks are mostly devoid of a compositional structure. There are no verse/chorus structures. No refrains or codas to bring the listener back to a previously heard familiar spot. No build up of tension, followed by release. It is more of a melange of unrelated passages glued together. Unlike vocal pieces that use lyrics to tell a story and carry the listener, an instrumental piece has to musically (not vocally) grab the listener's attention and lead their imagination's somewhere. This album failed to grab me. It did, however, provide pleasant instrumental passages with occasional outstanding leads and solos, so it earns three stars.

The love for creating intense and adventurous progressive music becomes apparent from the very first track, ''Monumentum valley'', just a bit under 18 minutes long, and sounding more or less like SOLARIS circa-''Marsbeli kronikak''.With dashes of CAMEL and JETHRO TULL and an updated sound, featuring the heavy use of synthesizers, Tompox offer a well-composed and memorable epic piece, built around Tasi's melodic flutes and the spacey sound of layered synthesizers (ELOY come also to mind), while there are occasional sharp guitar leads and the symphonic underlines are more than evident.As SOLARIS did back in 1984, the rest of the album is a bit more diverse with rockier and even some Fusion moments, always led by the excellent use of flute and the emphatic keyboard textures, but the symphonic elements wait in every corner, either via some nice flute/guitar/keyboard interplays or the flexible and melodic orchestrations.Some piano acoustics and the presence of flashy keyboards tie the bonds between old-school Prog and more modern Neo Prog stylings.Notice also the inclusion of a great cover song in the album, ''Epitaph'' by King Crimson, sung by guest Zoltan Kiss, which is performed by the band in an awesome way, keeping much of its psychedelic and symphonic atmosphere.

Solaris reincarnated by Pocs and company.Beautiful and modern flute-driven Symphonic Rock with spacey keyboards and nice interplays.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

The courage of their convictions is exemplified by the ultra-bold challenge of blasting off with an epic 17 minute + instrumental extravaganza " Monumentum Valley pt. 1-2" that holds back nothing, led by a wobbly bass, clanging guitars, sizzling synthesizers and rock solid drumming. The hypnotic groove is set down nicely for the surreal flute, courtesy of Adám Tasi to weave its magic, enticing axeman Gábor Berdár to rip a few little solos into the night air. Keyboardist Endre Balla keeps it all highly symphonic, using a variety of synths to color the sonic sky while drummer Péter Szula keeps it all so very tight. The arrangement takes many subtle redirections, always within the spirit of the piece's main theme, evolving naturally like a blooming flower, always captivating. The bass solo half way in is spectacular, displaying some solid technique and brilliant digital dexterity, a clear highlight that should not be missed. The playing can go from soft to harsh rather rapidly, keeping the dynamic meter always on edge, with chunky guitar passages, spirited synth runs and flute delicacies. This is utterly delightful, especially after repeated listens.

A quartet of shorter tracks gives this package some pace, displaying the typical Solaris rumble ("Protuberance") where the electric guitar trades barbs with the fleet flute. Berdár unleashes a monstrous solo that has a very original sound and technique. "Overture" is the third track (having fun, guys?) and has a heavier feel that is most welcome, leaden axe riffs blasting nicely until the flute enters seductively calming things down, very slick indeed. Another flirty solo from Berdár kills this one off lovingly. "Duet" has only the magical flute and Balla's piano to engage the listener, a playful, jazzy etude that has imagination and essence within its short life span. Finally, "Surf Menten" proposes another highlight, brisk synths announcing the cascading torrent of riffs meeting beats and thus creating a raucous feel that keeps the blood pumping. Another very Solaris-like comp.

Their version of the classic King Crimson masterpiece "Epitaph" is close to respecting the original but with slightly more operatic vocals from guest lung Zoltán Kiss and only proves once and for all, the 1969's song infinite universality. This is a rather brilliant homage and a definite show stopper.

"Tower Bridge" has, of course a very British feel, not unlike a piece from Nick Magnus' latest albums (a rather fair comparison throughout, BTW), a rolling, loopy bass anchors a dizzyingly repetitive keyboard theme, the flute flaunting its merits and some more guitar raunch to boot. Things are ratcheted up quite a bit as we go deeper into the track with some wild playing by all concerned, while still respecting the main theme. Slick indeed.

The all-too brief "Hommage to Solaris band" is jazzy piano insanity with excellent technique from Balla , who obviously knows his craft , hopefully more piano from him in the future. This is a keeper, big time.

The disc closes off on a brief revisit of the amazing opener, a 3 minute radio edit that speaks volumes about the entire listening experience and consolidates this ebut as an absolute winner.

Obviously fans of Solaris, Nick Magnus, Steve Hackett and Camel will be interested in this recording and should hunt it down, as it contains some enjoyable music that spans various influences and yet still provides a beacon of hope for the future of prog in general. I really enjoyed this the second time around and will revisit Tompox many more times.

4.5 Magyar diversities

Following hints from Progarchives and other reputable sources, I thought I'd take a closer look at the music from Eastern Europe, along with other exciting up-and-coming places. That's how Tompox caught my eye.

Hungarian Eclectic is by no means a terrible album, but I don't know if there exists any reason for listening to it more than once (never mind buying it). I haven't been able to detect any unique signature, any notable hallmark that would set Tompox folks apart from the great multitude of reasonably competent bands, working the club scene in thousands of modern cities.

Whereas Hungarian Eclectic is free from crude errors, there is one flaw I should mention. The reviewer before me lamented that a great tune, Hom(m)age to Solaris Band was too short. How about the first track that is as long as Close to the Edge or Anesthetize, but sounds more like a protracted improvisation on a less-than-remarkable sequence of chords.

I anticipate rotten tomatoes may be thrown at me, but on occasion or two the music almost slipped into what I would pigeon-hole as Eurotechno electronic stuff.

Yes, there are some pretty solid solos, but for me this album wasn't in any way an experience, comparable to listening to the 'classic' prog as in KC, Yes, The Tree, Tull, Rush or ELP.

Another highlight is the very lengthy 'Monumentum Valley pts. 1-2', a 17:43 instrumental with lots of atmospheric synth beauty, a rhythmic feel, nice flute, and some heavy guitar. The prog time sig changes with odd meters, and the track features lengthy guitar solos, spacey synths, and dynamic chord changes with shifting rhythms. The lead break 4 minutes in is joined by melodic keyboards. At 5 minutes a chiming choral voice synth sound is heard and a wonderful flute solo joins over a jangly guitar and then even more flute. After 10 minutes a new time sig locks in with a faster tempo as flute and swirling synths decorate the soundscape. There is a massive flute presence with mesmirising quality playing. The bass solo at 12 minutes in is very well executed, then synths join with spacey textures. Towards the end there is a dynamic killer lead break as heavy and fast as the guitar can get for the band. The crunching riff brings in a new time sig, then synths and flute join in. It finishes with a majestic synth and flute trade off and one final melodic keyboard run to complete this excellent instrumental.

Another highlight is 'Surf Menten' which is instrumental exuberance employing fast rhythms and a truckload of flute soloing throughout. There are great guitar rhythmic riffs, and a rock driving beat. The whole album is like this and has some amazing symphonic passages.

There is also a Solaris cover tune called 'Hommage to Solaris Band' but it is only about 2 minutes long, which is a shame as it sounds terrific. 'Tower Bridge' is more like it at 7:12, with chiming synths and a repetitive figure over rhythmic guitars and drumming. The track is definitely concentric on keyboards, and flute. There are passages of beauty in this very relaxing instrumental, based on symphonic textures. The lead guitar comes in eventually reminding me of the music of Camel.

It closes with a reprise of 'Monumentum Valley pt. 1', which is actually a radio edit clocking 3:14. Overall this is a decent reverent attempt to rekindle the musical style of Solaris. It is relatively symphonic and features some very good music led by the legend of Solaris. Not as good as Solaris unsurprisingly but still a satisfactory album with some beautiful flute and guitar musicianship.