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There is justice for those who persist with
purity of vision. That’s the credo of *Age of Nemesis*, possibly
one of the most musically satisfying bands to have emerged in the
progressive metal genre. T. Bruce Wittet |
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Here’s something you
don’t get to see very often. Age Of Nemesis is progressive metal
band from Hungary. I wasn’t sure what to expect since a lot
of bands from that part of the world who choose to do English speaking
albums tend to be hard to understand through a thick accent. This
was obviously a concern of the band but Age Of Nemesis cuts right
through this dilemma. Zoltan Kiss sings as though English is his first
language. This, of course, allowed me to kick back and enjoy this
CD, as progressive metal is my favorite genre of music. The first six compositions on Psychogeist tell a tale of a boy and what appears to be his doppelganger. I won’t spoil the fun for those that don’t like to know what happens before listening to it on their own. I will admit that I will have to give it a few more listens, as I was far too impressed with the musicianship to get the entire story line during my first few hearings. My only disappointment here is the lack of printed lyrics in the packaging. Nonetheless, this CD will get listened to quite a bit. Also, if you pop the disc into your pc, you’ll find a very well done video of the opening track, Fate’s Door. This is a great progressive metal band that we will be hearing a lot more from in the future. Psychogeist was originally released in Hungarian in 2002 and from my understanding they will be releasing another one of their previously recorded albums in English as well as an instrumental CD on the Magna Carte label. I highly recommend Age Of Nemesis – Psychogeist to any huge fan of progressive metal. It’s well worth the purchase price. |
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Die Meinung des Rock
Hard: |
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Fans of Angra, Dream Theater, Symphony X, old school Genesis and
Fates Warning, et al., take note. From the land of Hungary comes a
new Prog Metal band worthy of comparison, Age Of Nemesis. Their CD
Psychogeist (Magna Carta Records) will officially put the country
of Hungary on the Metal map. Age Of Nemesis states Iron Maiden, Rainbow,
Dream Theater, Deep Purple and Keith Emerson as their main influences.
And these influences are easily heard through out this CD. |
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It has seemed lately that pretty much all that’s
being released these days is a steady stream of metalcore and chaotic
metal. I’m not complaining, but it has gotten a bit tiring to
listen to those stylistically limited genres over and over in such
a limited period of time. Out of nowhere came a preview copy of Age
Of Nemesis’ “Psychogeist” in my mailbox. Then I
saw all I needed to see – Age Of Nemesis is a progressive band
from Hungary. I was happy about the band being progressive and thrilled
the band was from another country besides the United States. |
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There are only a handful of bands lately
that bring the progressive metal genre back to its roots (kind of
an odd term to use for this type of music). These are the roots that
encompass the feeling of albums such as Images And Words And Parallels;
expounding upon the idea of technical melodies and a hard driving
guitar crunch. But when you think about it, that terminology almost
sounds simple, for music like this is anything but. When you consider
the music that Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Queensryche began,
many of their contemporaries have pushed the musical envelope into
areas of experimentation that go beyond what many of us music prog-metalers
can enjoy. After all, music is art and expression, but sometimes you
yearn for something a little more down to earth, or in this case,
sort of classic sounding. REVIEW BY TOMMY HASH, COPYRIGHT 2005 |
Hungarian heavy metal prog band Age Of Nemesis has released a new album in English, their fifth after 4 in native language and this is titled Psychogeist. While listening to it, I was rather...ahem.....bored. Not that these guys didn’t deliver, it’s just that (Hungarian or not) I’ve heard it all before and it is for me, like treading into a new forest, but still knowing where all the trees are. Sorry guys, I gather you worked hard on this album and its fine. But with my knowledge to prog music (and heavy
metal prog) there really are no new grounds explored here! I think
you are great musicians and the truth just might lie My favourite track is # 4 “Mommys crying” with its soothing intro leading into some powerful theme. There are some great time signature breaks and some fine vocal trimmings. Still, don’t let me scare you from doing what you do best. Keep up the good work and work on new and different approaches...then you’ll get there...eventually! So I’ll leave you with these lines and a : Go for it...to Age Of Nemesis! Looking forward to hearing your next album. Kind regards, |
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A band sporting not one, but two Zoltans (and a Gyorgy and a Laszlo to boot) might make you think you're gonna be in for an eastern European knockoff of progressive metal better suited for the expensive studio budgets of the First World. And to be sure, there are places where AGE OF NEMESIS comes across as a little, well, threadbare. The production is clean and crisp, but a bit thin, and vocalist Zoltan Kiss hits the occasional bunk note that might have been Pro-Tooled into submission, had "Psychogeist" been recorded in the States. But within a minute or two, prog-heads will stop noticing these minor distractions, as the impressive songwriting and playing on "Psychogeist" unfold. An ambitious quasi-concept album, "Psychogeist" hits like early DREAM THEATER without their tendency at the time for soggy AOR balladry – the guitarwork is particularly Petrucci-an. There's an epic scope to the songwriting here that recalls the most expansive stretches of the latter-day FATES WARNING catalog, as well as the occasional nod to early 80's RUSH. AGE OF NEMESIS are quite adept at mixing technical prog touches into the songs without turning them into faceless gymnastics exercises — indeed, they have more personality on display here than a host of second- and third-tier prog-metal acts! Once the "Psychogeist story" is over (including a slamming and surprisingly thrashy title track), "Goddess Nemesis" kicks in. It's an exuberant, fun instrumental that should endear anyone with a pulse to AGE OF NEMESIS, prog-geek or not. This is progressive metal that doesn't forget to rock, and it sounds like it was created by human beings having a great time in the studio. And check out "Eye of the Snake", with its pseudo-Egyptian flourishes slithering out of MERCYFUL FATE's tomb before building into a FATES WARNING-style soaring chorus. "Abraxas" is arguably the peak out of many high points; nearly eight minutes of moody, suspenseful and urgent music with more peaks and valleys than many album sides. The aforementioned thin production, and some (perhaps deliberately?) outdated keyboard sound choices, will turn some people off to this band — but don't be that superficial, please. This band deserves nothing less than the full support and accolades of the ProgPower set, plain and simple. Any of you who involuntarily drool when new EVERGREY or SYMPHONY X product hits the racks, you've just received your marching orders — AGE OF NEMESIS, on their fifth album, should next in that line of succession on the international stage. Make it happen.
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Age of Nemesis are Hungarians and they
take their progressive metal quite seriously. This must be one of
the few bands I 've ever heard of that hails from that country - so
that fact alone - made me a bit skeptical. I was very happy to see
- that AON - easily dispelled my fears - by offering a keyboard heavy
blend of Technical Prog metal much in the vein of Evergrey and Superior
(Are they still around ?) with everslight tinges of Rush. Reviewer: Dimitrios Fatouros. |
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Right, thinking hats on, kiddies, for
this, latest, release from the Hungarian progressive metal band, formerly
known as Nemesis, is a bit of a brain whirler. |
Hungary’s Age of Nemesis makes their debut for progressive music’s leading label, Magna Carta. The band chooses the heavier side of progressive music as their platform, though still utilizing the strong, soaring vocals and unique musicianship that are the staples of the genre. Age of Nemesis have a bit more groove than we are used to hearing in heavy progressive music. In that respect artists like Fates Warning, and to a lesser degree Kansas, almost immediately come to mind when listening to “Psychogeist.” The first six tracks of this album tell the “Psychogeist” story and then it is followed by 3 other tracks and two instrumental ones. Obviously the story is the focus here but it seems to lack in that department. The songs are fine but they never really reach out and grab you and demand your attention, as a result the story never really reveals itself in any sort meaningful way in my opinion. Actually, one of the non-story tracks is the main highlight (“Karma”). This was a hard review to write because there
is nothing particularly bad about Age of Nemesis, everything just
sort of gets lost in the clichés of progressive music and because
of that you don’t find yourself as impressed as you’re
expecting to be. I do like the heavier approach the band takes and
the instrumentals prove they can play their instruments quite well-
it’s just lacking that special something that makes you want
to come back. Reviewed by: Mark Fisher |
New record label, slightly different
name, same musical direction. Age of Nemesis is back with their second
"English" album; their first one "Eden?" was released
under the name Nemesis on the Sensory label back in 2002. |
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Age of Nemesis are a Hungarian progressive
metal band who blend the technical appeal of bands like Superior,
Evergrey, and Symphony X and the classic progressive rock melodies
and hooks of Rush, Spock’s Beard, and Yes. The album, Psychogeist,
creates a sound that borders on being generic progressive metal and
original progressive rock. The heavier sections on the album sound
a little generic and cheesy, especially with some of the keyboard
tones. There will be times where there is a nice chunky riff that
is just ruined by unnecessary keyboard hits or sounds. I prefer the
sections on the album that aren't "heavy". I try to use
the word heavy lightly because none of the album is really that heavy.
The less heavy sections on the album seem to be the more original
and tasteful sections of the album. I will say that even though there
are some cheesy moments all of the songs are real well written and
the melodies for the most part are real solid. Some of the guitar
playing reminds me of Images and Words Petrucci. |
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