The Promise (Progressive Promotion Records PPRCD019, 2014)
Germany had excellent progressive rock bands in the 1970s such as Triumvirat, Eloy, Grobschnitt, Hölderlin, Novalis, Ramses, and Schicke Fuhrs & Frohling. In recent years, most of what has been hawked as progressive rock from Germany is really some form or another of unappealing hard rock or heavy metal. Thankfully, Superdrama is here to demonstrate that Germany still produces state of the art progressive rock.
The Promise begins with a rockish piece that has a 1980s Neoprog feel. However, once you get to track 2 and further, Superdrama presents an exciting form of symphonic progressive rock with deep roots in the 1970s. Stylistically, the group sounds like a wonderful mix of Van Der Graaf Generator, IQ and Genesis. Robert Gozon’s vocals stand out because his voice has personality and nuance, much closer to Peter Hammill’s than any other vocalist.
The pieces get into our ears with a mix of poetic drama and exciting instrumental passages where guitars and keyboards deliver outstanding performances. The Promise keeps getting better and better, reaching epic status in classic progressive rock tradition by the end of the album with the title cut ‘The Promise.’
Superdrama was founded in 2004 by Mainz composer, singer and keyboardist Peter Gozon and drummer Robert Stein-Holzheim.
The current lineup features Peter Gozon on vocals and keyboards, Robert Stein-Holzheim on drums, Michael Sommerfeld on guitars, Thomas Klarmann on bass and flute. Thilo Brauß plays organ and additional keyboards during live performances.
The Promise is an exceptionally good symphonic progressive rock album by Superdrama, a fabulous German band that brings fresh new blood into the genre.
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