Review by Marcel Haster for ProgPower Online

The Dutch progressive rock scene is alive and kicking and this is not in the least place by the fact that there are a lot of independent releases. One of them, in the slipstream of Knight Area, is Ixion, a project by former Sangamo member Jankees Braam. It will be no surprise several (ex-)Sangamo members have assisted Jankees Braam on this project, but in some way they all have played together, so they know eachother. The album was recorded at various home studio’s over a longer period of time, so Braam had control over the entire process.

Cryogenesis is a concept story about a sick woman, who is frozen, in the hope that in the future medical science is more advanced and capable of curing her disease, but the ‘rebirth’ is not without problems. In the 9 tracks, Braam tries to convey the feelings and emotions involved, like pain, fear, insecurity, as in ’The Mold’ the doctor (vocals by Peter Everts (ex-Sangamo)) and the psychologist (vocals by Gerton Leijdekker (S.O.T.E.), who also plays guitar), argue about the woman, but also joy (of the rebirth), but again fear and in the end liberation of the soul. Musically Cryogenesis is a nice mix of neo-prog influences, such as IQ, Arena, Magellan and symphonic touches, such as Marillion and Camel, very much present in the second half of ’Into the Cold’, with a very recognizable, but oh so tasty, Andy Latimer guitar riff.

The synth sounds are fantastic and give it the ‘vintage’ sound. On keys Gerben Klazinga (Knight Area, Sangamo), plays the lead role, but also Braam himself plays some keys and Martijn Bos (Greg) plays all piano and Moog synth parts. Also the guitar arrangements are very good, with nice solos, but never over the top. The part of the lead character, the woman, is divided into two parts, before the cry-freezing and after the re-birth from cry, and is thus sung by two vocalistes: Esther Ladiges (Greg, ex-Sangamo), who sings on the first three tracks, and Maaike Breijman (Entropy), who sings the remaining songs. I prefer the latter, Maaike Breijman, as her vocals have less accent than Esther Ladiges, and is also a bit softer.

I think Ixion is a very commendable effort, with quite a good result. I find it very enjoyable to listen to it, more than once. Considering it is recorded in home studio’s, the quality of the album is very good and clearly Jankees Braam knows what he is doing. And he is not waiting to see what will happen to Cryogenesis, but is already working on a new project, so check out his website for the details. But with Cyogenesis I think he has left an interesting calling card and I’m quite curious to his next work. If you like any of the bands mentioned above, or like concept albums or just great (neo)prog in general, I can only recommend this album. It is available at www.disque.nl.

Rating: 4/5