:: PROJECT CREATION ::
: Floating World Reviews :

Rock Progressivo Brasil

Músicos: Hugo Flores - baixo, guitarra, violão, voz, teclados, arranjos adicionais de bateria, berimbau, percussão, cítara e violão de 12 cordas Tiago 'Linx' - voz Alda Reis - voz Convidados: Vasco Patricio (solo de guitarra em 1), Paulo Chagas (sax e flauta), Carlos Bateras - bateria em 1, 6, 12 e 13), Fred Lessing (gravação barroca em 05, carrilhão), Nuno Silva (violoncelo, baixo em 05, 07 e 12), Allen Vasconcelos (violão em 11) e Carlos Mateus (letras adicionais em 14-II)) Ano: 2006 País: Portugal Gravadora: Prog Rock Records Som: letras em inglês com vocal masculino e feminino, ênfase em guitarras e teclados sinfônicos Estilo: metal progressivo Arte: Mattias Nóren Sítio oficial ( MP3 aqui) Hugo Flores, o responsável pelo Sonic Pulsar retorna com outro projeto. Desta vez, Hugo surpreende o mercado com o que muitos artistas de rock progressivo desejavam fazer: um filme futurista com uma trilha sonora. É do se trata este Floating World. Ao que parece esta é a primeira parte de uma trilogia. A atmosfera do clipe promocional lembrou bastante a idéia de Titã (Final Fantasy também). Musicalmente, nada de novo: metal-progressivo com climas sinfônicos e algumas intervenções de sax, flauta, violoncelo e até berimbau! Destaque para a boa voz de Alda Reis e de Linx (da banda Forgotten Suns). Perfeito para quem gosta do estilo Ayreon de ser. A faixa de abertura é memorável. A impressão que tive é da bateria ser eletrônica, apesar da referência feita do instrumento ser tocado por Hugo Flores e do convidados Carlos Bateras. Em alguns momentos também ocorre uma certa sobreposição de instrumentos, o que leva a um "embolo" no som.  Fantástica arte de Mattias Noren, o Roger Dean do novo milênio, que representa as músicas com imagens nas 10 páginas do encarte. Cesar Lanzarini - Leiam aqui!

Progressive Ears

It is amazing to me how many CD’s are released these days that fall into what I would classify as HEAVY-Symphonic. Not really Prog-metal by any stretch of the imagination these recordings do have the heavy guitars and drums but there is so much more happening musically that qualifies them for a broader description. Take for example The Floating World by Project Creation. This concept is the work of multi-instrumentalist Hugo Flores. As a touchstone reference point think Aryeon. Now to be honest, some of the work in this field fails to live up to expectations, whatever they may be. But then others seem to have the magic. And to my ears Project Creation definitely has the magic. This concept, about a planet being created and repopulated has so much going for it, heavy at times, yes, but then all at once majestic and panoramic and then spacey and ambient at others. Each musical feel propels the story along. This is one of those epic discs you put on and it engages the theatre of the mind so dramatically that you can’t help but visualize the images. The Floating World features Flores on everything from vocals to guitars to keyboards to sitars and he is ably assisted by Paulo Chagas (sax, flute), Nuno Silva (cello, bass), Vasco Patricio (guitar solos) and Linx and Alda Reis (vocals). Musical styles drift from folky-ethnic to bombastic all the while nicely balanced with male and female vocal contributions. Balancing out the more aggressive guitar moments are plenty of soft flute or saxophone passages. Clocking in at just over 70-minutes there are 14 tracks here, four of which are just over seven-minutes in length. But as you might expect, this being a concept work, so many of the tracks are all linked together making it an almost seamless experience. Call it heavy-symphonic, a rock-opera or even epic-metal. Whatever you call it, it sounds great over and over again because there is simply so much going on. Kudos to Flores for finding that delicate balance between “overly aggressive” and “mentally stimulating”. The Floating World from Project Creation is a really engaging musical concept incorporating elements of ancient Egypt that I find most enjoyable. JLucky Read it here!

ProgNaut

Multi-instrumentalist Hugo Flores’ brings us his latest offering, Project Creation. Joining Hugo is nine different musicians and vocalists to help create the concept album Floating World. Musically it’s similar inn ways to that of Ayreon but without too much pompous nonsense. It is in the truest sens, progressive hard rock bordering at times on metal side of the genre. The Floating World” is the first part of a trilogy about a dying planet, who’s ancient civilization develops a space ship to carry some of it’s citizens to a new world. Just like other concept albums, it’s very rooted in the sci-fi genre. capable of carrying large portions of it’s population to seed other planets. One thing I find different than most concept albums is the warmth of both the music and the vocals. This is a quality I look for in concept or any type of albums. This ranks up there with the more recent concept albums including the afore mentioned Ayreon, IQ’s Subterannea, and countless others. You get the idea, once you hear the music. From one moment it’s atmospheric and the next metallic. It keeps you guessing what will happen next musically. Hugo does a fantastic job of not becoming so predictable. I’m sure his other bandSonic Pulsar achieves this as well. One thing I must confess as a reviewer is I keep wanting to just listen to this album, it’s that good! This makes it harder to get other reviews done but it show the lasting power of the music long after the album is over. I would say this is one of the best releases to come from progrock records this year. In fact I would give it a glowing recommendation especially for fans of the harder side of the progressive rock spectrum. I can’t wait for more! Ron Fuchs 2006.04 - Read it here!

Argentina - 85%

Interesantísimo proyecto de metal progresivo el que nos vuelve a presentar la gente del sello ProgRock Records a través del multi-instrumentalista portugués, Hugo Flores, quien luego de estar al frente de la agrupación Sonic Pulsar, decidió junto a una serie de músicos de su confianza, comenzar a delinear la primera parte de una trilogía que promete y mucho. La primera entrega de ésta obra conceptual, "The Floating World", habla de los graves problemas que vive nuestro mundo a causa nuestra, la civilización que lo habita desde hace siglos, y como de a poco lo fuimos matando. Para que se den una idea hacia donde apunta este proyecto, musicalmente hablando, les diría que se remitan a lo hecho por Ayreon, muy particularmente en los tracks de teclado, cuyas bases atmosféricas se asemejan bastante a la banda de Arjen Lucassen. Otra indudable reminiscencia que se puede palpar en los temas mas heavies, pero a su vez melosos y gancheros, es a la agrupación norteamericana Shadow Gallery. Aunque tal vez, y ésta es seguramente la principal diferencia, el protagonismo de las guitarras eléctricas bien al frente no son característica a remarcar en Project Creation, por el contrario se encuentran un tanto por detrás del teclado. Un claro ejemplo de ello son dos de los mejores momentos del CD, la magnífica apertura homónima del disco, y la épica “The Civilization”. Otra gran pieza es sin dudas la intimista “Mechanical Dragonflies” en la voz de una de las invitadas especiales, la vocalista Alda Reis. Un tema muy emparentado con lo sinfónico celta, pero de atmósferas densas y oscuras a lo La Tulipe Noire, y que en varios pasajes del álbum se van a volver a repetir. Otro de los invitados por Flores a participar en las voces es el cantante de Forgotten Suns, Linx, quien fiel a su estilo realiza un destacado papel en los momentos que le toca participar. Como verán no estamos en presencia de un trabajo más, por el contrario, posee una variedad de géneros destacable, sólo basta con remitirse a escuchar canciones como la popera “Living Under A Blue Sky” que contrastan rápidamente con la melancólica “Arriving”, bajo el legado nuevamente de los Shadow Gallery. “Artificial Satellite” continúa con la prueba de sonidos, y nos regala un tema de bases bien ochentosas. A estar atentos porque en cualquier momento puede aparecer la continuación de un proyecto que no estaba en los planes de nadie, pero que rápidamente gane en reconocimiento y admiración. Felicitaciones Hugo Flores y compañía, han logrado entretenerme por más de una hora sin un solo vestigio de aburrimiento, ni bostezos. Alexis L. Berman 2006.03.31 - Read it here!

Prog Positivity

Sometimes when you hear a voice, you can instantly recognize, who it is. Think along the lines of Jon Anderson of Yes, Roger Daltrey of The Who, Robert Plant, Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, etc. I could go on and on with this, but, you get the idea. These are voices of distinction!  There, on that list, you could put Hugo Flores. Whether he does a solo project, is working with Sonic Pulsar or any other projects, you can definately tell it's Hugo's voice. The melodies that come forth from Hugo are wonderful, as are his projects. Speaking of projects, let me introduce you to his newest project. PROJECT CREATION. This is another Hugo Flores project that has that wonderful hard rock progressive feel, but, with another feeling of happily going along comfortably. This time, Hugo has incorporated many other musicians to help with this project. These musicians include...Linx (Forgotten Suns) - Vocals, which are wonderfully working within the structure of the album, Alda Reis - Vocals, who also, has a wonderful voice, Vasco Patrício  - Guitar solos and/or melodies on "The Floating World", "The Shining Planet", "Arriving", "Returning Home" and "Warming up the Machines",  Paulo Chagas - Saxophone, Flutes , Carlos Bateras - Drums, Nuno Silva – Cello, Bass guitar on “Warming up the Machines”, “The Shining Planet” and “Mechanical Dragonflies”, as well as Hugo Flores - Vocals, Electric and Acoustic Guitars, Bass Guitar, Synthesizers, additional drum arrangements, "Berimbau", Percussion, Sitar and 12 String Guitar, plus others. Project Creation is a progressive rock opera, such as, Tommy, or Quadrophenia.  We've had Hugo tell the story of Project Creation on The Music Guru Show, but, if you haven't heard the interview, the story is about a dying planet. The people make a world sized ship, which can only carry some of the people. The ship leaves the planet with only a portion of the planet, looking for a real planet, for them to live, create an artificial sun & make life thrive. They, then go back to the dying planet to pick up the rest of the people, so that they can thrive. "Arriving", which is track 6 on the disc, seems to incorporate many different world instruments. It also starts off on a slower pace, then picks up. I really like this track. Everything on this album flows very well together. This disc is rated 5 out of 5 Music Guru stars. This is available from ProgRock Records. Pick it up. You will be very happy that you did. For more information on Hugo Flores, you can visit www.SonicPulsar.com. Available now! Prog Positivity 2006.03.31 - Read it here!

Blood Dawn German - 4/5

Und nun beehrt uns mit Hugo Flores ein weiterer Multiinstrumentalist mit einem Prog-Album. Ein Konzeptalbum, wie sollte es auch anders sein, es handelt von der Entwicklung von Leben auf einem toten Planeten. Doch natürlich steht die Musik mehr im Vordergrund als die Story. Der Opener "The Floating World" ist eher seichte Kost, gegen Ende wird der Song zwar flotter, aber nicht heavier, sondern sehr bass- und pianoorientiert. Doch generell handelt es sich eher um eine Prog-Rock-Scheibe, mit Metal hat die Musik nicht besonders viel zu tun. Die Instrumente, die über die komplette Spielzeit von gut 70 Minuten verwendet werden, sind ebenfalls teilweise eher ungewöhnlich: Cello, Saxophon, Flöte... Nichtsdestotrotz wird hier anspruchsvolle Musik dargeboten, die Instrumente stehen mehr im Vordergrund als die Gesänge, und irgendwie passt alles zusammen. Je länger die CD läuft, desto härter wird sie aber. Gegen Anfang noch also (soften) Prog-Rock bezeichnet, sind "The Civilization" und "Warming Up The Machines" beispielsweise doch deutlich metallischer. Doch auch die balladeske Seite bleibt gewahrt, so ist "Mechanical Dragonflies" ein Song, der von der sanften Stimme von Alda Reis getragen wird. Unterstützt wird der zerbrechliche Gesang von Flöten, wodurch der Sound umso weicher wirkt. "Arriving" ist ebenfalls eine Ballade, doch wirkt der Song durch die männliche Stimme um einiges 'stabiler'. Der Song "Artificial Satellite" hingegen verbindet den ruhigen Sound der Balladen durch die träumerischen Flötenklänge, aber vertritt ebenfalls rockige Aspekte, weil hier fast mehr denn je mit der E-Gitarre gearbeitet wird. "Intervening" verbreitet wieder etwas Ruhe, ein instrumentales Zwischenspiel, ähnlich wie "The Desert Planet". Der nächste Song ist eine weitere balladeske Nummer, die die Stimmung des Zwischenspiels bekräftigt und vom brillanten Gesang lebt. Nahtlos geht "Creating Atmosphere" dann in "First Species" über, doch mit fortschreitender Dauer wird das Stück heavier. Ein kompletter Sound- und Rhythmuswechsel vollzieht sich, eingeläutet durch mitreißende Gitarrenarbeit, leider in einem der kürzeren Stücke. "The Shining Planet" plätschert eher so dahin, ebenso wie "Chaops". Besonders erwähnenswert ist noch der Schluss von "Cheops", der in bester SAVATAGE-Manier ("Chance") mehrstimmig ausklingt. "Returning Home" besticht durch die Stimmung, absolut geeignet für das Finale der Story, man kann Parallelen zu AYREON ("Into The Electric Castle", Charakter 'Forever") erkennen. Im Kompletten gesehen sind übrigens musikalische Parallelen zu THRESHOLD z.B. nicht zu verleugnen. Thematisch könnte man natürlich Arjen Lucassens STAR ONE in Verbindung mit PROJECT CREATION bringen, doch die thematische Verwandtschaft ist die einzige! Naja, neben der Tatsache, dass sich Mathias Norén (von www.progart.com) beim Gestalten des Covers mal wieder selbst übertroffen hat. Die CD ist absolut keine leichte Kost, wenn man sich denn mit dem Thema befasst. Andererseits, als 'nur' Musik gesehen, ist die Scheibe herrlich zum Entspannen geeignet. Jeder möge es so hören, wie er will, auf jeden Fall ein exzellentes Stück Progressive Rock!! Blood Dawn German 2006.03.25 - Read it here!

Sea of Tranquility - Duncan Glenday - 4,5

Hugo Flores's previous works with his band Sonic Pulsar have been well received on these pages, and we describe them as "somewhere between Ayreon and hard rock ... lightly metallic, very technical, well constructed and characterized by good melodies".  Oh - and we added a "Well recommended".  With Project Creation Flores takes a huge leap forward - this record is very melodic, well performed, reasonably complex and nicely structured - and above all, it's a damned nice listen. Imagine a less-bombastic Ayreon album - or a more proggy version of Aina or Missa Mercuria.  Like those, Project Creation is one man's vision, performed by a number of the genre's luminaries - it is a well coordinated collaboration of nine different high-caliber musicians and vocalists that sets it among the ranks of the better progressive rock operas. An interesting side-note - this is the first 'project' of its kind to emanate from Portugal, which is home to Flores and all of the guest artists. The Floating World tells the unlikely sci-fi story of a dying planet whose inhabitants float off on some craft described as an artificial satellite (a 'floating world', you see) in search of a new world to occupy. Opening track "The Floating World" describes the planet-like space ship, track 2 "Living Under A Blue Sky" is the travelers' @@@ recollections of home, track 3 describes "The Desert Planet" they've discovered and plan to revitalize, and track 4 "The Civilization" describes the culture that has developed on their floating world craft thingy.  Together, these form a 21-minute introduction to the record's theme, and the piece evolves from there - both musically, and in the storyline.  Flores won't expect any offers from Hollywood for his scriptwriting, but as with all good concept pieces, the story adds an important dimension and cohesion to the whole album. Click here to view an interesting video 'teaser'. Hugo plans to have “The Floating World” as a single, and has spoken about making it into a 3D/CGI video. Every song is different, although all share a slightly spacey feel, good melodies and a very full sound.  The variety is enhanced by contributions from cello, flute sax, imaginative synthesizer sounds and three separate vocalists. Flores makes good use of the rich female vocal tones of Alda Reis, and the multi-part choruses - particularly the female choruses - are some of the more pleasing components of the record. The English-language lyrics are lightly accented, and male vocalist 'Linx' delivers a clean, well controlled performance - not the strongest you'll hear, but the songwriting has been crafted around his style.  Good piano work yields some of the nicer moments, and the only instrument that is surprisingly under-utilized is the wonderful guitar lines that were so central to the success of Flores's previous albums.  And unlike Sonic Pulsar, when wearing his Project Creation hat, Flores thankfully uses a real drummer. It is impossible to describe this music without making comparisons to Ayreon.  Project Creation is more contained, not as over-produced, and it doesn't share quite the same flair, but it shares the pleasing melodies, diverse songwriting and imaginative compositions. There's nothing new here, but it's a well constructed, very enjoyable body of work.  This was Part 1, and Flores has plans to release parts 2 and 3.  And if he continues the growth we've witnessed since the first Sonic Pulsar album, expect big things from the Iberian peninsula.  And like our closing comment on the last Sonic Pulsar album - we'll close with a "Well recommended." Duncan Glenday 2006.03.25 - Read it here!

Sea of Tranquility - Steve Ambrosius - 4

Hugo Flores’ new incarnation is Project Creation. The multi-instrumentalist joins up with nine different musicians and vocalists to create the concept album Floating World. The sound is very similar to Ken’s Novel’s debut. This is progressive rock with grooving bass lines, counter-melody keyboards, and sold and full guitar leads. The vocals, although telling a story, basically act as another instrument. The music is full and busy but escapes falling into the area of bombast. It isn’t overblown like Magellan. “The Floating World” opens up with powerful riffing and excellent song structure. Those are the best moments for Project Creation, when the bass, drums and guitar just decide to take off and everyone just fills in where needed, like on "Artificial Satellite". But then you have “Living Under a Blue Sky” and “Warming Up the Machines” that show the tried-and-true nature of the band. These are songs that take catchy choruses and end in power jams that sound good but too familiar and safe. The story behind Floating World is that a dying planet, with an ancient civilization, develops a space shipped capable of carrying large portions of it’s population to seed other planets. Oh yea, the space ship is shaped like a world (get it, floating world). The story goes on from there, and I do not mean to down play it, but overall, like IQ’s Subterranea, no matter how good the story is, you buy the CD for the music. Overall a solid effort, but for me it just doesn’t quite get there. Like Cryptic Vision and Carptree, I feel like this is territory that has been passed over and over and that the band is just playing it a little too safe. But both Moment of Clarity and Man Made Machine were huge hits, so this one probably will be to. A CD I am glad I have, but not one that will get lots of playing time. Steve Ambrosius 2006.03.25 - Read it here!

Idioglossia - 10/15

Dieses Projekt ist die Idee von Hugo Flores von Sonic Debris. Er hat mit zahlreichen Musikern (Linx gehört zu Forgotten Suns, alle anderen sind mehr oder minder Nobodies) ein Konzeptalbum eingespielt, das die Geschichte von erdverlassenen Weltraumkolonisten erzählt. Das üppige Noren-Artwork und - Booklet lässt in diesem Zusammenhang zwar Assoziationen zu Arjen Lucassens Star One aufkommen, doch musikalisch stellt allenfalls Flores´ Vorliebe für üppige Instrumentierung und Breitband-Inszenierung einen Zusammenhang her. Es sind die Blasinstrumente sowie das Cello, welche den Unterschied ausmachen. Insgesamt ist der Sound dadurch weniger erdig als die Siebziger-Huldigungen des Holländers und erhält in ruhigen Passagen einen New-Age-Anstrich, wenngleich man diese Stilistik hier nicht negativ besetzen sollte. Die Keyboards klingen angemessen spacig und bewahren auf dem gesamten Album einen Eigencharakter, so dass man die Musik theoretisch immer von anderen Bands unterscheiden könnte. Theoretisch, weil das Projekt keine Innovations-Bäume ausreißt, dafür aber durchweg Hochwertiges anbietet. Da wäre der langsam in die Gänge kommende Eröffnungstrack mit agiler Rhythmusgruppe, erlösendem Refrain und Hinhörern wie Flötenmotiven, welche parallel zum Gitarrensolo erklingen. Das Tempo zieht bis zum Ende hin an, was in einem schnellen Tastensolo zum Ausdruck kommt. Der dominante Bass steigert sich in ein aggressives Schreddern, bis unter Doublebass alles zusammenbricht und nur Cello und Stimme den Trip beenden. Eine weitere Facette Floresscher Komponierkunst sind die mehrstimmigen Gesänge - etwa in "Living Under A Blue Sky", dem eingängigsten Sück. hier gibt es auch ein Saxophon-Solo und perkussive Rhythmik zu vernehmen. Hinten hinaus ist es "Cheops", welches im Savatage-Stil den Kanon mit unterschiedlichen Textebenen zelebriert. Die männlichen Stimmen sind nicht so sehr zu unterscheiden, bekommen aber mit Alda Reis einen angemessenen Gegenpol zur Seite gestellt, der das meditative "Mechanical Dragonflies" aufwertet und in "The Civilization" Platz für einen Alleingang eingeräumt bekommt. "Arriving" gibt sich üppig im Soloangebot, ist aber wegen seiner balladesken Ausrichtung kein Anwärter auf den Höher-Schneller-Weiter-Preis; darum geht es auf "The Floating World" ohnehin zu keiner Zeit. Die Drums können schon einmal wie in diesem Song eine Pause einlegen oder sich merklich zurücknehmen sowie synthetischen Loops den Vortritt lassen - zu hören phasenweise im episch-bombastischen "Artificial Satellite". Während "Warming Up The Machines" seiner Betitelung folgend die Verstärkereinstellung der Gitarren etwas hochfährt, bleiben die Keyboards gleichfalls im Vordergrund - eine Homogenität, die sicher auch den Händen Henning Paulys am Mischpult zu verdanken ist. Es fällt außerdem auf, dass die bevorzugt eingesetzten Pianoklänge sich auch nach einem echten Instrument anhören, also sehr voll und in den alleinstehenden Passagen fast schon wie ein gekonnt abgenommener Flügel klingen. Die Tatsache, dass bei derartiger CD-Länge gen Ende die Beliebigkeit etwas zunimmt und man sich das Album in seiner Gesamtheit etwas gestraffter und songorientierter gewünscht hätte, tut einem geschmackssicheren Hörerlebnis keinen Abbruch. Fazit: Elemente des gezähmten Mittneunziger-Prog-Metal mischen sich mit rockig-melodischen Ausprägungen von Gitarrenmusik sowie gelungener Synthetik - zusammengenommen eine Empfehlung für Freunde von Kamelot, Cea Serin oder Wolverine...recht vielseitige Musik also. Idioglossia 2006.03 - Read it here!

Rock3

Every track takes you into another dimension! Clean and polished, they know their instruments intimately, and caress them tauntingly! It's like drinking mushroom tea and lying in a field watching the stars dance... shine on! Their addictive, l feel 18 again, l'm having an out of body experience! Lead vocals need some tinkering, lyrics lamentful and original. Hits: 23 Language: english Humm 2006.03 - Read it here!

Strutter Magazine - 8,3/10

Multi-instrumentalist HUGO FLORES has a new project called PROJECT CREATION. He is known for his SONIC PULSAR project, but now his new project PROJECT CREATION shows the man is able to do even bigger things, because the released CD ‘The floating world’ is a very good Melodic Progressive Rock/Metal release that sounds like a cross between VANDENPLAS, SHADOW GALLERY and STREAM OF PASSION. Hugo is a multi-instrumentalist, but on this PROJECT CREATION he was helped by some guest musicians, although most of the instruments were played by Hugo himself. On vocals we can hear besides Hugo also LINX from FORGOTTEN SUNS, the best known Portuguese Progressive Rockband ever, and female singer Alda Reis makes an appearance on the album. Without a doubt, this is a high quality release, but that’s usually the case with the releases on the American progressive rocklabel PROGROCK RECORDS. Highlights are “The floating world”, “The civilization”, “Arriving” and “Artificial satellite”. Recommended to all progressive rock/metal fans! Strutter Magazine 2006.03 - Read it here!

PROGNOSIS - Nuno Lourenço

Portuguese young composer Hugo Flores, who recently (and finally) gained some notoriety with his Sonic Pulsar project, is back with a new album under a new name: Project Creation and its debut - “Floating World”. Hugo’s talent and driven force can be well reckoned in this new release, where he is joined by a great line-up of guest musicians, including some that have been getting some reviews from yours truly, here at ProGGnosis. But I will get there in a moment! Project Creation’s Floating World is, to me, the best work to date by Hugo Flores, and it comes out only a few months after his other great achievement: Sonic Pulsar’s Out of Place. ProgRock Records has done very well in taking and supporting this artist who, I believe, will continue to deliver the right goods in the future. And his obvious talent suggests that he will continue maturing and bettering his vision upon contemporary Hard Symphonic Prog in next works. The main two characteristics that Hugo has been showing since his first solo works and then with Sonic Pulsar are, again, in full display in this album: Muscled Rock with loads of Hard Progressive riffs and structures and beautiful melodic calm interludes played with passion and a rare sense of harmony. But the way those two aspects interact with each other, in this album, have been achieved with a maturity and precision that had not yet been fully fulfilled by Hugo in his prior releases. There is an obvious care for the creation of intricate yet perfectly audible pieces of music, where every detail works in favor of the overall result. This is a worked out and crafted album but in which that intricacy is meaningful, in a way that is normally achieved only by the most experienced creators of multi-guest concept albums, namely Anthony Lucassen’s Ayreon. There are, in fact, and musically speaking, many other common aspects in this album with those of the Dutch master. Other bands that may work as references to the style and scope of this album are: Sylvan (especially for the most hard rockin’ and "politically correct" heavy melodic parts) and Kens Novel for the delicate communion of heavier and thoughtful calmer parts. The concept of the album mixes sci-fi with mysticism and mythology. The basic idea refers to aliens in search for a new place to live, but it presents the pretty earthly Egyptian Pyramids as a key part of the storyboard and a relational symbol between the extra-terrestrial entities and the humankind. And though this is not new as a concept (fans of Stargate will agree), it is done in a different and thoughtful way. To talk about this album without auditing the contribution of each artist involved would be, in my opinion, a severe crime, so next I’ll be trying to resume my thoughts about the conjurer of the project, and his guest “associates”: Hugo Flores is equal to himself, providing the architectural design of the album with a whole palette of instruments. While a guitar player, Hugo sets his major course to the heart of the “art” of distortion with melody and focus. He easily ignite the heavier parts of the album with the same ease he suddenly turn his scope into more introspective and melodic passages. He also contributes with all synths and keyboards, filling eventual gaps and adding extra colors to some sequences. This playing can be close to some Swedish prog metal bands at times (especially in their neo-classic approach), but it can also curve into more Vangelis alike sonorities (like in Intervening). His bass playing is more than competent; it can be spectacular like in the opening title track. His singing tends to interact with that of Linx, proposing a slightly lower tone than that of the Forgotten Suns vocalist. In this album Linx keep things pretty much in a high pitched and aggressive tone, which I think is meant to provide a pure Prog-Metal edge to the music. This may be seen as conditioning his performance, but I believe that the original idea behind this particular approach was thought on purpose. Finally, Alda Reis furthers the vocal balancing by providing a counterbalance tone to that of Linx. Alda is a terrific singer as proved in this album, and the best compliment I can give her is that, for instance in Creating Atmosphere she sounds just like The Gathering’s Anneke. Carlos Bateras drumming is secure and very focused on the music, keeping things running on the background without stepping that musch into the spotlight. Nuno Silva’s participation is more noticeable for the Cello parts, that beautifully merge with the more serene parts (just listen to The Desert Planet…). Vasco Patrício (ptRocker, Mispel Bellyful, Miosótis) has a guitar playing style that perfectly embraces the musical conceptuality of Hugo, so his “hand” hits the nail right in its head, soloing with energy and flair. Fred Lessing (Daymoon, Mispel Bellyful), though only participating in one track, adds with his percussion work and especially his mesmerizing Baroque Flute, a melodic component of great richness. Finally Paulo Chagas (Miosótis, Mispel Bellyful, Oficina Sonora, Zappanóia, Zpoluras). What to say more about my contemporary favourite prog and prog-related Portuguese musician if not to thank him for his participation in this album? Paulo is a force of nature that can cope with any music style with ease. He is not usually a heavy prog fan, but the way he melodically constructed both his Saxophone and Flute playing in this album sounds miraculously conceived. This must have been a fun thing to do, but a hard work as well, for he dismisses totally his true vocation for atonal and avant-garde dissonances and keeps things on the brilliantly melodic and emotional side. Just listen to his Sax solo on Living Under a Blue Sky or the middle-eastern Flute work in Cheops and you will know exactly what I mean. From all written above you must have already figure the album out. It is a game of balance between power and melody, excess and control, expansion and intimacy, shout and smooth. The album mixes symphonic with heavy, new age with metal, progressive with pure rock. And it connects those different aspects in a bright and complex net of constant changes, with atmospheric and even eerie bridges between more powerful parts. I would not consider it Prog-Metal, but more like a bombastic Neo-Prog with symphonic elements which both fans of Prog-Metal and Neo Sympho Prog will undoubtedly like. Another thing I would really like to point out is the excellent quality of the mixing and production of the album. The sound of each instrument is crystal clear, even when the multi-layering reaches its culmination moments, with lots of instruments playing at the same time. This ends up being a real quality add-on to this album, allowing the listener to fully enjoy what is being played at any moment, independent of the intricacy or simplicity of the moment. To sum up a long story told, this is an album that anyone into muscled Symphonic and Neo and into thoughtful Prog-Metal will fully enjoy. And besides the style, even you don’t care that much for it, this just has to be considered one of the best Prog albums to come from Portugal. It is a statement that contemporary prog is alive and kicking in this far and small corner of Europe. Nuno Lourenço 2006.03.24 - Read it here!

Music in Belgium - 4,5

Voilà un album qu'on attendait pas. C'est le nouveau projet du multi-instrumentiste portugais Hugo Flores. Ce premier album est bâti sur le concept du développement de la vie sur une planète morte. Hugo Flores (chant, guitares, basse, synthés, percussions, sitar et 12 cordes) est accompagné par Linx (Forgotten Suns) et Alda Reis aux chants, Paulo Chagas aux sax et flûtes, Carlos Bateras à la batterie, Nuno Silva au violoncelle et à la basse sur trois titres, Vasco Patricio (ptRocker) pour des solos de guitares sur quatre morceaux, Fred Lessing pour des effets baroques sur "Mechanical Dragonflies", Allen Vasconcelos à la guitare acoustique sur "First Species" et Carlos Mateus sur la seconde partie de "Returning Home". Le concept raconte l'histoire d'une planète en train de mourir. La civilisation avancée qui y habite construit un gigantesque vaisseau spatial. Le vaisseau quitte la planète avec environ 40% de la population à la recherche d'un endroit vivable. Le voyage dure cinq ans. Ils trouvent une planète morte et y créent un soleil artificiel afin d'y développer la vie. Une pyramide est construite afin de marquer leur création. Elle permettra aussi aux enfants qui y grandiront de savoir qu'ils ne sont pas seuls dans l'univers. L'énergie est produite à partir de mélodies qui produisent des vibrations vocales. Les pionniers retournent ensuite sur leur planète afin d'aller rechercher le reste de la population. Ce projet à base de science-fiction se présente de bien belle manière. La cohérence de l'ensemble est parfaite. Les ambiances sont travaillées et les musiciens et vocaux parfaits à tous points de vue. La tendance musicale est métal progressive. De par les idées véhiculées et la musique offerte, on peut rapprocher cela de ce que fait Ayreon. En tout cas, cet album est un petit bijou et on le ressent dès le premier morceau "The Floating World". Et puis, trois chanteurs ce n'est pas banal et le résultat est à la hauteur des espérances. L'instrumental "The Desert Planet" nous plonge dans une ambiance mystérieuse et profonde. "The Civilization" résonne des multiples bruits dû à la création d'un monde sans obligations, sans pays, sans Dieu ni religion qui pourraient déclencher des conflits. Le monde parfait quoi! Si ça pouvait exister... L'énergie produite par les vibrations vocales est parfaitement transcrite dans un "Mechanical Dragonflies" très énigmatique. "Arriving" est plus sophistiqué dans ses arrangements avec de superbes interventions de Paulo Chagas. Il représente bien le déchirement qu'est quitter son monde pour un nouveau qu'il faut créer de toutes pièces. Un déracinement qui n'est pas facile à vivre loin de sa famille et de ses amis. L'émergence de l'atmosphère et l'arrivée de la végétation et des fleuves et océans sur la planète se révèlent avec le très mélodique et vocal "Creation Atmosphere". La même atmosphère se perpétue pour "First Species" qui marque l'arrivée de la vie. Le sitar de "Cheops", qui ponctue l'érection de la pyramide, allié à cet univers musical donne un mélange de tons exceptionnel. Imaginez sitar, flûte, guitare, percussions variées, vocaux très divers, le tout mélangé à un univers métal progressif. La mission est terminée. Le retour se fait avec "Returning Home". Une superbe finale remplie d'espoir. Ce projet de Hugo Flores a accouché d'un petit chef d'oeuvre qu'il serait dommage de manquer. Il vous faut écouter ce merveilleux premier album de Project Creation. Jean-Pierre Lhoir 2006.03.23 - Read it here!

Italian review - 72

Questo Project Creation è una prog opera creata dal polistrumentista Hugo Flores, che ha raccolto intorno a sè validi elementi per registrare questo "The Floating World". La storia di fantascienza che si cela dietro questo disco narra di un mondo ormai morente, dove un'avanzata civiltà crea un'astronave capace di caricare il 40% della popolazione per andare alla ricerca di un nuovo pianeta, possibilmente morto, da riportare alla luce per ricominciare. Le peripezie da affrontare saranno tante e lascio a voi scoprire come si conclude la storia attraverso l'ascolto del cd. Tecnicamente ci troviamo di fronte ad un ottimo prodotto, ben realizzato e suonato da tutti i partecipanti: l'atmosfera che si respira nel disco è quella delle prog opere di Arjen Lucassen, anche se a livello compositivo non siamo all'altezza delle stupende creazioni dell'olandese. Comunque nelle quattordici tracce di "The Floating World" ci sono pezzi di sicuro spessore come la title track, dall'animo variegato e progressivo, e la sognante "Mechanical Dragonflies". Non sono da meno la ritmata "Warming Up The Machines", carica di sintetizzatori dal sound alieno, e le conclusive "Cheops" e "Returning Home", cariche del pathos proprio degli Ayreon. La produzione di buon livello ed un booklet ben curato e molto fantascientifico chiudono la descrizione di questa fatica di Hugo Flores, che ha sicuramente dimostrato di avere le carte in regola per fare bene nel mondo musicale: speriamo che il prossimo disco superi questo "The Floating World" che è comunque un buon prodotto anche se troppo legato ai clichè del genere. Un disco da avere se amate le opere prog fantascientifiche e andate pazzi per gli Ayreon... Fabio "Flames Of Hell" Rancati 2006.03.16 - Read it here!

TheCelebrityCafe - 7

This ProgRock Records recording was released November of 2005 and could be considered a soundtrack. This CD has the musical twists and turns as if the project was being done in parts. For example, track #4, 5, and 8 all have the same patterns. They each have subtle differences, but create a similar sound. Track #4 starts with a slow, light, suspense-filled sound of an orchestra and a light whistling background which causes you to imagine emotions building. Keep in mind that each track is long, but this one is a little more than seven minutes. As those subtle sounds build up, the music goes into an electric guitar, fast-paced rock song, with drums and male vocals. As this goes on for a few minutes, it transitions back into the slow paced, light whistle and violin sound with a female coming into the music. It finally ends with a male vocalist singing over the fast electric guitar again. While song #8 sounds like the sound for a suspenseful martial arts movie with light flute and light drums, it flows again into the rock music with male vocals attached. Just imagine someone doing rope walking in a fight scene from a karate movie and this has a similar sound. The slower tracks are #3 and #6. Selection #3 reminds me of a slow dance scene for a movie or some romantic moment between lovers. Track #6 has a more mid-tempo sound with keyboard, drums, horns, and a guitar that creates a subtley that transitions into male vocals and more rock music that is not as fast-paced. This is a consistent CD for choosing what emotion someone scoring a film would want to create. Overall good quality, emotionally balanced songs that could help a movie-goer enjoy the music, without sound overkill. SaiSean Jones 2006.02.15 - Read it here!

ytsejam - 4,5

Ever since the first Ayreon album, many bands have been trying to follow in Lucassen’s footsteps. Some can do it, and some can’t. However, Sonic Pulsar's Hugo Flores has created a record of elaborate concept; very elaborate that is, where going into detail about what the lyrical content of ‘Floating World’ contains would contain more words than the lyrics (basically, it’s about rebuilding a dead planet, and rebuilding civilization and along comes mechanical dragonflies and an artificial sun). Regardless of what the concept entails, the musical stamina matches the intricate storyline involved. More ‘rock’ oriented than metal, there are the hard-edged elements there, but the musical prominence of the occasional prog-pop prowess involved ala Sylvain and Mostly Autumn fused with the convoluted musical attack of bands such as Transatlantic or Sieges Even (don’t forget Ayreon). Yes you do have the hooks, melodies, and catchiness involved, but of course, the room for soloing that Flores and Co. presented was used to the fullest, with solos and technical sub-improvisational interludes present everywhere within all of the guitars, synth noises, keyboards, woodwinds/saxes, and atmospheric pads that compliment the multifaceted arrangements that range from straight forward aggressive rock to jazz/fusion. Tracks wise, like any concept album, there is that flowing aspect of the record as the evolution of the story unfolds, you do have near-metal ditties such as ‘Living Under a Blue Sky’ & ‘First Species,’ ethereal cuts such as ‘Creating Atmosphere’ & the piano driven ‘The Desert Planet,’ as well as more aggressive technical numbers like ‘Artificial Satellite’ & the title track; it is obvious that the record goes into many directions. That multi-directional approach makes the album what it is. ‘The Floating World’ is definately one of the better concept albums to surface in a while. It does stand in line with a lot of the other ones making waves, and he gives Arjen Anthony Lucassen a hell of a run on this one. Tommy Hash 2006.01.29 - Read it here!