THE CERES PHENOMENON
THE PROJECT
The Ceres Phenomenon is a progressive rock project conceived by four seasoned Dutch musicians. It will be released as a book & compact disc. Ruud Stoker is the brains behind the concept and the story. All round guitarist Ron Koel is responsible for guitar and bass work. All keyboards are played by Julian Driessen and the drums are the work of Mike Boekhout. The musicians know each other for a long time from by playing together in several bands and projects such as Timelock, Dreamcarnation and The Last Detail.
The influences from their favourite (prog) bands such as Pink Floyd, Kansas, Saga, etc. are clearly present in The Ceres Phenomenon. The project was started during Covid based on a science fiction story by Ruud and ended with mixing and mastering mid 2025. The result is a 70 minute piece of music which has 18 tracks. The album is released as a 64 page book containing the full story, lyrics and actual pictures of Ceres (by NASA). Plus of course a CD with the full album.
As for playing live, the band had to find a bass player who could fit in The Ceres Phenomenon, which they found in the experienced Noud Maas. The CD release is planned for 18 November 2025, dates for gigs (in 2026) will be announced in the social media.
photo by Ariane van Dijk
THE STORY
In the year 5930, on the planet Mars in camp Universe Observatory, a crystal trunk is found and the content was a fragment of a story from the year 3593 which starts with this line: To those who find this crystal chest...
On Earth in the year 3593, unknown signals were picked up from outer space which they never heard before. Incidentally elsewhere, a radio station picked up screaming voices who may need help. After some time, a young scientist could pinpoint the place where the signals came from: the planet Ceres. The best scout, named Sentem, was chosen to go there to find out what is going on. Ceres is known for its blue crystal. Armies from other planets have been trying for centuries to get their hands on it.
On Ceres, Sentem meets the warrior Dividio and the story unfolds...
