OMEGA
Psychedelic/Space Rock • Hungary
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Formed in Budapest, Hungary, in September 1962 - Disbanded in 1987 - Reformed in 1994
The most successful Hungarian rock band in history, OMEGA is one of the rare bands to have been known outside in his country. The legend has it that as albums were released in other countries it became necessary to brake the language barrier. Their music is a combination of Eastern European prog with a bit of symphonic and a bit of psyche prog. The result is a dark orchestrated sound combined with extended improvisation. Their discography actually starts in the early 60's, and goes in till today in a more modern register. Several albums were released in Hungarian as well as English. I'd prefer the "accented" English version of the albums. The more so, the music remains the same...
1968 to 1975: OMEGA issued their first Hungarian "Trombit�s Fr�di �s a Rettenetes Emberek" (1968) that became their first golden album. The band sealed their success with two subsequent LPS: "10 000 L�p�s" and "Omega 3" / "�jszakai Orsz�g�t". Their first releases, such as "Omega 3" / "�jszakai Orsz�g�t", "�l� Omega" and "Omega 5" were basically pop rock some very good songs. "200 Years After The Last War" is a brilliant album, solid rock and roll with beautiful ballads.
From 1976 to 1981, they released four albums of Progressive Spacey Rock with great arrangements: echoes of PINK FLOYD and ELOY elements. "Time Robber" / "Id�rabl�", their best work work, is the most commercial with various electronic "space sounds", though "Skrover" / "Csillagok �tj�n" is probably the most musically diverse. More albums in the similar style followed: "Gammapolis" / "Gammapolisz" and "Working" / "Az Arc".
1981 to today: Afterwards, the band kept the electronic and pop rock genre with bits of Progressive elements. However, the band's 1980s began to show the obvious signs of creative stagnation. Soon after it 13th album, OMEGA disbanded. After 7 years of long silence, the musicians went on to produce a new album in 1995, "Transcendent" / "Trans and Dance". This release is a good album with nice keyboards playing. Also check out their equally superb album .... their latest "Egy Eletre Szol" (1998). Well..., after nearly 40 years OMEGA is still together, they are LEGENDS!
See also:
- L�szl� BENK�
- LOCOMOTIV GT
- Kisstadion 80 Li...read more
OMEGA Videos (YouTube and more)
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OMEGA discography
Ordered by release date | Showing ratings (top albums) | Help Progarchives.com to complete the discography and add albums
OMEGA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
3.10 | 32 ratings
Omega Red Star: From Hungary 1968 |
2.67 | 52 ratings
Omega Red Star: Trombit�s Fr�di �s A Rettenetes Emberek [Ω I] 1968 |
3.64 | 96 ratings
10 000 L�p�s [Ω II] 1969 |
3.74 | 68 ratings
�jszakai Orsz�g�t [Ω III] 1970 |
3.33 | 44 ratings
Omega 1973 |
3.27 | 65 ratings
Omega 5 [Aka: Szvit] 1973 |
3.89 | 111 ratings
200 Years After The Last War 1974 |
3.55 | 48 ratings
Omega III 1974 |
3.98 | 85 ratings
The Hall Of Floaters In The Sky 1975 |
3.85 | 87 ratings
Omega 6 - Nem Tudom A Neved [Aka: Tűzvihar/Stormy Fire] 1975 |
3.96 | 121 ratings
Time Robber 1976 |
3.61 | 71 ratings
Omega 7 - Időrabl� 1977 |
3.81 | 85 ratings
Omega 8 - Csillagok �tj�n 1978 |
3.69 | 56 ratings
Skyrover 1978 |
3.52 | 69 ratings
Gammapolis 1978 |
3.92 | 93 ratings
Gammapolis [Ω IX] 1979 |
3.13 | 39 ratings
Omega X - Az Arc 1981 |
2.89 | 19 ratings
Working 1981 |
2.33 | 32 ratings
XI 1982 |
1.98 | 24 ratings
Omega 12 - A F�ld �rny�kos Oldal�n 1986 |
3.22 | 28 ratings
Babylon [Ω XIII] 1987 |
3.07 | 18 ratings
Trans And Dance [Ω XIV] 1995 |
3.44 | 24 ratings
Transcendent 1996 |
3.13 | 28 ratings
200 �vvel Az Utols� H�bor� Ut�n [Aka: �lő Omega] 1998 |
2.23 | 16 ratings
XV - Egy �letre Sz�l 1998 |
3.47 | 26 ratings
�gi Jel: Omega [Ω XVI] 2006 |
3.86 | 20 ratings
Omega Rhapsody 2010 |
4.00 | 20 ratings
Szimf�nia & Rapsz�dia 2012 |
4.17 | 23 ratings
Orat�rium 2013 |
3.93 | 14 ratings
Omega 55: Volt Egyszer Egy Vadkelet 2017 |
4.10 | 21 ratings
Testamentum 2020 |
OMEGA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
4.14 | 35 ratings
�l� Omega [Ω IV] 1972 |
4.49 | 37 ratings
�l� Omega Kisstadion '79 1979 |
4.07 | 23 ratings
Live at the Kisstadion 1979 |
3.06 | 5 ratings
Jubileumi Koncert 1983 |
3.60 | 6 ratings
N�pstadion Omegakoncert No. 1 Vizesblokk 1994 |
4.80 | 5 ratings
N�pstadion Omegakoncert No. 2 Sz�razblokk 1994 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Az Omega �sszes koncertfelv�tele I. 1995 |
2.22 | 4 ratings
Az Omega �sszes koncertfelv�tele II. 1995 |
4.67 | 6 ratings
KONCERt. N�pstadion 1999 1999 |
4.00 | 3 ratings
Napot hoztam, csillagot 2004 |
4.50 | 6 ratings
Greatest Performances - 50 Years 2012 |
4.00 | 5 ratings
Orat�rium - Adventi koncertek 2014 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Elo Omega Kisstadion '77 2023 |
OMEGA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)
4.50 | 2 ratings
Jubileumi koncert 1987 1993 |
4.60 | 5 ratings
KonceRT N�pstadion 1999 2000 |
4.75 | 4 ratings
Koncert N�pstadion 1994 2001 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
A bulik másképpen! (Népstadion 1994/99) 2002 |
4.67 | 3 ratings
N�pstadion 1994 -1999 2002 |
4.02 | 5 ratings
Szuperkoncert (Nepstadion 2001) 2002 |
3.23 | 4 ratings
Napot hoztam, csillagot - Omega koncertturn� 2004 2004 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Jubileumi koncertek 2004 |
4.00 | 4 ratings
Napot hoztam, csillagot - Koncertturn� 2004 (Limited Edition) 2005 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Greatest Performances - 50 Years 2012 |
OMEGA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
OMEGA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)
4.33 | 3 ratings
Paint It Black / Bus Stop 1966 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Little Man 1966 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
Sunny 1966 |
3.67 | 3 ratings
Megb�ntott�l 1967 |
4.33 | 3 ratings
Ismertem egy l�nyt 1967 |
3.67 | 3 ratings
Nem �j a nap alatt semmi 1967 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
K�vek a v�zparton 1967 |
4.00 | 3 ratings
Azt mondta az anyuk�m 1967 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Volt egy boh�c 1968 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Trombit�s Fr�di 1968 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Kiab�lj, �nekelj 1968 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
Ovi-Beat 1968 |
5.00 | 2 ratings
Pearls In Her Hair / The Bird 1969 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Naplemente 1969 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Pearls In Her Hair (Japan) 1970 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
S�t�t a v�ros 1970 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
R�gv�rt kedvesem 1971 |
4.04 | 4 ratings
Perlen im Haar 1973 |
4.00 | 4 ratings
Pearls In Her Hair / The Lying Girl 1973 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
Everytime she steps in 1974 |
2.38 | 4 ratings
Live as Long As / Spanish Guitar 1974 |
2.36 | 5 ratings
A k�nyvel� �lma 1976 |
4.33 | 3 ratings
Petr�leuml�mpa 1977 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
Skyrover (promo single) 1978 |
2.33 | 3 ratings
Rush Hour / Lady Of The Summer Night 1979 |
4.00 | 2 ratings
Miss World 1994 |
5.00 | 2 ratings
Break The Chain / Tower of Babel 1996 |
3.14 | 3 ratings
Tower of Babel 2004 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Megh�v�s 2006 |
4.00 | 1 ratings
Omega '56 2016 |
4.33 | 3 ratings
Testamentum - B�cs�ztat� 2021 |
OMEGA Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by VladAlex
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
AtomicCrimsonRush
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
Invitation has a dreamy feel and mesmerising melody. Don't keep me Waitin follows with memorable lead guitar passages. I love the melody 4 minutes in, the spacey keyboards form a musicscape to those guitar sounds. Its absolutely beautiful ear candy.
An Acountants Dream is next, with a faster tempo, crashing drums from Debreceni, a rocking rhythm and heavier vocals. A weird curio this one, a diversion with a hint of humour especially the guitar sounds that at one point sound like a duck quacking.
The closing track Late Night Show is a moderate tempo track with strong vocals and time sig switches allowing some keyboard wizardry from Benko.� The acoustic flourishes are peaceful and create a calm mood. It builds to a progressive musical outro with a female vocal and interlocking keyboards.
Overall Time Robber is a gem for Omega showcasing what made the band great and shows why they are hailed as Hungary's finest proggers.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
I find every song hit and miss except for the closer which of course is my favourite. "Late Night Show" is that song and it has some depth to it with that upfront bass and drumming but check out the wordless vocals late to end it. Again an ELOY vibe here but this is really good. Least favourite is the one before it "An Accountant's Dream" an uptempo rocker bringing classic rock to mind but thankfully this is the shortest piece.
"Don't Keep me Waiting" is spacey as the vocals arrive before 1 1/2 minutes bringing ELOY to mind as it plods along with bluesy, FLOYD-like guitar. "Invitation" opens with electronics as drums join in then vocals a minute in. Not big on this but the bass and sound during the instrumental section is really good. The opener is a two part affair reminding me of ELOY and we get either really high pitched synths or theremin led passages contrasted with the vocal led sections. This does go into more of a rock territory but theremin is back late.
Again much respect but just not consistent enough or my kind of music overall to give 4 stars. By the way I think it's cool that they used the same colour or hue on five album covers including this one. So '74, '76, '78, '86 and '96.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
Mellotron Storm
Prog Reviewer
This particular album was released in 1974 and features a side long suite which is certainly the attraction as the other three tracks just don't do a lot for me. Happy to hear some mellotron on that suite and the title track. This is a five piece with the keyboardist being supremely important for composing the music. It's interesting that it's the bass player playing the mellotron on here. The keyboardist sticks to organ and moog pretty much. One is the singer. These guys can play! A 36 minute record with four tracks with the highlight again being the over 19 minute "Suite" which has it's moments and non- moments too. Not into those other three tunes but again to say this was a talented band is an understatement.
This is one of those albums where I get impressed and disappointed during every song so I just can't give this 4 stars, not in my musical world anyways.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
siLLy puPPy
Special Collaborator PSIKE, JRF/Canterbury, P Metal, Eclectic
The band floundered around in its early years mostly covering British rock songs but with the addition of organist / flautist / vocalist G�bor Presser in 1967, the band benefited greatly from his seasoned talent in the genres of rock, jazz and folk songwriting. It didn't take long at all for OMEGA's reputation as a live band to leak out of Hungary and in 1968 they were invited to England to record this debut album OMEGA RED STAR: FROM HUNGARY which was released in English on Decca Records. The band didn't abandon its Hungarian roots though and all throughout its career released albums in both English and Hungarian. Although more famous as a progressive rock band, in these early years OMEGA engaged in the typical psychedelic rock that was taking over the world although even at this early stage some proggy moments were developing such as the extended organ solo on "Holnap."
The typical vinyl album's running time of nearly 37 minutes, OMEGA RED STAR FROM HUNGARY could've been any old British psych band with its ability to adopt all the attributes of the Western musical paradigm. What OMEGA brought to the table was the occasional use of Hungarian folk music in the mix. At this stage OMEGA's sound was beyond the average psych rock band with not only the use of guitars, bass, drums and keyboards but also incorporated flutes, trumpet and the citera, a strange looking Hungarian stringed instrument. The band spent 1968 touring England and although the titles of the songs are in the band's native Hungarian, the lyrics were sung in English. This exotic edge was exactly what OMEGA needed to get them noticed in the sea of excellent British rock that was taking over the world in the 1960s.
Sounding something like a mix of The Beatles, The Doors and Traffic, early OMEGA ticked off all the British psych boxes with strong melodic and catchy pop hooks. Heavy use of dramatic organ sounds, a Kinks-like use of rhythm along with the psychedelic pop sensibilities of early Pink Floyd. The band stood out for its liberal use of flute (long before UK bands like Jethro Tull existed) and mix of Hungarian folk musical scales as well as what sounds like Communist Party propaganda musical form. Given the censorship and iron fist control of music behind the former Iron Curtain and its satellite affiliates, OMEGA was more subversive than a Western band in conveying its opposition to the system it found itself controlled by.
OMEGA is primarily known for its 10 album run of progressive rock albums that started in 1971 when Presser left the band and took his folk and jazz style with him however it's well worth going back to these early years to explore the band's origins. While not some long lost masterpiece, it's fascinating to hear how a band from communist Hungary swam upstream against all odds to become an international sensation in these early years. OMEGA may not have been the next Beatles but the band was quite competent at crafting instantly catchy tunes that perfectly evoke the era of the tumultuous late 1960s from a part of the world most of the era were rather unaware of. While not an essential listening experience by any means, OMEGA RED HISTORY: FROM HUNGARY is a interesting slice of Eastern European history that propelled the band into the international stars they would soon become.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
Matti
Prog Reviewer
In 2015 the long history of Omega was compiled in a decade-by-decade approach. "The Beaty Sixties", "The Spacey Seventies", "The Progressive Eighties", "The Heavy Nineties". Which one to buy? Well, I vaguely was aware that in the 80's the band's artistic level declined, and yet the word 'Progressive' made me believe that maybe they made some progressive and more ambitious stuff among the commercial pop/rock at that time, and that this CD would skim the cream from many albums (the other factor on my decision was that I already had some 70's stuff by Omega). Not quite so. Frankly, this should be called "The Commercial Eighties", or "The Pop Eighties". There's no album source information in the release itself, but a research back home showed that this compilation contains the entire album Working = the English version of Az Arc (both 1981), which is clearly seen as one of the weak albums, like actually each one they made in the 80's. Tracks 17 and 19 come from Omega 12 (1986), tracks 15 and 18 from Babylon a.k.a. Omega 13 (1987), and for a couple of tracks I found no origins.
So, the first thing for a prog oriented listener to do is not minding the false title and simply taking the music as a pop product of its time. And I'll do my best to be open-minded on this review too. The opener 'Nasca' is a decent little synth-oriented instrumental. 'Love Games' is pure commercial early-80's hard rock. Noisy, sharp, chorus-heavy. 'Inside Outside' is even faster in tempo. Oh no, what have I bought!? 'Laughing on the Inside' is a so-called hard rock ballad, typical for the decade. 'Working' is another energetic, commercial hard-rocker. The band's sound is not bad really, the synth solo/backing has some impressive spaceyness left from the better days. But no, these songs are not 'progressive' in the least. 'Rocket': "Oh baby, I feel like a rocket tonight!" Need I say more? Happily the album Working contains several brief instrumentals ('Nasca, 'Intermezzo', 'Hostage 1'). They may not be excellent on a prog scale, but at least they serve as a refreshing pause from the noisy and commercial song style.
'I Can't Stop Thinking of You' is a hard rock ballad that FOREIGNER would have made better. There's some improvement for the rest of the 73-minute compilation. 'Russian Winter' features balalaika (?) and it manages to paint an inner picture of a winter in Russia. Though not being an instrumental, brief 'Hostage 2' is emotionally strong in its melancholic approach. The 7-minute 'Morning Lights' is perhaps the highlight on this compilation. Tempo is relatively slow, and the move from the latter- day Leonard Cohen -like deep voice to the uplifting chorus functions pretty well. 'Lady Moon' is another mid-tempo power ballad with lots of synths. The beat sounds like being programmed. Some sax added too. 'Child in Your Arms' also relies heavily on the chorus; the parts in between try too hard to sound doomy. A slight reminescence to CAMEL's 'West Berlin' on sound. 'Home Again' is a slow ballad, quite listenable. The last track 'Your All Night Man' is proudly exactly what the title suggests.
Can't give more than two stars. Avoid, unless you want to expand your Omega collection and have a gap for the eighties stuff.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
Progfan97402
Prog Reviewer
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by KenFrankenstein
The album is a compilation of Hungarian language songs prior to their first English language on the Bellaphon label in early 1973. it may appear strange to non-Hungarian speakers but if you are into 60s psychedelia go for this diamond in the rough. Not sure if it is available on CD but if you are a vinyl junkie get this one. You might love it or hate it but give it a few listens and find out what was rocking and rolling behind the iron Curtain when guys like Jean Le Carre and Len Deighton were writing cold war spy novels.
Worth seeking out.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
apps79
Special Collaborator Honorary Collaborator
Mid-70's was definitely the band's most incosistent period, the collection of different sounds resulted an uneven album, where apparently there was no particular direction.Seeing this one as a collections of pieces, ''Nem tudom a neved'' is a pretty decent album with Benko now focusing on the sound of synthesizer for his keyboard parts.It becomes clearly that the very short tracks follow a Hard Rock vein with straight riffing, some bluesy influences and even some 60's Psych/Pop leftovers in the vocal parts, while the lengthy cuts have much more to offer.For example the title track is still grounded in a Hard Rock enviroment, but the sharp sound of synth flashing and the occasional entries on spacious moods adds some sort of diversity to this piece, while ''A buvesz'' has a certain Teutonic vibe akin to ELOY with its slow guitar moves.The 3-min. ''Az egben lebegok csarnoka'' is a welcome suprise, a laid-back smooth delivery with symphonic keyboards and harsichord in the process in a romantic climate, supported by excellent vocals.''Mozgo vilag'' is beautiful, a melancholic approach on Teutonic Prog akin to NOVALIS and GUILDENSTERN with big time orchestral keyboards and strings and heavy yet crying guitars.Same goes for ''Huszadik szazadi varoslako'', which is less symphonic but equally progressive with the soft guitar lines, the odd synth lines and the harsichord meeting the poetic vocals and an emotional atmosphere.
As close as it gets to the German scene, an amalgam of Teutonic-like sounds with spacious keyboards, hard guitars and underground symphonic overtones, held down by a few forgettable Hard Rock tunes.The progressive tracks though are pretty enganging and the album is easily recommended.
Omega Psychedelic/Space Rock
Review by
LearsFool
Prog Reviewer