This is not a regularly progressive rock record but music composed for a ballet performed in progressive rock vein. The sound is very traditional: the record sounds similar to the debut Játékok the synthetic sound present on the two succeeding albums is not apparent here. Not only the sound reminds to the first album but also some of the musical themes have been heard on Játékok. Those who liked their first album will definitely enjoy this.
This is a completely instrumental album and very functional as music. The closing track is a revised repetition of the opening ‘Sodom’, slightly in the vein of ‘Fanfare for the Common Man’, both seem to run too long. The tracks in between are generally moderate in tempo and more interesting. The two standouts are ‘Women’s Lament’ and the beautiful ‘Lea’ which is clearly the record’s best moment with the guitar work within. ‘Auction’ is an ambient like piece which is very functional, while ‘Dance of Course’ is in the vein of the first and last track with more energy.
An oddity in the catalogue of the Hungarian band East, this album of instrumental, programmatic music written to accompany a ballet was released in 1984, after most had written them off after the mediocre Rések a falon album.That said, it’s rather of its time in terms of production, and the fact that the opening (eight minutes) and closing (ten minutes) contain much music that is virtually identical rather undercut the album’s impact. Still, the synthesizer tones are actually quite strong, and there’s a fire and energy to much of the album that makes the similarity of the opening and closing tracks...not matter quite so much.Oddly, the most unique track on the album is a duet between a drum machine and real drums. It can possibly be interpreted as some sort of “statement” about the mechanization of society, or something, but I just thought it was one of the few really creative uses of a drum machine from that time. Even better, I could actually picture dancers on stage performing to the music.
East - Az Áldozat (Szodoma) - Szodoma
