GALAXY – Runaway Men [recorded 1997 / previously unreleased] (2022)

GALAXY, who featured Kayak vocalist Bart Schwertmann, after 25 years are to have their lone full-length album, ”Runaway Men” originally recorded in 1997, finally released. Galaxy were a Dutch melodic rock / prog quartet, who alongside Schwertmann on bass and vocals featured bothers Ard and Nils Offers on keyboards and drums and guitarist / vocalist Neils Lingbeek.
The band formed in 1987, when Ard Offers was just 11-years old, and released several demo tapes and the mini-album Back Before The Storm. However the band’s full-length debut album, which they recorded in 1997 never saw the light of day.
Sometimes an undiscovered jewel from the past is brought to life. ”Runaway Men” is one of these. This is extremely melodious and dynamic progressive melodic rock with an ’80s feel, excellent songwriting and pristine production.

Schwertmann – who went on to win the Soundmixshow on Dutch national television in 1999 with his rendition of Ghetsemane from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar – before joining Dutch prog legends Kayak passed the unmixed tapes of ”Runaway Men” to music promoter David van Hartingsveldt, who pushed for a release that never happened.
The record even did not had an official title. Until now… Lingbeek then recently scoured his attic and visited all former establishments of the Mastersound Studios to go through the entire archives to complete the album.

Galaxy existed some fourteen years (1983-1997) in which some old-fashioned cassettes and a mini-CD were released to not much success. After building their ‘own’ studio at the back of the parental house of Nils (drums) and Ard (keyboards) Offers the group with singer/bass player Bart Schwertmann and guitarist Niels Lingbeek had plenty of time to work on this album.
The songs were done and recorded but a release was for whatever reason not an option and the band more or less drifted apart.
Bart Schwertmann, after winning the Soundmixshow on Dutch TV (1999 version), went on in professional bands before landing the job of vocalist for Kayak, one the best progressive rock band ever in The Netherlands.

Bart will be there when Kayak does their farewell tour a bit later this year. Niels went on as a studio-owner, producer and engineer. Ard played in other bands and released a CD with his current band Perfect Storm last year. Nils stopped as musician.
But through the years the band members stayed in contact with one another. A little while ago Bart released his first solo-album ‘Theater Of Grief’. Bart also handed a tape of old Galaxy material to David van Hartingsveldt who heard potential. He wanted to do something with the material that after a long search in personal archives was found and repolished by Niels Lingsbeek and the other members.

So, after 25 years shelved the recording finally has come out in the form of ‘Runaway Men’. The songs may be old but the sound of this album is as fresh as a daisy.
You could say that ‘Runaway Men’ is a quite modern sounding melodic progressive rock album. It should appeal to fans of band like Arena, Trevor Rabin, Asia, and also Kayak. Not only because Bart Schwertmann is singing here but the structure of several songs has some similarities although the Galaxy sound is a bit tougher and rougher.

Guitarist Niels Lingbeek can be credited for that because of his excellent work on the six strings giving the songs a bit more fat on the bones with Ard Offers giving the tracks extra colour. All songs are extremely melodic but have a rocking underground and really some excellent vocal arrangements.
No wonder that Schwertmann landed years later in Kayak: already in 1997 the singer sounded terrific. A compliment for the fact that especially Niels Lingbeek has managed to dust off and repolish the old recordings to a level that is even up to scratch in 2022.

The question remains why this little jewel of Dutch soil stayed in the closet at the time? What would have happened if the band had finished the final mixes, had found a record company and stayed together? That answer will most likely never ever be given.
What remains is an excellent eight song strong album that impresses from start to finish. Definitely a must for any melodic rock / progressive rock fan with a commercial, accessible approach.
HIGHLY Recommended

 

01 – Answers
02 – Look Into My Eyes
03 – Never The Same
04 – In Her Head
05 – Lady Of Fire
06 – Talk To Me
07 – Gallery Play
08 – Runaway Man

Bart Schwertmann – Vocals, Bass
Niels Lingbeek – Guitars, Vocals
Ard Offers – Keyboards
Nils Offers – Drums

 

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