My original review from Audion #49...SYRINX - REIFICATION (Aeon 01) CD 55mImmediately this CD caught my attention as something a little special, a progressive rock album in the classic tradition, but brought up to date in the manner of Änglagård, Sinkadus or Landberk. So I began to check the cover to see if they were Swedish. No, they're French, and there are telltale clues, notably at 9 minutes into the first track the mood turns quite Pulsar-like. The cover rather enigmatically includes no specific details about the musicians, where they come from, etc., just lots of mysterious texts that describe the ideas for the different tracks. ...The five tracks each have a different focus, Reification itself opens the album in a very classical mood, which gets very dramatic and then spacey, with synths and flutey keyboards to the fore of its richly crafted near-on 17 minutes. This has notable shades of Änglagård and also reminds a little of the Canadian band Pangée. The shorter Emanescence leans a little towards some early King Crimson with it Mellotron type textures against multiple guitars. Le Vingtieme Cercle has all the complexities of an early Genesis classic, and is quite dynamic, with some wonderful flute during its central majestic lull. Orbis Ubique amounts to the albums second longest opus at 14 minutes is much more a potpourri of styles than any other track, and certainly befits their description of "metamorphic music" so much so that it even feels a little bit Spanish at one point. The final L'Hypostase Des Archontes sees the music head towards NeBeLNeST territory, with more than a little nod to Univers Zero, but all done in the unique Syrinx fashion, and again with some well-placed Mellotron textures.In all, this amounts to one of the finest new prog albums I've heard in a while, and an original twist on known styles, with a lot of new things thrown in. Remarkably I didn't notice the absence of an electric guitar until it was pointed out to me...