FROM THE DAYS OF DEUCALION - CHAPTER 2

While I do not quite agree with those reviewers willing to vault this album into the echelons of prog Valhalla, I do not think it a wasted listen. Melodies and good musicianship abound. Some of the "tricks" are familiar but still manage to feel fresh enough to be enjoyable without sounding too redundant (though there were a lot of times that I found myself thinking to myself, "This sounds so much like Unitopia"). Still, there is a lot of derivative and cliched musical gimmicks, the sound mixing is not great, the singer's pitch is suspect, and the individual songs' musical foundations are often quite simple. Also, I can't help but find it sad that "...nothing but a fart in a windstorm..." plays a significant role in the lyrics of the chorus of a song here (2. "Amathia" [Homo Ignoramus]" [4:50]). The lyricist is obviously mad at the stupidity of humans--whose choices have propelled its species onto a course of extermination. Usually I love messages like this. But this one is served up in a bit too much syrup and cake.

Best songs: the instrumental 3. "Taurus Appearance" (7:28) (9/10) and 4. "Phaeton" (7:30) (8/10)

Overall, this is a competent if inconsistent representation of Neo Prog. Not nearly up to the impact of 2015 releases from bands like Sylvan, Mystery, Fetish, Perfect Beings, or even, Barock Project or Comedy of Errors, but decent.