Ulysses - Symbioses

Year of Release: 2003
Label: Eclectic Productions
Catalog Number: ECL001
Format: CD
Total Time: 57:21:00

A quick search through the Internet brought me to the conclusion that there are quite a number of prog bands in The Netherlands, of which most of them are fairly unknown. Ulysses is one of these bands. They released their debut mini CD, called Eclectic, about two years ago, and showed they had a lot of talent. Now they have released their first full length album, Symbioses, as a successor. With this release they have shown improvement and growth in both play and song-writing.

Symbioses is a symphonic album with several metal touches, evident in the heavy riffs and powerful drums, but also with atmospheric keyboard and piano parts. The vocals may not be to everyone's taste, but in the heavy songs singer Raymond Jansen sounds quite good, although in the ballads his voice is not that great, although he sings very passionately. The songs "World Of Confusion" (9:04), "Unspoken Words" (15:33) and "A Moment Of Insanity" (10:20) show what they stand for: solid compositions, with beautiful keyboard / piano arrangements, power guitar riffs, with great solos and a steady rhythm section and several breaks and changes of pace in the songs. A nice touch in the ballad "Watching Over You" is the cello, which adds to the atmosphere of the song. The highlight of the album is the compelling "Hero For One Day," where the passionate vocals fit nicely and has some strong guitar parts, including a fantastic solo.

Ulysses kept everything in their own hands, composing, recording and the layout of the booklet, and they have done a good job. Symbioses is a very good album, that will interest fans of both progressive rock and metal, as they have made a nice mix of these genres on their album. Vocals could use some work, but musically, these guys have a lot of talent and have their own style, without any references to other bands, which I think is a pro. Let's hope they continue to grow in the direction they are headed now and we might expect more good albums from this Dutch band.

Similar bands: Vanden Plas

Distributed by Cdistributions

[This review originally appeared July 2003 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]

Tracklisting:
World Of Confusion (9:04) / Disbeliever (6:58) / The Script (4:18) / Hero For One Day (6:38) / Watching Over You (4:03) / Unspoken Words (15:33) / A Moment Of Insanity (10:20)

Musicians:
Raymond Jansen - vocals
Ron Mozer - synths
René Schippers - bass
Ren? Van Haaren - drums
Sylvester Vogelenzang de Jong - guitars

Discography:
Eclectic (2001)
Symbioses (2003)
The Gift Of Tears (2008)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin NL

Added: May 29th 2005
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: www.ulysses-online.nl
Hits: 2537
Language: english