Synthagma is a new progressive rock act from Germany. The four band members live around Leichlingen - closely situated to Cologne. In the press info of their debut album Radical Animal you can read that they write their own compositions in the tradition of the legendary 70s bands like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis or Ekseption. First some historical facts before we take a deeper look at the songs separately. The foundation of the band goes back to late 2021. It was in the middle of the pandemic when drummer Thomas Kohls (ex-Trespass) and keyboard player Robert "Ropp" Köhler (Castle Mountain Moon, ex-Kampai, ex-Emarald-Edge) met again after some years. You have to know that both musicians have a long history together. They were founding members of the progressive rock band Inquire back in 1996. A band which recorded 4 studio albums. They split up in 2003. Although not permanently. A brief reunion followed in 2009. The two musicians stayed in touch and decided to form a new band and to search for suitable band members. In 2023 they found guitarist Roland Eichler and started intensive rehearsals. One year later bass player Thomas Bruhns joined and completed the band. I asked Ropp how they came up with this strange band name. He told me that the name Synthagma comes from the Greek word σύνταγμα (sýntagma), which can mean "arrangement", "composition" or "structure". This etymology reflects the idea of an organised, deliberate creation with carefully crafted and meaningful structures. The name is also intended to epitomise the idea of bringing together different elements into a coherent whole. It is intended to emphasise harmony, intentionality and depth and to show our work is not random or arbitrary. I also asked him if the album is a concept album. But he mentioned that the album is not a concept album in the conventional sense, even though all the song titles confront the listener with the question of who or what a Radical Animal is. Is there even such a thing? Or does it only exist in mythology? Or is it ultimately the human being who is the 'Radical Animal'? With all this additional extra information it is finally time to go deeper into this album! The album opens with Radical Animal Pt.1. You can hear right from the start some impressive Church organ parts combined with strong guitar parts and monks' chants. Follow up Fenris is the first single taken from the album. You'll have to know that in Norse mythology, the Fenris wolf represents an initially harmless animal that grew larger and stronger day by day. Until finally, the gods themselves felt threatened by it. Whereupon the monster could be bound, but not without one of the gods losing his right hand. The song opens with strong sequencer parts. Nice organ and synthesizer parts can be heard as well next to some excellent guitar parts. The song ends with a fantastic climax on the guitar, synthesizer and Mellotron. Thinking about Steve Hackett and Genesis. Next up is Sound Of A Cat's Footstep which starts with some excellent organ parts. The synthesizer joins in and plays some beautiful parts on this instrument. As soon as the sound of the Mellotron can be heard the song becomes more bombastic. The guitar sound is also perfect and seems to be played on a E-bow sometimes. We continue with Power. This is the only track with vocals done by Eichler. The song has many musical moods. It starts mellow and you can enjoy beautiful Mellotron flute parts. Followed by some more up tempo parts which includes the organ, Mellotron but also a bit of weird guitar parts. This part of the song might sound a bit chaotic for some listeners. Before we get to the final track on the album there is Radical Animal Pt.2 to enjoy. With a total time of 14 minutes the longest track on the album. Again with some excellent guitar and Mellotron parts. Sometimes the bass is upfront on this piece of music. Certainly one of the musical highlights on this album. The albums ends with Epilog. On this piece of music the band goes back to the start of the album with again some Church organ parts and the sound of monks singing. Guitars and synthesizers are included as well. Radical Animal is a strong debut album made by a band which has all the potential to achieve even stronger goals. Therefore I am really looking forward to their next steps on the progressive rock ladder. And they were right in saying:" We write our own compositions in the tradition of the legendary 70s bands like Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis or Ekseption". So well done Synthagma!!! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
