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