HUNGARIAN ECLECTIC

Tompox is a Solaris tribute band that decided to make their own music which was a good move on the part of ex-Solaris member Tam's P'cs. Bassist P'cs contributed to much of Solaris' albums and then when the band split he continued on to keep the music of Solaris alive, performing their songs to a plethora of packed venues over the years. P'cs is a visionary and wanted to create his own music and was able to do so admirably, so it was enough to create an album of very competent instrumentals. He was able to rope in Zoltan Kiss to perform the vocals on the King Crimson cover of 'Epitath', one of the highlights of the album.

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.