Hailing from West Germany, YARGOS has been at it for a while. They released "To be or not to be" in 2005, then the next release came in 2012. Following a line-up change, they have released their latest effort here titled "The Dancing Mermaid," which contains 14 new tracks. "The Storm is Coming" is a quick, under one-minute instrumental, with what sounds like people talking to one another over a radio. A woman screams, and it segues into "Annie, Oh Mine." Strings lead the charge here, and then come the harsh vocals, followed by clean female vocals. The two competing styles here don't really transition very well.

"You won't get far" opens with harsh vocals, followed by an almost Power Metal sound, complete with galloping drums and harmonized clean vocals. With minimal harsh vocals, this song makes more sense to me. Some keys and a guitar solo follow the second chorus. "Mine Complete" opens with a heavy and aggressive guitar riff and some symphonic elements. I still get more Power/Symphonic elements her than Progressive ones. A keyboard solo followed by a guitar solo come into play after the second chorus. It's obvious that the team here is talented. "You push me" opens with a slower pace, and lower instrumentation. Becky's vocals are very well done, and the chorus is full of a nice melody line. At this point in the album, I should have at least some of my mind made up, but I don't.

"Where are you now" is just under eight-minutes in length. Opening with light symphonic elements, it eventually works into a faster moving song, with Becky snarling at the end of some of her vocals. Seriously, I think this is Power Metal, but that is neither here nor there. A fantastic keyboard solo really lifts some life into this song. "Contaminated (We're all Damned)" is close to ten minutes in length, opening again with hushed symphonic elements. Once it gets going, it swings with some soul, but is really all over the place in terms of its sound. I honestly have a bit of trouble following along, and I love Progressive music.

"Two Girls (Don't Come Knocking)" opens with a nice a-capella vocal passage, and then some keys usher in the main sound. It waxes and wanes several times but again I am having some trouble following all of the extra stuff they supply outside of the main melody line. "Boneshaker" is a bit more linear in its approach. A mid-tempo riff opens with song and Becky's vocals have an angry tone to them. Yet again, it meanders a bit, and you have to respect the band for being able to keep track of all of these secondary passages. "All your Demons" hears the harsh vocals return again, and it's fitting for the song title. I also can't help but feel that this is some sort of a concept album. Fourteen tracks is surely a lot of music.

"It's Breeding" has a bluesy feeling to it at first. Becky can really sing soulfully when she wants to. The keys are the old school KANSAS vibe to them. The melodies are really nice here, and the structure a little more straightforward. "Lie to me" has some more angrier elements as the title suggests. Becky's vocals come with a snarl at times and outright harsh screams at other times. This song was much more linear as well. "(If Only I Could) Turn back Time" is another long opus, that take several twists and turns along the way. It has some pensive tones as well. It's again a bit hard to follow all the key changes and other things they throw at you. "The Storm is Passing" closes the album...coming around full circle to the first track, as birds chirp and thunder fades away.

Overall, I think a 14-track album was a very ambitious undertaking, even for a Progressive Metal band. Along the way, some songs stood out, but some of the longer songs didn't catch and hold me as well as some of the shorter songs. One thing is for sure, the band has talented musicians. But the album just failed to make any lasting mark for me as a whole.  Still, all the twists and turns are at least interesting, and you have to respect a band for putting out an album with 14 tracks. Give it a go for yourself and decide what you might like about it.