FEATURED CD : After Crying : Megalazottak Es Megszomoritottak

[Duncan Glenday]

Per Gnosis:

Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak (1992)

After Crying's second album, Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak, is a beautiful yet melancholy experience. This Hungarian band combines native influences as well as classical into an intimate chamber sound. The dominance of instruments such as cello, piano and trumpet provide a totally new listening experience for those who view prog simply as a form of rock and roll.

The strength of the band lies in their ability to create hauntingly beautiful yet slightly foreboding atmospheres with quiet passages that lead up to powerful and frenetic crescendos, and then return into calm atmospheric moments. The occasional vocals in Hungarian are sung very smoothly, almost chanting at times, and are used simply to compliment the music, not as the focal point. Minimal drumming helps to move the music along without being obtrusive to the strings and piano.

Tracks of note are the 22 minute opener "A Gadarai Megszállott", with its repeating theme and great cello playing. The action slowly builds throughout the whole piece to the finale, where the trumpet chimes in with a wonderfully intoxicating melody. There are a few parts early on where not much is happening though. The other highlight of the album is the title track, which quickly builds up to the most chaotic part of the album. Powerful drumming is contrasted by flailing cello and stately church organ, which later turns to piano. The second half of the song is much more laid back and atmospheric.

Unfortunately this is the only release by the band done entirely in this style, moving onto a more straight ahead symphonic rock direction with later albums. A personal favorite of mine, this should appeal to fans of classical music, being much closer to the real thing than your typical Emersonian rock bastardization. Any fan of symphonic music should check this out.

http://www.gnosis2000.net/reviews/aftercrying.htm

[progeezer]

This is one of the most powerful chunks of music you will ever hear. Imo the best album by one of the best bands in the world.

[mozo-pg]

This is one of the most powerful chunks of music you will ever hear. Imo the best album by one of the best bands in the world.

Total agreement. If music makes you cry in appreciating the epitome of beauty, M&M qualifies at every insular level. I f##king love this album. Right from the stunning opening notes and throughout this delicate piece of work.

[Pierre]

Essential imho.

[Joe F.]

I'm going to have to spin this again. I picked this up 15 or so years ago and played it a few times back then, but to be honest, it never clicked with me. I almost "weeded" it out of the collection a couple of days ago.

[nosebone]

I'm going to have to spin this again. I picked this up 15 or so years ago and played it a few times back then, but to be honest, it never clicked with me. I almost "weeded" it out of the collection a couple of days ago.

Same here, but damn, that is the best sounding violin I've ever heard on a prog record.

[Bigpicturekeys]

My personal thank to Progeezer for this.....an instant classic for me

[Progbear]

While I took to them immediately when I saw them at their legendary Baja Prog appearance, it took me forever to get into this album! It turned out to be worth the effort but it was one of those cases where I was on the cusp of considering trading it in.

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MIKE (a.k.a. "Progbear")

"You can take the war out of the soldier, but you can't raise that soldier from the dead."
--Shona Laing

N.P.:“Knives Out”-Radiohead/Amnesia

[Hobo Chang Ba]

A winner. Only second to DP in my view. But a damn close second.

[helicase]

Fantastic album, one of the best of the 90s. On the strength of this I bought a few more After Crying albums, but I can't say I enjoyed any of them much.

[Progmatic]

This is one of the most powerful chunks of music you will ever hear. Imo the best album by one of the best bands in the world.

agreed, one of my top albums ever

[mellotron storm]

Beautiful and melancholic just like the cover art. My fav from them followed by their debut.

[nearfest]

This band is at its best here. totally world class. It's not for driving or cleaning the house or listening distracted. Night or a blustery cold bleak afternoon is best.
I like De Profundis and Fold es Eg also, but could do without it when they go into hardcore ELP Pirates mode. There is a little of this on De Profundis and Fold es Eg, and none of it on this record. Unfortunately, there was a LOT of it on 6, which I ditched. I've not bothered with Show or their new one Creatura.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Still my fave AC album. They were a great band, channelling "symphonic" rock in a way no other group actually did during the 90s - particularly in regard to the high degree of musical formality in their approach. Few others would have been able to pull that off without being classified as "avant" by those outside the know.

De Profundis is almost as solid, but suffers a tad from outstaying its point of interesting content. Föld es Eg is very good as well, whilst 6 and Show aren't really to my liking. And they should have kept their mother tongue as tool of verbal delivery.

[nearfest]

. And they should have kept their mother tongue as tool of verbal delivery.

without doubt. Some of the English lyrics and vocals on "6" are utterly cringe worthy. That's why they were ahem... encouraged... to sing mostly in Hungarian when they played at NEARfest 2001. Manager: "But Rob we want audience to understand lyrics" Me, deviously: "It's more important the audience hear the beauty and romance of the sung Magyar language". Manager "OK Rob yes this make good idea. We sing in Hungarian"

[Sturgeon's Lawyer]

Extraordinary. The beauty of this album is not to be missed.

[simon moon]

I have to agree with the majority on this one. A true classic of the 90's, and one of the best post 70's prog releases, period.

I rate De Profundis and Fold es Eg on par.

[raconteur troubadour]

Only have De Profundis - which has one of my favorite songs ever (Stalker), but on the whole that album is wildly inconsistent. Perhaps I should try this one.

[Progmatic]

Only have De Profundis - which has one of my favorite songs ever (Stalker), but on the whole that album is wildly inconsistent. Perhaps I should try this one.

There is also side project album worth getting. Townscream "Nagyvarosi Ikonok" is basically done by the same folks and it is worth every penny (not as good as MeM though)

[Meme Prog Mutation]

I've been looking to buy a CD of this for some time. No one seems to carry it.

Tom

[mozo-pg]

I've been looking to buy a CD of this for some time. No one seems to carry it.

Tom

I checked on Ebay and they have one CD - Struggle for Life - it's excellent. It's only 8 bucks.

[Sputnik]

There is also side project album worth getting. Townscream "Nagyvarosi Ikonok" is basically done by the same folks and it is worth every penny (not as good as MeM though)

I absolutely love the Townscream album, one of my very favorites from the 90s. Sadly, no After Crying album, including M&M ever did anything for me. I certainly read a lot of rave reviews for M&M before I got it, but for me it was just dull. Certainly not saying it's bad, but it just didn't resonate with me at any level. I ditched it ages ago and never looked back.

I tried a couple of others of theirs (Fold es Eg was one, I forgot the other one) and absolutely hated them. I didn't hate M&M, but it just didn't do anything for me. Not sure why I like the Townscream so much and dislike After Crying, but it is what it is.

Bill

[Scrotum Scissor]

Some of the English lyrics and vocals on "6" are utterly cringe worthy. That's why they were ahem... encouraged... to sing mostly in Hungarian when they played at NEARfest 2001. Manager: "But Rob we want audience to understand lyrics" Me, deviously: "It's more important the audience hear the beauty and romance of the sung Magyar language". Manager "OK Rob yes this make good idea. We sing in Hungarian"

And the amateurish impression with poor vox/lyrics is ironically only enhanced and in fact distorted the more professional the rest of the package comes. This is actually a problem with a lot of European progressive bands trying/hoping to "be Anglosaxon". I don't think I'd be even half as enthusiastic about a lot of the progressive music from the cold war Eastern bloc if they'd been allowed to sing in English. I guess it's about the infamous and godawful "authenticity" discourse as well, but still... Stern Meissen's Weisses Gold about "pozelain az wyte az heaven'z ztain" or Plastic People's "Dem polis bastard beat be UP and put my blood ina CUP"? No thanks.

Not that PPU would have chosen to sing in English in the first place; they had artistic as well as political reasons for not to.

[Meme Prog Mutation]

I checked on Ebay and they have one CD - Struggle for Life ...

Thanks, but it's MeM I've been looking for. I have the other 3 of their first 4. I was really smitten by Overground Music and Fold es Eg, less so De Profundis.

Tom

[Bigpicturekeys]

Actually I may be one of the rare listeners who likes Creatura.....they have reverted back to Hungarian language on this.