Search - Osiris :: Myths & Legends

When prog rock becomes a guilty pleasure

K. A. Levine | Stow, MA, USA | 01/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When listening to Myths and Legends, one is naggingly aware that the individual themes may have appeared in their original forms years before the mid 80s release of this album. But from the first note, I was able to throw off those misgivings because this band presents perhaps the most uniform and genuine vision of what accessible prog rock can be. Shockingly, they hail from Bahrain, and are apparently still active. The lyrics and vocals are for the most part simple and do not detract, the melodies are strong, and the musicianship is muscular yet sensitive. The ethnic influence is felt on several of the songs but by and large this could pass as one of the better works of a variety of mid 70s prog or classic rock bands. All the songs and instrumentals are enjoyable, including the bonus track, but I must make particular mention of "Wasted" in which religious and cultural themes seem to be examined with great insight. This is my favorite Osiris album although the debut is great too, as is Beyond Control-Live, which features several songs not found on the studio releases. In my opinion, Reflections is their only album that would merit less than 4 stars."