One World Music reviewed Vast Victory

Vast Victory by Sakis Gouzonis

Album Review by Steve Sheppard
Music Critic for One World Music & Former BBC Reporter
United Kingdom
Wednesday, 24 July 2013

A new album, a new artist to me and a new sound that is refreshing and yet strangely retro in style, Vast Victory is a breath of fresh air in a world of plastic-coated, manufactured pop.

Now I Am Free literally explodes with a definite '80s percussion feel, and at times I kept expecting Bonnie Tyler to chip in with her dulcet tones. But the structure of this piece is well crafted and has the right emotional content, and that content is sheer controlled power.

Heavenly Light forms from its beginnings to an almost Jarre-like level, but again the power and deep swirling electronic vibes hold together a composition performed by an artist who seems to be able to pull the magical musical rabbit out of the hat at every touch of the keyboards.

A man much decorated in the world of international music and rated to be the biggest export Greece has ever had, Gouzonis really brings this home with the composition Lead Me Home, a less in-your-face piece and very melodic with a definite, cinematic-made style, this was easily one of my favorite compositions from the album.

With seven international awards and three distinctions, Gouzonis now reaches into the emotive world of synths. His sweeping melodies and stunning chord changes are a real testament to his undoubted talent on the piece entitled This Land Is Yours.

Love From Above is a return to the opening style of the album, but almost has a subtle hint of a classical composition at this juncture, again, one could easily imagine this as a theme for a television show, it has that very crafted feel to it and a very purposeful theme.

I Am Your Provider is an upbeat string of melodies that could take you back in time or even onward on a musical journey with an artist here that is full of pleasant surprises. Gouzonis sets about a pop melody and layers some very serious tones in this almost ethnic musical track.

With the recent success of Glenn Main and his "Ripples" album and the sheer class acts across our world now in this genre, it would not really surprise me to find a gem like You Will Succeed. This was one of the stronger tracks on the album, it felt almost like a message to the world, keep going and you will succeed, perhaps a message to Gouzonis himself?

With the track Be Like The Wind, Gouzonis delves once more into his musical box of tricks and comes up with yet another classic, cinematic-style composition, this is a very flowing piece that would easily fit onto many broadcasts and even had a sense of something romantic going on here. Swirling synths and classical keyboards make this track a very enticing piece indeed.

The penultimate track of the album is a sole full composition that shows a deeper side to the music and the musician, and speaks volumes for Sakis Gouzonis as a person. You Are Not Alone has an energy about it that is simply an aid for a compulsive listen; one could easily see this track as becoming an anthem for the artist.

The opening of Till The End Of Time is a deep and powerful composition, and here we see Gouzonis standing tall and really delivering a track that is utterly brilliant. For me, this was Gouzonis saving the best till last, and Till The End Of Time has a grandeur and a majestic quality about it that, after hearing, one would have to stand and applaud.

Vast Victory is an album that is both fresh, full of energy, but powerful and full of happy surprises.