Sphinx were a German-Italian band formed in the late 1970s lasting a few years without too much success.
However, their album Here We Are from 1981 is a stone cold, done deal classic mixture of heavy/prog/pomp/symphonic rock not unlike say Uriah Heep, Styx, Kansas, Boston, Angel, Eloy and Yes were doing at the time.
I bought Here We Are a few days ago on the strength of reading a brief snippet about the band and based on that figured I’d like the album – and I most certainly do……!
Big chunky riffs, glorious soaring keyboards and synths, technical drumming and bass with huge vocals. The interplay between guitar and keys/synths is sublime.
Burning Lights sets the album off in quite some style. Big chunky, driving riff with the keyboards all over it making a powerful, pompish and atmospheric proggy feel to it. A nice attention grabber and you know after listening that you’re on to a winner.
Jane is a more or less straight ahead thumping pomp rocker with a hooky melodic thing going on throughout.
Superstar heavies things up with the huge riff and massive keys combining very impressively. Probably the heaviest song on the album.
I Quell Angolo (sung in Italian) comes in with quite an emotional feel from the vocals making up in to a well-paced and composed more traditionally progressive cut full of feeling and atmosphere. Almost choral in parts.
Spirit of Life comes back to the pomp/rock/prog territory. A sublime track. The atmospheric intro with the washes of keys breaks out in to a thumping symphonic prog lesson in how it should be done. In particular the big finish of the sublime guitar solo followed by equally sublime keyboard work. Stunning.
Have a listen:
666 rocks along nicely before Galley closes out the album with another symphonic prog masterpiece with more of the outstanding keyboards.
Sphinx had quite some album in Here We Are. Simply stunning.
>> SPHINX HERE WE ARE ON AMAZON <<