Review by Mark Hughes for Dutch Progressive Rock Pages

Ixion is not a band as such, but a collection of musicians who came together to record CryoGenesis, the first album by Jankees Braam. The album is a concept about a terminally ill woman who decides to have herself frozen until medical science has advanced enough to be able to cure her of her illness. Revived 500 years later, the world is, naturally, a totally different place. Unsure of her place in the future world and haunted by memories of the past, the woman is unable to cope and eventually decides that the only peace will come in permanent death. The story covers similar themes to The Sleeper Awakes by science fiction maestro HG Wells but, never-the-less is still an original and well thought out concept.

The album starts with The Gamble, the longest track on the album that serves as both an overture and an introduction to the story. As such, the initial part of the song is a mixture of different styles and tempos which are fused together very well. A short, spoken narrative section (something I have never liked, with the exception of perhaps Richard Burton on Jeff Wayne's War Of The Worlds) tells of the woman's harsh options before the story is taken up in the first person. One interesting aspect of the album is the use of two female vocalists: Esther Ladiges and Maaike Breeijman who represent, respectively, the so-called 'Old Soul' and 'New Soul' of the woman. This clever arrangement allows the inherent dichotomous torment of the woman to be emphasised once the subject has been revived and works particularly well on The Wake and the end of The Sleep. Interesting vocal arrangements are also present on The Mold where the doctor (sung by Peter Everts and the psychologist (Gerton Leijdekker) debate the issues surrounding the woman's revival.

As with a lot of concept albums, the main focus is often placed on progressing the narrative to the extent that individual tracks don't often work when played in isolation. This may be a reason why such albums are often ridiculed by the mainstream press and are often adored by progressive fans who revel in the twists and turns of long-form pieces that don't adhere to the three-minute pop song formula. The music on CryoGenesis is certainly varied and is synchronised well with the emotions of the lyrics, although in places is a bit too varied and would have benefited from a couple of more memorable hooks to bring everything together.

CryoGenesis, although unlikely to make most people's list of top ten concept albums, is, none-the-less, an interesting album that is well performed and well packaged. One can sit and listen to the album all the way through without getting bored or reaching for the fast forward button. The musicians perform well together each contributing their own influences which results in considerable musical diversity. After the disappointment of having record company support withdrawn at the last moment it is pleasing that the album has finally seen the light of day. The omens are good that Talisman, Braam's next project, could be every bit as interesting as CryoGenesis.

Rating: 7/10