photos — was planned. The band finally signed with the Rock Symphony label, which made the best offer. The tracks were taken from their previous CDs released by Musea Records, but there are also the new tracks "América do Sul," "ProgJazz," and "Toccata." There is also a memorable track called "Clássicos," which features rock versions of songs by Grieg ("In the Hall of the Mountain King"), Beethoven ("Symphony No. 9"), Bach ("Minuet From the Notebook of Ana Magdalena Bach"), Mozart ("Rondo Alla Turca, From Sonata in A"), and Tchaikovsky.
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(César Lanzarini)
evolution: operatic vocal counterpoints, more elaborated arrangements, better-resolved themes, and more emotion. This features six songs, longer and again with Portuguese lyrics with spiritual themes such as life after death and reincarnation; the new theme of ecology is allied with the energy and lyricism of the quartet. The result is complex music (of course, you must expect no comparisons to King Crimson, for example) and rich, melodic tunes. Aurora dos Sonhos opened the doors for a new audience from new countries, especially in the Orient (Japan and Korea).
(César Lanzarini)
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AURORA DOS SONHOS
The expectation of a second CD after the big success of Perto do Amanhecer in Europe was enough to stress out the entire band. Not abandoning their modern neo-prog essence, the band preferred an approximation of the '70s' school of progressive rock, and with this Apocalypse achieved an
the band´s new approach, with the special addition of Gustavo´s flute in songs like “Refuge” and “Tears”. In September 2005, Apocalypse is invited to another festival in Rio, this time the Rock Symphony For The Record festival at the Teatro Municipal de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. The band´s concert, on September 8th, was taped for posterity and is presented here in this DVD and CD, released by the Rock Symphony label together with their old friends from Musea.
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DVD LIVE IN RIO
Singer Gustavo Demarchi and bass player Magoo Wise are invited to join the band. Apocalypse takes on a new project: to record some of their old hits in English and also to start writing in the new language. There´s a very positive feedback from both public and media to
REFÚGIO
Refugio" (2003) includes nine tracks (Plus two bonus tracks) and a fantastic booklet with photos, lyrics and information about the band. More than the usual quality Progressive rock with symphonic influences, it delivers us those forgotten feelings like peace, love and compassion.
LIVE IN USA
When Apocalypse accepted an invitation to play in the U.S.A., a live CD was thought of for the first time. And after the tapes with the live recordings of their gig at ProgDay 99 in North Carolina were received, a double-live CD — including a multimedia track with the band's history, discography, video clips, and
with the kind permission of Musea Records, took the best of their three works released by the French label and the CD was released on the Brazilian market. Actually, the best of Apocalypse is present in this CD. If you do not know anything about this neo-progressive Brazilian band, this CD is certainly a good start. (Cesar Lanzarini)
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THE BEST OF APOCALYPSE
After they played at Planeta Atlântida, the biggest music festival in the south of Brazil, with other Brazilian rock and popular artists such as Tim Maia, Rita Lee, J. Quest, and Titãs, the Atração Fonográfica record label made an offer for Apocalypse to release a compilation. Apocalypse,
PERTO DO AMANHECER
Perto do Amanhecer, the first work of a Brazilian progressive rock band released by a foreign record company, is basically a work of symphonic prog rock with strong influences of '80s neo-progressive British bands such as Marillion and IQ. Keyboardist Eloy Fritsch has the same style as Rick
Wakeman and Mark Kelly, and his miniMoog solos and analog timbres are present on all tracks of this CD. Some classical moments (e.g., the intro of the instrumental track "Fantasia Mística") and even hard rock (on the tracks "Magia" and "Terra Azul") contribute to the diversity of the album, the biggest characteristic of this work. After all, the vibrance — illustrated by the constant changes in rhythm, hard guitar chords, a duel between the acoustic guitar and miniMoog (on the instrumental "Nascente"), and the well-played keyboards.
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(César Lanzarini)
LENDAS ENCANTADAS
This CD is almost a reissue of their first work (available in LP format only, titled Apocalypse). The difference is that one track was completely re-recorded ("Sozinho, Perdido Dentro de Mim") and the other six tracks were remastered and added to this CD. Three bonus tracks recorded in
1992-1993 were also added. Again, the music is basically in the neo-progressive style, but now with more of a vocal presence from Chico Casara and harmonies from the other bandmembers. A highlight is the constant duel of keyboards and drums. You can note some similarities to IQ and Pendragon, and also a Pink Floyd influence on the track "Levando a Vida," but the album is original enough. It is also important to mention the artwork of the booklet, which carries listeners on a journey to a land of elves and fairy tales. Again, all the lyrics are in Portuguese.
(César Lanzarini)
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Record Company. The DVD starts with Floydian inspired guitar work but then it’s early Marillion and Genesis as the main source of inspiration, especially the English vocals are mighty close to Fish his distinctive vocals like in the songs Cut and Tears. The tracks are very keyboard-oriented but there is space to all members show their skills. The extra’s on the DVD are backstage shots, interview, photo gallery, biography and finally a discography with mp3 samples.
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DVD LIVE IN RIO
In September 2005, Apocalypse is invited to another festival in Rio, this time the Rock Symphony For The Record Festival at the Teatro Municipal de Niterói, Rio de Janeiro. The band´s concert, on September 8th, was released in DVD through Rock Symphony label together with Musea
