Short Reviews [Forbidden Myth - 2024 - "Zantea Chronicles. The Nightmare Awakens"]

In 2024, Antonis Adelfidis (acoustic and electric pianos, Hammond organ, combo organs, Mellotron, Hohner clavinet, digital & analogue synthesizers, Rheem Kee bass) returned to the world of Zantea. Again we have no bass or guitars, and George Katsanos (acoustic piano, Minimoog, theremin, tape effects) and The Swede (drums) are back on board, this time joined by Bob Katsionis (synth solo on "The Screaming Paradise"), Nikos Tzouannis (acoustic piano solo on "The Sword of Doom") and Apostolis Tsiolis (synth solo on "Take a Sip!"). Three singers return to reprise their roles from the debut album, George Katsanos (Ovaris), Moss "The Boss" Kordakis (Vosar) and Dimitra Preari (Nantou), while Irini Tiniakou takes on a new role, and in total there are nine singers involved this time instead of eight. Although this is a direct continuation from the debut, with a similar style and approach, there is no doubt that this is a major step forward in all areas. The cover art is far more polished and aligned with music of this quality, and the same goes for the production and performances contained within. There is an improved use of space, the bass has been pulled back slightly in the mix, and overall this is a very different album indeed. With the debut the attention is drawn mostly to the novelty of having multiple layers of keyboards and less on the actual music, yet here it is a very different approach indeed. When the keyboards crunch, they really do, and there is never the feeling of something being missing, something which was far more prevalent with the debut. This is a very different approach to progressive rock than we normally hear, and given the change between the two releases it will be fascinating to see what we get when Antonis next takes us to Zantea.