During
the 80s Pallas were one of the bands
of quality involved in the Neo Progressive
movement, with Marillion, Pendragon
and IQ as their fellow-travelers.
Their first two albums in 1984 and
1986 were followed by a time gap
of 13 years, before their comeback
with renew enthusiasm in 1998. From
neo prog to symphonic prog their
music is full of melodic energy and
high-leveled musicianship. In fact,
their debut "Sentinel" is
considered by many to be a true classic,
although none of their other releases
is less than remarkable.
At the same day, Katowice housed
three events: Oliver Wakeman, Pallas
and Caamora. Yes I know... Who
are these Polacks and what do they
know about real music? Here in
Greece we are more than happy with
Shakira, 50cent and many other
Crap (with capital C) "artists."
Anyway, back to the subject. That
night Pallas were in form and through
a 12 songs offer managed to show
how in love they are with their
music. The set list includes tracks
from all their albums with the
exception of "The Wedge", and it
totally defines their sound.
Either through guitar power ("Warriors"),
prog metal ("Invincible"),
new age ("Northern Star"),
AOR ("Hide & Seek"),
blasts of 80s synths ("Cut +
Run") or the Saga-like finale
("Arrive Alive"), this
live is very pleasant and mostly energetic.
Undoubtedly, there are 4 highlights,
such as "Ghostdancers", "Midas
Touch", which is epic and varied
yet accessible, the atmospheric "Fragments
Of Sun" in which the theatricality
of Alan Reed shines through, plus the
unhoped-for present of "Queen
Of The Deep", a track that starts
with an eerie keys intro to continue
with some hard rock riffs, in order
to reach its completion through a Gilmour
inspired guitar solo by Niall Mathewson,
while Alan Reed is ranting his lines.
Moreover, DVD also includes: bonus
videos (tales from the Tour bus, the
rehearsal tapes, an interview with
Graeme Murray & Alan Reed, biography,
discography, photo gallery, and desktop
images. You can also purchase it
in a DVD/CD multipack edition.
To
summarize, this is your chance to
meet a distinctive neo prog band
from the Highlands, a band full of
soul and devotion to its music. Recommended. |
