The lack of synthesiser work from the composer himself is indeed disappointing, but not so disappointing as his use of them when he does make an appearance. The crassness of the synthetic voices (supposedly doing something like a mission control countdown) is beyond cringeing. I own the keyboard that Vangelis undoubtedly got these sounds from, and to hear them as part of a vast orchestral work is just too hideous.

If you want to hear something entirely different from Vangelis I would better recommend his work El Greco with its haunting renaissance instrument use and rich vocal textures. If you value the money you would have to spend on this album, keep away.

This is a serious body of work - they're movements; not a collection of pop meets classical tunes, similar to those featured in the cheesy Direct album (for some reason a fave amongst Vangelis fans).

This is an album that Vangelis was always going to produce: a full orchestral series of movements, hinted at in so many albums before it such as Heaven & Hell, Mask, 1492 and of course, El Greco - Oceanic & Voices this is not! It can be fairly heavy going at times, and there are no lighter pieces to break up the rather bombastic compositions and themes, but there are some beautiful passages and the two soprano's put in a majestic performance. Elements of Mythodea remind me of several compositions I’ve listened to before, not only in Vangelis' previous work (El Greco especially – with parts appearing to be merely variations of movements from that album), but also Hans Zimmer's Gladiator in terms of the fusion of synthesizers, orchestra and vocals. Echoes of classical composers work such as Faure and Orff can be heard, and no doubt comparisons with various other classics will be made.

If you're into choral and operatic music then you may well love Mythodea, but if your tastes are more Chariots Of Fire and the composer’s hum-along-catchy themes, it might not be quite your cup of tea!

So Mythodea receives three stars from me, because unlike the wonderfully atmospheric, ethereal and enigmatic Voices - Mythodea lacks the variation and accessibility of that album, and also to a certain point, Oceanic - and that's where Vangelis excels: producing understated, evocative and romantic - almost Satie-esq pieces of music which Voices & Oceanic featured. So Come on Van, get out of this sombre mood, and rid yourself of your classical pretentions - you've proved your point to the world now, and hook up with Robbie, Dido or someone we all know and love and make the next Jon & Vangelis for the new century - brimming with a set of fresh (still atmostpheric and moody of course), catchy and melodic tunes that Radio 2 and HeartFM will just love!