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) out-of-stockWith 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.
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 - Heavenicetrip! ($15.99) ColorStar are a psychedelic progressive band in the Korai Öröm, Ozric Tentacles, and early Porcupine Tree vein, mixing electronic trends (acid, trip-hop, jungle, rave, whatever) with progressive rock. 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. Heavenicetrip! (1998) includes a CD-ROM track.
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, 57-minutes), 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. 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 1980s; 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.
Everwood - Without Saving ($13.99) Without Saving (2011) is the third studio album for Everwood, a very melodic Hungarian prog-metal band, and their first on ProgRock Records.
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 - 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.
2000 Sound & Vision (unsealed digipack) contains 48 minutes of music plus three videos. The first mp3 icon above links to the band’s MySpace page. The other mp3 icon links to a Hungarian download store where you can preview the tracks. Click the headphone icons in the ‘MEGHALLGAT’ column.
Kormorán - Hungarian Rhapsody ($15.99) This long-lived ensemble is the premiere Eastern European progressive folk-rock band, who at times sound like the Hungarian Jethro Tull. Hungarian Rhapsody (1988) should also appeal to fans of Celtic folk-rock, with East European folk melodies substituting for Celtic.
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) out-of-stock
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.
Random Deeds - One Round Zero ($15.99) Random Deeds are a Hungarian progressive quartet singing in English whose 2006 debut CD Basis of Comparison was very Pink Floyd influenced (between Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall). One Round Zero (2009, 61-minutes) is their second. Most of the songs still show a strong Pink Floyd influence, but Random Deeds inject more of their own personality and widen their range on this CD. In addition to the songs from this album on the band’s MySpace page (mp3 icon above), there are more on YouTube: Violant Mode, Summer Shower.
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) out-of-stock 
Solaris - The Martian Chronicles ($19.99) out-of-stockSolaris 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.
Tabula Smaragdina - A Szavakon Túl ($15.99) Tabula Smaragdina is the band of Bogáti-Bokor Ákos, founder of the Hungarian/Romanian band Yesterdays and guitarist of the Hungarian band You and I (check below for both). Tabula Smaragdina actually dates to 2002, had a period of intense live activity, but was put on hold due to Bogáti-Bokor’s commitments to those other two bands. Here he assumes the roles of lead singer, guitarist, composer and producer, joined by a keyboardist, bassist and drummer. Both You and I and Yesterdays show a strong Yes influence while maintaining a distinct personality, and that’s also the case with Tabula Smaragdina on A Szavakon Túl (2009). The sound is mostly classic 1970s prog, with vintage keyboard sounds, some Steve Howe-like guitar and Chris Squire-like bass. A female singer with a sweet voice sings lead on one song and backing vocals elsewhere. While there are some more energetic songs than Yesterdays, there are also a lot of dreamy songs floating on Mellotron clouds. The lyrics are in Hungarian, and as is usually the case, the singers sound natural singing in their first language. There will always be listeners who prefer English-language vocals from non-English speaking countries, even though lyrics invariably lose a lot in translation and the English is often accented. Our preference is that music not all sound the same. And after all, the title of this CD translates to ‘Beyond Words’. Read the DPRP review.
TransylMania - Legyen úgy, mint régen volt ($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. 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) out-of-stock Janos Varga was formerly the guitarist for the band East. His music has its roots in the mid-1970s. Apparently East was an instrumental progressive rock band in the 1970s (their 1st album didn’t appear until the early 1980s 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) out-of-stock 
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 1990s, 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).