4 VISIONS

4 Visions is one of those albums that hits the floor running. A heavily pulsating distorted bass guitars and commanding pounding jazz-drums wipe out any doubt about this bands message: "We're here to take Kobaia by storm!"

It took Eskaton 8 years to record their debut and 2 more years to get it released, as a result it sounds very indebted to Magma, but upon closer inspection there are some elements setting it apart from Magma and announcing a tighter and more rocking type of Zeuhl/Avant-Rock, reminding me as much of Magma as of more recent bands such as Guapo, Nebelnest and Nil who gave the heritage of Magma a new breath of life in the 00's.

The basis of the sound borrows heavily from Magma: prominently pounding drums, a frenzied bass attack, 2 piano's, organ, synths, female vocals and tasty guitar accents. There are no trumpets, no male vocals, no violin. Nevertheless it's an impressive orchestra and the best thing is how Eskaton managed to make it sound tight and direct. Eskaton put much more focus on the songwriting and chose to only develop their best ideas instead of throwing in every idea at hand. Of course, words like 'tight', 'direct' are relative things in a Zeuhl context.

The dual soprano vocals are decisively Zeuhl but are more accessible then Magma. I wouldn't say 'catchy', as classic pop formulas don't dare to come anywhere near to this album, but due to the use of French and the slightly more melodic approach, they are certainly more digestible. Again, take 'accessible' and 'digestible' for what they are with regards to Zeuhl

A last note to point out is the spacey atmosphere of this album. The organs, synths and guitar give the music a more psychedelic feel then Magma and turn this album into prog heaven for me. Just imagine, a hybrid of Zeuhl, dark rock and space-rock. On top, each of the tracks has a very distinct character, making for a varied listening experience. There's even some synth work in Le Cri that sounds like Marillion's Mark Kelly joined for a jam. Great work from keyboard player Gilles Rozenberg who shines on all moments that he touches on this album.

Highly recommended, both as an introduction to Zeuhl or as an extension beyond your Magma records.