(Symphonic Prog / Progressive Rock) Apocalypse - 2CD - Magic Spells (2005), The Bridge Of Light (2008) - APE (image+.cue), lossless

Apocalypse is a Brazilian band formed in 1983, and spent their first several years as a regional band playing festivals and other local

venues. The band's first album released in 1981, and includes a cover of the Marillion classic "Lavender" which like all the band's

early albums is sung in Portuguese. The early lineup was a power trio that including keyboardist Eloy Fritsch, guitarist/vocalist Chico

Casara (who also played bass for the studio recordings), and drummer Chico Fasoli, with additional guitarist Ruy Fritsch added after

the first album.
The band were forced to look beyond Brazil's borders during a lull in the progressive market in the mid-90s, becoming the first

Brazilian band to release on a French label in 1995 ("Perto Do Amanhecer"), and later touring and recording extensively in the United

States.
While the band's early sound was heavily steeped in synthesizers and Hammond, the international albums gravitated toward a simpler,

more melodic style with shorter tracks and more emphasis on guitar and percussion, although the keyboards still played a significant

role in the band's sound. Possibly due to their growing international appeal, the band began to include more instrumental tracks sans

the Portuguese vocals in the latter nineties. The band's 2000 "Live in USA" release marked the first time a Brazilian act recorded and

released a live set in the United States.
The band's lyrics deal mostly with humanistic themes - war, mysticism, nature, and death, but with a melodic instrumental style. Fans

and the band themselves suggest similarities to ELP and Marillion, but in fact their better known recordings are closer to perhaps

Rush, Saga, even Camel during the more sanguine parts. By 2000 the band had developed a polished sound that bordered on power rock at

times, and at times can remind the listener very much of AOR bands like Survivor and Whitesnake. As with so many South American bands

however, the lilting inflections in the guitars and keyboards are uniquely Latin in flavor. Drummer Chico Fasoli plays an extensive

kit, giving the band a broad and deep rhythmic sound.
In 2004 bassist and vocalist Chico Casara left the group; singer Gustavo Demarchi and bassist Magoo Wise joined and the group announced

that future recordings would be in English. They also decided to re-record some of their old songs in English, and the EP "Magic - The

Radio Edits" was released in 2005.