Search - Amenophis :: Amenophis

An overlooked symphonic progressive masterpiece

K. A. Levine | Stow, MA, USA | 08/25/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If we hadn't stopped listening to progressive rock by 1980, unless it was Pink Floyd or Genesis, we may have heard a lot more from this group that was sunk by poor sales figures. It certainly wasn't for a lack of talent or maturity. This work of sheer beauty is really like 2 albums in one. The first 4 tracks are epic style symphonic prog with decent vocals that work more like one of the instruments. Closest points of comparisons would be fellow Germans Eloy, Ramses or Minotaurus, to go from least to most obscure. Comparisons to the lighter material of dutch proggers Focus or even Australia's Sebastian Hardie are also apt. Guitars are more prominent than in a lot of symphonic rock but the keys are well used too. Several of the melodies are shimmering, especially in the highly emotive song "The Flower", probably the standout track, and the 24 minute opus "The Last Requiem", with its constant shifts of mood that somehow remain loyal to the overall feel of the piece.The last 5 tracks are short instrumental pieces of lead acoustic guitar over a string synth background, sort of proto new age, but beyond that I cannot compare it to anything and do it justice. The link between the two parts can be found in some of the spanish sounding guitar in the CDs opening track. Suffice to say that it is relaxing but not boring or shmaltzy. The band spent some time in France and all of these tunes have French titles.This is an album I can readily recommend to lovers of symphonic progressive. It is a proud exponent of some of the strongest features of progressive rock from Germany while avoiding most of its excesses and deficiencies."

Three-and-a-half stars for more obscure German prog

Squire Jaco | Buffalo, NY USA | 01/12/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I wanted to like this 1983 cd more, and it does tend to grow on you after a while. But this debut cd from Amenophis suffers from a certain lack of originality and technical proficiency that I've come to expect from most of the German bands. It's not an album that displays a lot of "chops", but rather a more dreamy and symphonic atmosphere, perhaps somewhere close to Barclay James Harvest and early Genesis. Vocals are done well with a slight accent. There are certainly some enjoyable moments on the first four songs that comprise the original album (around 44 minutes), especially from guitarist Michael Rossmann. Keyboards are not the highlight of this cd, as they are dubbed in by the other three instrumentalists and take kind of a background role (the exception being the Wakeman-like grand piano playing that begins the cd). The music tends to be a little ponderous at times, though it kicks in a little at the end of both Suntower and Venus, and certainly in sections of the 24-minute epic "The Last Requiem". I don't care much for the 15 minutes of bonus tracks that are mostly classical guitar and string synths. This cd is remastered - it doesn't sound bad, but I suspect the original tapes were not produced at the highest level of technology available at the time.

When the rhythm section is cooking, and Rossmann is wailing on his guitar, one gets a glimpse of the potential that this band might have had. I would have preferred to have heard more of that here on this cd...



I value interesting music that is played and recorded well. This cd's rating was based on:

Music quality = 7.3/10; Performance = 8/10; Production = 8/10; CD length = 9/10.

Overall score weighted on my proprietary scale = 7.8 ("3-1/2 stars")

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