The recently released second album, "Retrospective" by the Swiss Progressive Metallists SILENT MEMORIAL attracted much international attention. "Retrospective" is a well-rounded, multi-faceted album, which covers the many faces of Progressive Metals, shining with convincing songs and never losing contact with great melodies. In other words, the name SILENT MEMORIAL was the subject of much discussion and it soon got round that the Swiss band had actually released an album in Asia back in 1998, entitled "Cosmic Handball". Until now this little jewel was out of reach of the Prog community but the success of "Retrospective" made the calls for "Cosmic Handball" louder and louder. Limb Music and the band have therefore decided to improve the sound of the album and release it again in order to still the hunger of prog fans. "Cosmic Handball" clearly displays the signature of the Swiss band, who made an even more distinct mark with their second album. "Cosmic Handball" shows them tactfully more progressive and with Thomas Vikström (Therion, Brazen Abbot, Candlemass, Stormwind) as vocalist, the songs also have more of a bite than on the subsequent work. The band has already mastered the road they have taken, yet their beginnings did not seem to promise a bright future. "Cosmic Handball" is a spirited work but does not overtax the listener despite imaginative parts. It is balanced mixture of complex and catchy parts, which go hand in hand with each other. Songs such as "O'Meditation" and "Deserted Land" package progressive song structures and, from them, form exciting trips into a musical cosmos full of "Aha!" factors. Straight songs such as the seven minutes long "Carpet Diver" and "Cosmic Tornado" display a degree of fun and a good instinct for smooth transitions of the most varied moods. At the end of the album, the thirteen minutes of "Black Hole" is the heart of "Cosmic Handball", for it is here that the Swiss band unite all their strengths and deliver utterly brilliant progressive entertainment. All packed into a new sound, "Cosmic Handball" is more than just a high-class re-release, unattainable for over eleven years.