After Crying - Show ($15.99)
Titles are arranged alphabetically with the latest additions highlighted in yellow.
After Crying - Show ($15.99)
After Crying - 6 ($15.99) 
With classical and jazz chops galore, After Crying have shown they can match ELP and King Crimson when they want to. After appearing at two Baja Prog festivals and NEARfest 2001, a lot of fans on this side of the globe realize that this is a world class progressive ensemble, and probably the best band Hungary has produced. Show is not a live album but rather After Crying’s 2003 studio album, their first in six years. It is by far their most forward-looking album, rendering comparisons to earlier prog bands meaningless, even if they still slip in a King Crimson quote. They have a new singer (lyrics in English), though the music remains heavily instrumental. But mainly, After Crying have incorporated modern music technology and styles to an extent that hasn't been done before by a band with prog rock chops like this. It’ll take a while to catch your breath after this 72-minute album, and longer than that to digest it all. Read the DPRP review.
Bootleg Symphony is a 2001 live album recorded at the Academy Of Music in Budapest with a 40-piece symphony orchestra. Why this is called bootleg is unknown as it is quite legit. This may be the best fusion of rock band and symphony orchestra ever!
Live: Struggle for Life is a good place to start for the uninitiated. This 2CD set contains 1999 live recordings plus a 1997 recording of Starless with John Wetton, plus CD-ROM material including mp3’s of additional songs.
After Crying 6 (1997) was their breakthrough album and remains one of their two best studio albums. The 11-minute track Conclusion (A Tribute to Keith Emerson) could be called A Tribute to Pirates.
Overground Music (1990) is their 74-minute debut. Though this isn’t the album to start with, for those who’ve heard later albums, it’s worthwhile to see how it all began. There is a significant classical and chamber music influence here, given the prominent role of cello and viola, as well as the absence of drums on this album. The tonal colors are created mainly by piano, cello, viola, bassoon, trombone, trumpet, and flute. The centerpiece here is Vedres Csaba’s piano work, which is lyrical and beautiful, though a bit sparser than on later albums. The interaction of piano, cello, and brass results in a lot of wonderful counterpoint.
Age of Nemesis - Terra Incognita ($15.99) This is the Hungarian prog-metal band formerly known as Nemesis, who must have run into another band using that name. After two albums sung in Hungarian and released only in Hungary, there were some lineup changes before the band released their third album on the Sensory label, sung in English. Psychogeist (2006) is their fourth, also sung in English, and now on Magna Carta. This is an enhanced CD including a video of the song Fate’s Door. Terra Incognita (2007, digipack) is also an enhanced CD with bonus mp3’s. Age of Nemesis play dark and moody progressive metal with art-rock leanings, laced with heavy riffing and keyboard-driven spaciness that will appeal to fans of Dream Theater, Fates Warning and Symphony X. In other words, all prog-metal fans.
Carpathia Project - same ($15.99)This 1999 release contains excellent rock-oriented fusion in the vein of the Dixie Dregs, Jean-Luc Ponty, Jan Akkerman, and Mathematicians, featuring violin and flute. Or as the CD booklet says, “The style is a mixture of progressive rock, jazz, latin, and ethno, spiced with a bit of metal.”
ColorStar - Komfort ($17.99) 
ColorStar are a psychedelic progressive band in the Korai Öröm, Ozric Tentacles, and Porcupine Tree vein, mixing electronic trends (acid, trip-hop, jungle, rave, whatever) with progressive rock music. They have a full sound with huge grooves and earthshaking bass, using hypnotic rhythms and seductive sequencer patterns overlaid with Middle Eastern-tinged melodies and some English vocals. Both Heavenicetrip! (1998) and Via la Musica (2001) include a CD-ROM track. Komfort (2004, digipack) is not quite as progressive as their first two, with vocals in English on most tracks.
Julius Dobos - Mountain Flying ($15.99)This is a symphonic rock work featuring a large choir, orchestra, and (on one track) the vocals of Márta Sebestyén. Much of this sounds like Vangelis at his most powerful, playing with an orchestra. There is also one track of symphonic Celtic music, and some rock elements that Vangelis never used. If this was a Vangelis album, it would rank among his very best.
D Sound - Balkan ($15.99)On Kisember (2002), the D Sound style seems to be derived primarily from Pink Floyd, but with a heavier guitar sound. In certain tracks, the influence of Mike Oldfield can also be felt. The album is more than half instrumental, with Pink Floydish vocals in Hungarian. All in all, quite an intriguing and novel blend. 57-minutes. Balkan (2005, 61-minutes) is their second CD, and while Kisember was good, this one is great. Here the Mike Oldfield influence is stronger, but the spacey Pink Floyd style is still present, and new symphonic rock elements are introduced. It is mostly instrumental, but what vocals there are are very good, as there are four guest singers adding choir type vocals. Not only another great prog band from Hungary, but one that is unlike any of the other Hungarian bands.
East - Rések a Falon ($17.99)During their early years, East was Hungary’s best symphonic progressive band. Játékok and Hüség are reissues of their first two albums from the early 1980’s; these are their best albums. Rések a Falon (1983) is their third album. It was on this album that they started to move away from symphonic progressive and “modernize” their sound, but as a transitional album, it still has some good progressive rock. See also the Janos Varga Project CDs below.
Róbert Erdész - Meeting Point ($15.99)This is one incredible album from 2000. Róbert Erdész is Solaris’ keyboard player, joined here by Márta Sebestyén, other Solaris members, Janos Varga, and some very talented folk musicians. On the cover, it humbly says Hungarian world music. This is huge, majestic, powerful, symphonic progressive world rock. In this emerging genre, it is significantly different than Paranoise and Azigza; we’d go so far as to say that this is the most sophisticated blending of world music and rock we’ve heard. There are elements of Solaris, especially their Nostradamus album, but the arrangements are more sophisticated, the music more modern, varied and grander in scope. One can hear the influence of Mike Oldfield, Adiemus, Afro Celt Sound System, and of course East European and other folk musics. There are lots of vocals, but they are usually wordless. It is always rhythmic and exciting. Listening to this album after hearing other world music albums is like turning off the TV and going to the cinema. Make that an IMAX movie. Here is an mp3 of the track Israel (5:12).
F&J - Chapter One ($14.99)This is a very good album of electronic prog rock with strong world music elements, primarily samples of Native American singing/chanting. The group is a trio of keyboards, bass, and drums, with additional people helping with the samples. F&J go for a huge sound -- no meditative noodling here. Long tracks of symphonic electronics, pounding percussion, and exotic instrument and vocal samples. Despite a more rock-oriented approach, this will appeal to fans of Deep Forest, Enigma, and their ilk.
Fédra - Dawn ($14.99)2007 CD of progressive-flavored guitar-based rock instrumentals from a Hungarian quartet, somewhat similar to the Janos Varga CDs. There are keyboards in a supporting role; the drums however are programmed.
Folk Iván - Sea of Glass ($16.99) Another impressive band from Hungary. Folk Iván is the name of the bandleader, but on Sea of Glass (2002), this is a quintet playing fusion-tinged, mostly-instrumental progressive rock. One song has male vocals in English, another has beautiful wordless female vocals. The rhythm section owes a debt to modern King Crimson, but the music has a very organic feel, since the lead work is done on soprano sax, violin, and acoustic guitar, with a supporting role for keyboards. The soprano sax playing is very melodic, similar to the way Happy the Man uses it, while songs with violin in the lead sometimes bear a resemblance to The Dixie Dregs. Hungarian folk melodies are sometimes subtly integrated, but that’s as much folk as you’ll find in Folk Iván.
Fugato Orchestra - Neander Variations ($15.99) Fugato Orchestra blend symphony orchestra and rock band, something the Hungarians do particularly well as many of the musicians are products of music conservatories, and Fugato Orchestra are no exception. The orchestral instruments are augmented by drums, bass, and keyboards, plus beautiful female vocals on some tracks. The classical in this classical-rock hybrid is of the romantic variety, light (as opposed to dark) in character, with an early music influence present in several of the pieces. There is a CD-Extra section and it is substantial, including not only 3 videos but 17 more tracks in mp3 format, one of which is a great medley of Vangelis compositions. It would be great to see this band at a festival on this side of the Atlantic, but the large size of the ensemble makes that unlikely. At least we have this CD.
Inkább Holnap - Tomorrow Instead ($15.99) On their 2003 debut, this Hungarian group play instrumental progressive rock with a lineup of guitar, keys, bass and drums, plus two female vocalists on one track. This is 56-minutes of skillfully-arranged and played symphonic prog, melodic and generally upbeat, perhaps more upbeat than we normally associate with East European bands. Yet another great Hungarian prog band -- no one should be surprised by now at the quality of the bands coming from that country.
István Cziglán - Seven Gates of Alhambra ($15.99)Posthumous album of Solaris’ guitarist, completed by the rest of the band after his death. Overall it’s somewhat more peaceful than the Solaris albums, but similar enough to appeal to the same fans. Here is a 3:48 mp3 excerpt from the track Personal Gravity.
Kolinda - Elfelejtett Istenek (Forgotten Gods) ($15.99) 
Kolinda are Hungary’s internationally-renown progressive folk band. They’ve been around since 1975, but more recently they must have listened to Clannad or Capercaillie because this 2000 album, their 10th, sounds a lot like the Eastern European equivalent of Clannad (during their best period). The addition of a rhythm section and vocals has changed their sound and made them much more appealing to prog fans. This has state-of-the-art production and great musicianship.
Korai Öröm - 2005 ($16.99) 
Korai Öröm - 2000 Sound & Vision ($16.99) Korai Öröm are a psychedelic progressive rock band, often sounding like a combination of Ozric Tentacles and Santana’s rhythm section. In particular, their use of percussion is reminiscent of Michael Shrieve. Tribal percussion, pagan flutes, shamanistic trance rock, ambient soundscapes, burning guitar leads, Eastern European folk influences... it’s all in there. Korai Öröm have arguably been producing more interesting music than the Ozrics for some time now.
This is the new digipack edition of 1997. 2000 Sound & Vision (unsealed digipack) contains 48 minutes of music plus three videos. 2001 Sound & Vision (digipack) contains 46 minutes of music plus video of their 2001 tour. Guest musicians from a gypsy folk band further expand their sound.
Reflected (2003, 76-minutes) contains remixes of 18 Korai Öröm tracks by all sorts of people including three band members, with a number of different approaches. These aren’t just techno drum loops with some samples from the original; these are very creative constructions. As the band says, this is really a compilation of the new Hungarian electronic music with some Korai flavor.
Korai Öröm spent more time on 2005 than on any previous album, and it shows; this is arguably their best. As time has gone on, Korai Öröm have become higher-tech and more creative. In addition to their instrumental earth-beat mixture, this CD features female Bulgarian folk and Hungarian jazz singers as well as a sitar player. If you don’t like modern beat-heavy music, then today’s Korai Öröm is probably not for you. But these aren’t simple techno beats; this is rhythmically sophisticated and the mix is highly detailed, and it is played by real musicians. 60 minutes of audio, plus a humorous video clip.
The first mp3 icon links to the band’s MySpace page. The remaining mp3 icons link to a Hungarian download store where you can preview the tracks. Click the headphone icons in the ‘MEGHALLGAT’ column.
Kormorán - A Székelyek Szentje ($15.99)After countless albums, Kormorán have established a rock music based on Hungarian folk music traditions and have served as Hungarian music ambassadors to the rest of the world. Still, we were unprepared for this 2005 album which is the most progressive and epic album we’ve heard from the band. Whereas Kormorán are usually a vocal-heavy band, A Székelyek Szentje is instrumental aside from some wordless female vocals. The fast tempo songs often come close to Solaris, only with stronger folk melodies. Other parts of the album are majestic orchestral rock pieces that could serve as the soundtrack to a suitably epic film. Electric guitar, synths, bass and drums sit alongside violin, flute, something that sounds like a bombarde, and probably other folk instruments. Though nothing sounds too unfamiliar, there is no one else making music like this. A brilliant work.
Kormorán - Istenem magyar volt, szóljon aki látta ($15.99) 
This long-lived ensemble is the premiere Eastern European progressive folk-rock band, who at times sound like the Hungarian Jethro Tull. Folk & Roll (1984) and Hungarian Rhapsody (1988) should also appeal to fans of Celtic folk-rock, with Eastern European folk melodies substituting for Celtic. The 69-minute Istenem magyar volt, szóljon aki látta was recorded in 2001 and 2003 by the current Kormorán lineup. It contains re-recordings of songs from their entire career, selected by the Kormorán Fan Club from over 60 albums, concert recordings, film soundtracks, rock operas, and other rare songs. An excellent overview of their career.
Laren d’Or - War of Angels ($15.99)War of Angels (1997) is powerful symphonic synth music, closer to prog rock than electronics. The intensity level stays fairly high, and there’s plenty of percussion. Imagine a cross between Solaris and Synergy. 61-minutes.
Mindflowers - Improgressive ($15.99) Improgressive, Mindflowers’ 2002 debut, contains extremely good instrumental progressive rock with touches of fusion, including a 22-minute epic composition. The talented quartet of guitar, keys, bass/Stick, and drums play a no-nonsense style that has been done many times before, but rarely as well as on Improgressive. Other instruments are used in spots, notably violin and percussion. 67-minutes.
Musical Witchcraft - III: Psalms & Soundtrack ($15.99)
The first Musical Witchcraft is a 1998 “solo” album from Solaris’ flutist, but it includes the rest of the Solaris members and sounds like a Solaris album, only with more flute. Musical Witchcraft is in most respects a continuation of Solaris, so fans of Solaris will relish these CDs. Here is an mp3 of the track The Dark Middle Ages (5:25).
With Musical Witchcraft II: Utopia (2002), Kollár dropped his name and began calling the band Musical Witchcraft to underscore that this is a band and not a solo project. What distinguishes Utopia from its predecessor is its acoustic tracks, which tend to alternate with the electric tracks. These acoustic tracks often have a medieval or renaissance flavor; they add much needed variety and make this album even more appealing. Here is an mp3 of the track The Tower’s Room Lost in the Fog (4:58).
The third Musical Witchcraft CD Psalms & Soundtrack (2006) is divided between new studio recordings and a concert section. The six main tracks of the concert section are new tracks, followed by two previously released concert bonus tracks. This album has a lighter feel than the others but is full of beautiful melodies. The concert tracks are in fact acoustic. The studio tracks are in the light, slightly jazzy Jethro Tull style exemplified by tracks such as Living in the Past. The concert tracks and some of the studio tracks are Musical Witchcraft’s revisions of old psalms and hymns of the reformed church. The flute is still in the lead, more prominent than ever, but joined on most tracks by violin.
Nostradamus - Testament ($15.99) Nostradamus is the continuation of the band Solaris Fusion (who released only a 9:30 CD-single), who in turn are an offshoot of Solaris, perhaps the most famous Hungarian progressive rock band. Testament (2008, 64-minutes) is the first CD under the Nostradamus name, and it is simple to describe: prog-metal Solaris. It sounds more or less exactly like Solaris with chugga-chugga metal guitar and double-pedal drumming. So if you know Solaris and have heard any one metal record from the past decade, you should be able to imagine what this sounds like. Don’t worry, there are gentler passages where it just sounds like Solaris. The album is instrumental except the last track, which is listed as a bonus and has English vocals.
Payé - Homo Musician ($15.99)An excellent 2004 entry in the progressive world rock category. Payé formed in 2001 when Kormorán keyboardist István Szűts decided to work with György Lőrincz. Szűts plays synth, fiddle, citer (probably a zither), ütőgardon (a violin-shaped wooden percussion instrument), and doromb (jew’s harp), while Lőrincz plays synths with a saxophone controller. Their aim is to make the music of Hungary and Eastern Europe better known through the use of modern musical instruments and electronica, as they paint a very modern background behind the authentic folk tunes. Very cool stuff, a huge sound canvas with complex, high-energy percussion and drum loops.
Random Deeds - Basis of Comparison ($15.99) There is only one comparison to make for Basis of Comparison (2006, 65-minutes) and that is to Pink Floyd, between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall. Random Deeds are a Hungarian progressive quartet singing in English. What more is there to be said? This is a sure bet for Floyd fans. Listen to the audio clips, you’ll see.
Rumblin’ Orchestra - The King’s New Garment ($15.99)Spartacus (1998), the debut by Rumblin’ Orchestra (who could use a better band name), is major-league classical progressive rock, heavily influenced by ELP and predominantly instrumental. The final track is a cover of Keith Emerson’s arrangement of America. With their second album The King’s New Garment (2000), Rumblin’ Orchestra prove they are unmatched at combining rock and orchestral music. Their only weakness here is that some of the tracks are too light and playful and end up sounding like a rock version of some Rodgers and Hammerstein production. (The Enid had a similar problem with their affection for Gershwin.) But with a playing time of 72-minutes, there’s still a whole album’s worth of the serious stuff. Fans of the Craft album should check this out - Rumblin’ Orchestra are even better, if not as consistent.
Solaris - NOAB: Archive 2 ($15.99) 
Solaris - The Martian Chronicles ($19.99)Solaris are Hungary’s well-known instrumental symphonic prog band who use flute extensively, lending comparisons to Jethro Tull of course, but Solaris have their own distinctive style that incorporates Hungarian folk melodies. The Martian Chronicles is the CD reissue of their classic 1983 first album, including two 1995 bonus tracks. Here is an mp3 of the track Martian Chronicles II-III (6:34).
Nostradamus (1999) is their most ambitious and mature work to date. To their familiar style, they’ve added various world music touches and, most significantly, a choir consisting of four guest opera singers. Here is an mp3 of the track The Lion’s Empire (6:41).
Archive 1: Back to the Roots features archival material (mostly live) covering the earliest days of the band (1980). The sound quality is decent and the style heard on The Martian Chronicles was already pretty much in place, so this material will sound familiar to fans of the band.
Subtitled 1980-2005, NOAB is the second in the Solaris Archive series and contains the tracks: NOAB (21:48), Szép, új világ (Brave New World) (3:57), Marrakech (7:44), Toatelle (5:54), Újjászületés (Reborn) (11:09), and Dr. Mabuse ezR szeme (Dr. Mabuse’s Thousand Eyes) (5:31). The most important of these is the title suite. NOAB was one of the core Solaris compositions and should have been the A-side of the first Solaris album. The band picked out short pieces from this concept track for use on The Martian Chronicles and Los Angeles 2026. There was no complete recording of this composition of adequate quality, so the version on this CD was assembled from 11 different concert recordings. It was a huge task for the Solaris members and is one reason why this album took as long as it did to get released. This album does not sound like a collection of leftovers and second-rate tracks. It’s on a par with the rest of Solaris’ work. The sound quality is excellent except for the last track, probably why that one is listed as a bonus. See also the Musical Witchcraft CDs above.
Szkítia - Kétezer éves ének ($15.99)Szkítia play rock infused with Hungarian folk music. Kormorán are the best known proponents of this style, but Szkítia are actually a better rock band than Kormorán are now. Szkítia are equally adept at the rock and folk aspects, and the music on this 2007 CD is lively, energetic, and full of progressive appeal. The biggest challenge to most prog rock fans will be the Hungarian-language vocals, which are in a style you probably aren’t used to hearing, ensemble singing with both female and male vocals. This traditional style is similar to that in Bulgaria in that the singing is often loud and forceful. We really like this stuff, and the Periferic label, responsible for most of the Hungarian progressive rock on CD, obviously does too. 73-minutes. In lieu of audio samples, there are videos here.
Ádám Török & Mini - Nomad of the Winds ($15.99)Ádám Török has been on the Hungarian scene since the early 1970’s, and Mini was his progressive band during the 70’s. They gave many concerts but recorded few albums. This 2001 album of long instrumentals is by far the best work of the band, flute-driven progressive rock with influences of Jethro Tull, Focus, and Solaris. Like Solaris, there is some of the Hungarian folk influence here, but Mini are overall more classically-influenced and symphonic sounding than either Tull or Solaris. The production is first-rate, and so here is another world-class Hungarian progressive band that we can recommend highly.
Townscream - Nagyvárosi Ikonok ($15.99)An inventive 1997 prog rock album from an offshoot of After Crying. The music has some enjoyable vocals (in Hungarian) but is more than half instrumental, dominated by keyboardist Csaba Vedres, who favors piano and a Keith Emerson style and has the chops to match.
TransylMania - El ne add az ősi házat ($15.99) This band is similar to Kormorán, combining rock with Hungarian folk music. TransylMania use a fully-electric rock band lineup (keys, guitar, bass, drums) augmented by flute and pipes (or some instrument with a similar nasal sound) and featuring female and male vocals in a unique singing style. Legyen úgy, mint régen volt (2004, 60-minutes) translates to May It Be As It Was. El ne add az ősi házat (2006) is perhaps even more powerful, with many progressive arrangements. Transylvania is the western part of present-day Romania, where Romanians, Hungarians, and many other ethnic groups live together. Great progressive world rock.
Janos Varga Project - The Wings of Revelation II ($15.99) Janos Varga was formerly the guitarist for the band East. His music has its roots in the mid-1970’s. Apparently East was an instrumental progressive rock band in the 1970’s (their 1st album didn’t appear until the early 1980’s and contained vocals) and for unknown political reasons, their instrumental material was never released. On The Wings of Revelation I (2000), Varga teams with ex-East drummer Istvan Kiraly and After Crying’s synth/piano player Zoltan Lengyel. On The Wings of Revelation II (2002), Varga again teams with Istvan Kiraly, this time with bass/Stick player Peter Hary and keyboardist Szabolcs Nagy. The resulting instrumental music is certainly more guitar-centric than East, a progressive workout with mostly high-energy tracks offset by a couple introspective acoustic tracks. Aside from East, reference points include Camel, Pink Floyd, Dixie Dregs, and a more symphonic Jeff Beck.
Yesterdays - Holdfénykert ($15.99) Yesterdays are a progressive rock band formed by musicians belonging to the ethnic Hungarian minority of western Romania. This is why their female vocalist Jánosi Kinga sings most of the songs in Hungarian, though a few are sung in English, and the song titles and printed lyrics in the booklet are all in English. (Kinga has since left the band, replaced by a new female singer.) The founder of the band, Bogáti-Bokor Ákos, was also guitarist of the band You and I, one of the best Hungarian progressive bands, no longer active. Yesterdays began to attract the attention of prog fans to the west with an appearance at the 2006 ProgFarm festival in The Netherlands. Their debut full-length CD Holdfénykert (Moonlit Garden) was initially released by the band in 2006 before being reissued in this Musea edition in 2008. From the band’s name, you’d be correct to infer a Yes influence, as there was in You and I, and a fleeting quote of a well-known Yes melody confirms that. But the Yes influence is minor, and there is as much influence of Camel, Renaissance, or Genesis. The music is beautiful symphonic prog, generally mellow, perfect for summer days. It is highlighted by female vocals, flute and Mellotron, and much of the guitar work is acoustic. It often brings to mind Magenta, while the liner notes reference Harmonium’s classic Les Cinq Saisons. No metal or avant-garde for miles. Read the DPRP review.
You and I - Exit ($15.99) 
You and I’s third album Exit (2001) is a monumental achievement. After the relatively commercial Go, You and I have made not only their most progressive album but one of the top melodic prog albums of the new millennium. They have a world-class female vocalist in Szomor Fanni Völgyessy, whose voice is comparable to Joanne Hogg of Iona. After Annie Haslam, there isn’t a better female singer in progressive rock today. After two albums with English lyrics, here they revert to their native Hungarian (English translations provided in the booklet), and they’ve now got the vocal/instrumental balance right. As you might surmise from their name, You and I are primarily Yes-influenced, but not overly so. In fact, this is often better than what Yes seems capable of now. For a concept album based on the Tibetan Book of the Dead, this is certainly filled with life energy!
Go (1999), their second, has more song structures and pop stylings than their other albums, but it’s all extremely well done, with some sophisticated vocal multi-tracking. The real reason for prog fans to get this album is the 12-minute Invisible Ties, as fine a piece of Yes-inspired prog rock as any produced in the 1990’s, an absolutely outstanding track. If you hate melody, songwriting, and positive emotions, avoid this CD.
Their self-titled 1995 first album falls between Exit and Go on the progressive spectrum, coming across as more sedate than Exit. It’s a very fine debut; it’s just that the instrumentalists take a back seat to the vocals. Because singer Fanni sings in English with only the slightest of accents, You and I sound like an English prog band on this album. They even include a traditional English song Wedding Day (She Moved Through the Fair).