Solaris - Nostradamus: Book of Prophecies (1999)

An excellent album, very intense and symphonic. Solid flute lead work (Kollar Attila is one of the greatest flute players), lots of majestic chorus interventions (singers of Hungarian State Opera) and the strong participation of drums, bass, guitar and -specially- the electronic keyboards, makes "Nostradamus" a must. SOLARIS is one of the few bands where, despite the prominent flute role, the listener doesn't think about JETHRO TULL, because the sound is pretty much symphonic and pompous. This conceptual album about the prophecies of Nostradamus goes on through some dark atmospheres and emotive landscapes, mixtured with powerful and, at the same time, delicated melodies. All tracks are simply highlights, confirming once more the full-quality line and the unique original sound of this superb Hungarian band.

by Marcelo, progarchives

"We have been interested for long in the 'legend of Nostradamus'.
Of course, not necessarily in the way of believing in it. Morover in such a way as a mystical variation to an important question: how far are we linked to the flow of the time? Indeed, are we separated from time by a wall which cannot be crossed over?
This question makes us think because there is no reply.
We have drawn from several sources, put the picture together from several elements, that became the historical basis of the album. We handled our sources without any criticism. As if they were true from the very first word to the very last one, though they contradict not only to each other, but many times also to themselves. We have not studied which of them can stand the truth-value. If a gap was found somewhere, we filled it with our own phantasy. We have weaved further the legend. We have simply imagined the thrilling world of "what would be if…".
We have imagined a monumental, mysterious film. And we composed the music to it. To sequence of pictures that have never existed.
The nine prophetic poems and the "Foreword" are translations we treated freely. Some of them are made of segments of 2-3 quatrains, though, in several cases, they are present elsewhere with Nostradamus and in a different way. He who wants to get an authentic picture on the prophecies by listening to the album will not succeed. We have not followed the historical fidelity. We did not want either to confirm or to deny Nostradamus's prophetic values. We have simply taken up an idea hoping that this pricking uncertainty will touch others too: is our future really a secret?"

1-2-3 Book Of Prophecies:
In the dark of night, in the cellar of his house, Nostradamus was inspired by the visions of the future. According to some sources, he reached the desired spiritual status by using the old ritual techniques. Putting them into the same quatrains, he tried to represent the minute of the birth of the visions as later the visions themselves.
" Fear trembles in the tip of my fingers
I listen to the words of my Lord, in sparkling darkness.
The River of Times opens before me
and I submerge in it, drifted quietly…"

4 The Duel:
This was the duel. The first completed prophecy of Nostradamus.
We have been interested for long in the 'legend of Nostradamus'.
Of course, not necessarily in the way of believing in it. Morover in such a way as a mystical variation to an important question: how far are we linked to the flow of the time? Indeed, are we separated from time by a wall which cannot be crossed over? Is our future really a secret?
This question makes us think because there is no reply."

5 The Lion's Empire - Elisabeth of England
"Three hundred years of the British Lion
is humiliation for Spanish-Portuguese.
Powerful army fights at sea and earth
to be greated by curse from remote regions…"
During the 1550s, when Nostradamus wrote these lines, the famous Spanish Armada ruled the seas. The Portuguese and Spanish colonial empire seemed to be unshakeable.
It is then that Elisabeth I comes to the throne. It will take many years that the prophecy accomplishes and the English fleet destroys the "Great Armada"
1649, beginning of the "Modern Times" greets a powerful English colonial empire.
And exactly within three hundred years, at the closing of the second world war, everything that had been long called the British Empire collapsed….

6 Wings Of The Phoenix

7 1999 - Ship of Darkness:
"The Great King the Terrible is not awake alone -
in the eighth month prior to the year 2000
the Ship of Darkness embarked in bright day
on the most black sky since the birth of Christ".
11-th of August in 1999 - the last day of total eclipse of the millenium. And our land, Hungary's in the heart of this heavenly phenomenon….

8 Wargames

9-10 The Moment of Truth - The Last Poem.
Nostradamus has stayed to himself in his death, too.
The vision of his own death received special emphasis from the conditions of its accomplishment: during the summer of 1791, his grave's devastated. Among his rests, there was a small board. With a date: the date when it will be found.
" When you find me, bended to a bank,
lying by my bed, your heart should not
beat rapidly.
To accomplish my last verse by words,
my burried body will not rest for long -
till July of the two-hundred and twenty fifth year.
But I will not have to do anything with the future, the past.
There will be only one way for me. My way to the Lord…"

11. Book Of Prophecies - Radio Edit

~ Solaris

Solaris Biography

Hungarian progressive rock band Solaris got its start in 1980. The group was formed by István Cziglán (guitar), Róbert Erdész (keys), Attila Kollár (flute), Attila Seres (bass), and Vilmos Tóth (drums). They took their name, and the content of all their songs, from classic science fiction. They released their self-titled debut the same year. Other musicians who have made their way into the Solaris camp at varying times include Csaba Bogdán (guitar), Tamás Pócs (bass), László Gömör (drums), Gábor Kisszabó (bass), and Ferenc Raus (drums). During the course of their career, Solaris has released a number of other albums. Those albums are Marsbéli Krónikák – Martian Chronicles (1984; reissued as Martian Chronicles in Japan in 1989 and also reissued in Hungary under the original title in 1995), Solaris 1990 (1990), Live in Los Angeles (1996), Nostradamus (1999), and Los Angeles 2026 (2000).

by Gary Hill, allmusic

The Hungarian formation SOLARIS was originally founded by some school friends in 1980. The band's name was derived from the title of book by SF writer Stanislaw Lem. After they made impression on a talent contest at The Budai Park for a massive crowd (mainly youth) the band was offered an opportunity to make a record. In '80 SOLARIS released their first single entitled "Rock Hullam" (actually this was a split single, SOLARIS got the B-side). The line-up in the early Eighties was Ferenc Raus (drums), Gabor Kisszabop (bass), Csaba Bogdan (guitars) and the remaining schoolfriends Istvan Cziglan (guitars), Attila Kollar (flute) and Robert Erdesz (keyboards). They released the second single "Eden/Counterpoint" in '81. In '84 SOLARIS released their first album "The Martian Chronicles", it sold almost 40.000 copies. In those days progrock was popular in Hungary: OMEGA had crowds of 100.000 spectators! The classical SOLARIS line-up' between '83 and '85 was Attila Kollar, Istvan Cziglan, Robert Erdesz and newcomers Laszlo Gomor (drums) and Tamas Pocs (bass). In '90 the controlled Hungarian record company was finally willing to release early SOLARIS recordings entitled 1990 (a 2-LP). Then the members of SOLARIS went their own way and joined or founded new bands.

In 1995 SOLARIS was invited as the headliner of the Progfest Festival in Los Angeles by Greg Walker, mastermind behind the USA progrock label-mailorder service Syn-Phonic. He succeeded in persuading the band for a reunion concert (recorded on a 2-CD and partly on a video with other progrock bands ARS NOVA and WHITE WILLOW). The band got a standing ovation by a bunch of real "symphomaniacs"! A year later SOLARIS performed on the Rio Art Rock Festival, organized by the Brasilian "proghead" Leonardo Nahoum. On December 27th 1998 guitarplayer Cziglan died of an incurable illness but he can be heard on the surprising new SOLARIS CD entitled "Nostradamus" ('99), perhaps we will hear more from this marvellous progrock band. The Hungarian label Periferic Records released in 2000 "Back to the Roots - Solaris Archive 1" (a great introduction to the band's history but with a bootleg sound) and the solo-albums "Musical Witchcraft" by Kollar Attila (1998) and "Seven Gates of Alhambra" by the late Istvan Cziglan (1999).

On "The Martian Chronicles" SOLARIS creates a very dynamic and compelling progressive mix of classical and rock music. It's build upon sensational interplay between fiery electric guitar, tasteful keyboards and a powerful flute with lots of changing climates, surprising breaks and bombastic outbursts. Although SOLARIS sound rather unique, elements of JETHRO TULL (flute), MANFRED MANN'S EARTH BAND (Minimoog solos with pitchbend) and Jean Michel JARRE (electronic intro in the first part of the titletrack) can be traced. The 2-LP 1990 contains typical SOLARIS songs: dynamic and propulsive with spectacular synth runs, fiery electric gutiar and beautiful flute-play. Remarkable is the spacy keyboard sound in some songs and the obvious classical influences. The tracks from the mid-period (1986) sound rather accessible: a catchy and often funny combination of classic, pop and rock. But the most impressive composition is their magnus opus "Los Angeles 2026" (almost 24 minutes long): lots of changing climates, bombastic synthesizers, exciting interplay, compelling crescendos and halfway a long and alternating pianosolo. The songs on the live 2-CD "Live in Los Angeles" sound even more powerful and exciting than on the studio-LP's and the bonus material is great: Bonus Game (14 minutes) includes lots of solos on guitar, drums and bass and "Beyond" (12 minutes) is a typical exciting SOLARIS track.

"Nostradamus - Book of Prophecies" is a captivating album in the vein of SOLARIS but with fresh ideas and a modern sound. The titletrack contains outstanding sonic paintings: a howling electric guitar, fat Moog Prodigy runs ("Mark Kelly meets MANFRED MANN"), native North-American indian chants and the Aboriginal didgeridoo. The other songs includes elaborate and dynamic compositions with many changing climates, spectacular breaks, splendid solos and sensational interplay. A "killer-comeback" by SOLARIS!

~ progarchives