BELIEVERS & DECEIVERS

FIRST REVIEW OF THIS ALBUM

Strange, this band was added by Krigsman but although he named Brighteye Brison a great prog band he didn't write a review. Also strange: despite Krigsman his words about Brighteye Brison their musical direction, this band has been put into the Prog-Related category. After listening to this new album I can only say: THIS NEW BRIGHTEYE BRISON ALBUM IS PURE SEVENTIES ORIENTED PROGROCK!!

Swedish formation Brighteye Brison was founded in 2000, after the release of the demo 4:am (2001) Brighteye Brison made the CD's Brighteye Brison (2003), Stories (2006) and this brandnew album (2008). It contains 4 compositions (between 5 and 35 minutes!) with a total running time of almost 70 minutes. Along the five band members you can also listen to two guest musicians on trumpet and 'spoken voice'. During my first listening session Brighteye Brison impressed me: what a wonderful, in general quite melodic Seventies progrock inspired music (evoking early Spock's Beard) with obvious references to mainly Yes but also Gentle Giant and Genesis. Their sound is alternating and dynamic with lots of strong musical ideas and a varied instrumentation, from acoustic guitar and saxophone to a wide range of vintage keyboards and even the Theremin.

1. Pointless Living (5:13) : In a swinging rhythm with powerful bass runs the band showcases her appreciation for early Yes. We can enjoy sensitive guitar, varied pianoplay, some Mellotron waves and a flashy synthesizer solo, what a great start!

2. After The Storm (7:36) : After an intro with acoustic rhythm guitar and Hammond organ, a fiery guitar solo follows, accompanied by a Hammond organ sound that evokes Seventies Focus. Then exciting solos on synthesizer and guitar and captivating interplay between Hammond and synthesizer, I love this Seventies progrock oriented atmosphere.

3. The Harvest (20:27) : This long composition starts with a sumptuous church organ sound, then we can enjoy lots of changing moods, accellarations and breaks, the music shifts from mellow with acoustic rhythm guitar and vocal harmonies to heavy with powerful saxophone and bombastic eruptions, layered with the unsurpassed sound of the Mellotron, Hammond and Moog and supported by a strong rhythm-section. The final part contains a strongly build-up guitar solo, a splendid farewell.

4. The Grand Event (34:44) : This 'magnum opus' is a tribute to the Classic Prog, from Yes to Gentle Giant and I can tell you that Brighteye Brison didn't fail to keep my attention during the more than 30 minutes, from dreamy parts with vocal harmonies and soaring flute - and violin-Mellotron or a 'churchy' Hammond organ to compelling with howling guitar and bombastic with vintage keyboards like a fat Moog solo and heavy Hammond waves (again Focus comes to my mind). You can hear that this Swedish formation plays together for many years, to me Brighteye Brison sounds tight and the interplay is fluent, especially the rhythm-section is a very strong foundation (like Alan White- Chris Squire in the Seventies Yes years).

After more than 40 years of progrock, Brighteye Brison is a dynamic and exciting example that this often nailed music style is alive, highly recommended!

Fantastic album...really great and a big step forward from earlier releases. The swedes have really developed their songwriting and arrangement skills and the playing is superb! I missed an epic on the last one, but here I got 2...those two alone made the album worthwhile, and the other titles are as good, but a little overshadowed by the monsters ;-) Erik is an exiting addition on the drums and has taken the band in a new direction both soundwise and musicwise. All things point to a great future for this band!

But please...take this band out of the prog-related genre and into the symphonic prog where they belong.

pirko

Swedish combo Brighteye Brison sure is surpassing itself with each new release: the progressiev vision that took flight in the pretty album "Stories" is now a powerful reality in the 2008 effort "Believers & Deceivers". The ever present influences from The Flower Kings, Yes, Kayak and Spock's Beard remain rooted in the band's compositions and arrangements, but something important is new here - a major confidence in the task of developing musical ideas and ordaining multiple themes in adequate sequences. Two for the four tracks comprised in this album are epics whose time spans range between the 20 and 35 minute marks. Talking about typical features of prog rock... Anyway, 'Pointless Living' kicks off the album with a solid rocking dynamics: the funk-instilled bass lines provide fresh air to the amalgam of guitar and dual keyboards. The synth solo in the middle is a magnificent reminder of "King Arthur"-era Wakeman. This might be a very god example of a good song that post-Neil Spock's Beard should be but never seems to be capable of writing... but Brighteye Brison is, ha!! As catchy as 'Pointless Living' is, it is actually the least great piece in the album. The greater things get started with track 2 'After the Storm', whose basic sonorities are very related to the opener, but the vibe feels very different due to the inclusion of notable jazzy elements in the rhythmic development; a special mention has to go to the impressive guitar lead whose power allows it to make itself be noticed among the keyboards' predominant role. This track sounds like a weird yet attractive mixture of "Adam & Eve"- Flower Kings and "End is Beautiful"-Echolyn. A great job, indeed. 'The Harvest', which is the first marathon track, gets started with a ceremonious church organ intro that eventually gives way to a heavily Kayak-related section. Later on, things get reconstructed on a spacey note (like Eloy-meets- Fruitcake), featuring a curious distorted bass solo floating among the eerie synth ambiences. Next is a climatic portion that includes slight quotations from Genesis' prog staple 'Watcher of the Skies'. this section deserved a longer expansion, in my opinion, since the emergence of a new sung section feels too early to me. Fortunately, the next instrumental section does find a proper expansion for its symphonic elaborations and jazz-oriented 5/4 jams: it doesn't feel too short or too extensive, it just feels rightly long. The slow section is based on concise acoustic guitar arpeggios that gradually lead to a fuller group sound; the last climax really rocks the hell out of this piece's epic potential, with a particularly spectacular guitar solo that helps to build a pompous, yet not saturating closure. The last marathon track, 'The Grand Event', states n effective combination of the preceding epic's multicolored splendor and the two shorter songs' dynamic. Starting with a marriage of bucolic acoustic guitars and eerie keyboard layers, the added soprano sax lines contribute a special lyric vibe to the overall mood. Before too long, the group brings on an amazingly agile section, typically Brighteye Brison-style (that is, mixing TFK, Yes and Kayak), with funny inclusions of GG-inspired choral elements. When the track gets to the 8 minute mark, the band turns quite psychedelic: it is the promise of something twisted, which unfortunately isn't entirely accomplished, but all in all, it works as an interlude before the arrival of an Eloy-like section. After the 15 minute mark, the retro symphonic thing reigns again, letting the musical ideas show its catchiness and moderate complexity. I'm not sure I totally enjoy the soliloquy right before the end, but the last instrumental minutes should suffice to complete a very good impression in the receptive listener. While not matching the relevant symphonic pomposity exploited in the excellent Versus X and Thieves' Kitchen 2008 releases, truth is that Brighteye Brison's "Believers & Deceivers" is a very powerful retro symphonic prog item that should appeal to the most deeply melancholic appreciators of the genre. I don't intend to show off any sort of magician capacities, but I feel positive about this album being BB's cornerstone release, a before-and-after in their still ongoing career.

The Echo(lyn) of the Giant.

I'm very impressed with the quality of this record, so impressed that the term 'Prog Related' could be replaced by 'Full-Fledge-Exciting-and-OriginalProg'.

The first 2 songs are a great example of 'old school prog' done by young fellows like Wobbler, Beardfish or Black Bonzo. Supported by a very catchy melody line and chorus, Pointless Living is not just a great rock song, but also a tribute to Echolyn and Gentle Giant done in a tasteful way. From the organ and sometimes the weird keyboard sounds, the whole synthetiser palette is impressive and vintage sounding; reminding me often of Acquiring the Taste or Mirage (especially After the Storm).

The rest is 2 ginormous epics of 20 and 35 minutes and frankly, not as impressive although the frequent tribute to Genesis (Watcher of the Skies), Echolyn, Camel or Gentle Giant. Like any epic, the challenge is to keep the interest of the listener and doing something logical or at least, not 'cut-copy-paste' ideas for the sake of it. Those should be done by more experienced bands or artists like Morse. Better luck next time.

Apart of the length of the epics (or their very existence as an epic), the album contains loads and loads of great and intelligent music done by good and adventurous musicians.

Adventurous, original and plenty of 'replay value'.

I had received the band's previous effort Stories a couple of weeks before I got my hands on Believers & Deceivers. I love the lush sounds on the beautiful and somewhat melancholy Stories so I was pretty surprised by the direction the band had taken with Believers. The seventies approach to the music is still there but the playing and overall sound is tighter. I feel that the songwriting derive from a quite different pond this time around. From the very start we are introduced to the heavy rockin' side of the band on the opening track Pointless Living. Erik Hammarstrom is the new guy here and his drumming is simply amazing. The jazz/fusion prog song After The Storm has lots of time changes and features fantastic solos on synth and guitar. Per Hallman is the composer of The Harvest, the first of the album's two epics. This is in true symphonic prog style and after its 20+ minutes it just leaves me breathless. The lyrics about an inmate isolated inside a padded cell works so fine with the highly Genesis/Yes influenced music. A part with a saturated bass solo while the voices inside his head start to take over is chilling. The song ends with another great guitar solo over a very fine symphonic arrangement. The Grand Event is keyboardist Linus Kase's masterpiece. It's glorious 35 minutes contains some very beautiful themes that recur in various shapes. From the Pink Floydish opening through the Gentle Giant inspired vocal arrangements to the Procul Harum-like meditations this song pretty much covers all that a symphonic prog freak like myself could ever wish or hope for. I find some hard rocking efforts here but in the meantime the thoughtfulness that I so much enjoyed on Stories is very present as well. The band members play miscellaneous instruments like the Theremin and Kases saxophone is sometimes very reminiscent of David Jackson/VDGG. Believers & Deceivers is an amazing symphonic prog album all the way through and I can't recommend it enough!

The Swedes in Brighteye Brison deliver a flawless album with Believers & Deceivers. I tend to go for albums that at first listen has at least something that grabs me enough to make it worth listening to again. After that it has to have enough depth not to make me bury it deep down in the archives. Well, the first time listening to this album was an electrifying experience. The opening track Pointless Living just has that deep impact of originality and when the short but intense instrumental part takes off I'm no longer in doubt that this band is destined to go far. Brighteye Brison are very much influenced by 70's progressive rock like Genesis and Gentle Giant which is obvious in the use of many counterpointed parts and analogue instruments. However the spirit of the album to me lands in the tradition of the distinct late 70's/early 80's reminding me of albums like Drama by Yes or A by Jethro Tull. The drive and strong force of the performance of this tight band is much welcomed and I love it! Another trademark for Brighteye Brison is obviously the grand vocal harmonies which are used to astonishing effect. I keep coming back to this album and I still find it very engaging. With epic songs The Harvest and The Grand Event this album has enough to make me going for a long time to come.

Their previous album "Stories" was barely 3 stars in my opinion. This is a huge improvement and very close to 4 stars. It's 68 minutes long and there's only 4 songs including the almost 35 minute closer.

"Pointless Living" is one i'm not too fond of, it's a straight forward, uptempo track. It opens with some huge bass as the tempo picks up quickly. It settles down and vocals come in after a minute.The tempo continues to change. Not bad really, it's kind of fun. "After The Storm" reminds me of some of the current Jazz flavoured U.S. bands like LITTLE ATLAS. I like this one, it sounds so different from the rest of the album. The guitar after 4 minutes is outstanding. "The Harvest" is over 20 minutes long. Church organ to start with as vocals arrive before a minute with keys. Bass come in prominantly. A haunting calm 3 minutes in, then the guitar starts to make some noise. Spoken words 4 1/2 minutes in. The tempo starts to pick up before 6 minutes. Some great organ runs too. Sax 11 1/2 minutes in over a nice heavy soundscape. Fragile vocals with acoustic guitar 14 minutes in. Cool section. Piano comes in. Mellotron 16 1/2 minutes in. Guitar ends the song in style as organ and bass shine.

"The Grand Event" opens with strummed guitar and mellotron. I like it. Sax comes in briefly. Vocals 1 1/2 minutes in, sax returns a minute later. Mellotron continues. There's a GENTLE GIANT-like vocal arrangement 4 1/2 minutes in.The tempo coontiues to shift as does the mood. Mellotron 17 1/2 minutes. Nice heavy sound 21 minutes in. Huge bass before 24 1/2 minutes followed by piano and mellotron. A change after 32 minutes and spoken vocals come in, followed by guitar to the end.

This reminds me of SIMON SAYS a little, although it's not nearly as bombastic. The bass in both are quite prominant and although both are well done and very proggy, I just can't give them 4 stars. Close though. 3.5 stars.

2008 was a great prog year. Of all the amazing releases that came out I think that the Swedish bands really stood out the most (Karmakanic, Beardfish and Brother Ape!). And of all these Brighteye Brison's third release entitled Believers & Deceivers, at least to me, is the winner so that is why my first written review in here will be about this particular album. The strong seventies vibe in the music of Brighteye Brison is, as on their previous Stories, ever present. I'm the first person to embrace this since that is really the era I prefer. Nevertheless here is a feel of modern and heavier influences, not in the metal sence, but in the edginess of the performance as well as in the production. Pointless Living, which starts off the album, is a turning point from the work on the slower in pace and very melancholic Stories CD. Brighteye Brison makes a statement in stylistic change and prove that they don't intend to do the same album all over again. The closest in comparison all through the album is probably Drama by Yes. The production is very clever and sounds very satisfying without ever being overproduced. After The Storm is a collaboration between bassplayer Kristofer Eng and Per Hallman and presents a folky progrock song with lots and lots of odd meters with some sudden dashes of fusion thrown in. Guitarist Johan Oijen's soloing is stunning to say the least with a tone to die for and dexterity of highest class. Also the stronghold of the album is it's two long tracks. Hallman's The Harvest is a heavily Yes and Genesis influenced piece. The keyboards are lush with mellotron and hammond in the forefront. Musically we find touches of Psychedelica underlining the lyrical context of the song. With the melodic and powerful outro this epic affects me just thinking about it! The enormous closer by Linus Kase is called The Grand Event and is a sci-fi story true space rock/symphonic style with hundreds of different themes showing up in different disguises during it's 35 minutes! I just have to surrender to this album. Brighteye Brison have released a piece of art with Believers & Deceivers!

As some have already stated so convincingly, this recording is a quantum leap forward (truly honing their style and progressing) from earlier material. In fact, I returned my copy of their debut; it just didn't hit any kind of chord. Some may wonder why a generous rater as yours truly even has dud albums to review but I just coldly get rid of them (sorry too many amazing albums out there!). This is certainly lethal material, incorporating old school exhilarations with modern ornamentations and proposing first-rate vocals to boot. "Pointless Living" launches forward with a current undertone of rage led by an obese and highly trebled bass torpedo recalling the Squire ways, with stunning melodies that slash harshly and just as quickly subside into quasi-folkloric settings, nothing overstaying their welcome, when the vocalist blitzes ahead, escorting his backing vocal cohorts into the land of sublime harmony. A blistering synth solo adds more lather to the spume, rippling uncontrollably. There are hints of classic Caravan or even a proggier version of Pure Reason Revolution (those darn harmony vocals) that explain the traditional way of doing things. Guitarist Öijen (now that's a name for you) unleashes a few intriguing lines, both rhythmically as well as soloing with furious aplomb. "After the Storm" suggests odder environments, jazzier noodlings that appear out of seemingly nowhere, recalling the jazz- rock greats (you know who you are) of the past. The guitar solo is masterful, with touches of Holdsworthian slipperiness, searing notes a la Santana if needed and a rabble rousing synth blast only seduces more. With 2 accomplished and full-time keyboardist (Linus Kase and Per Hallman), a rock solid drummer in Erik Hammarström and the propelled bass bottoms fingered by Kristofer Eng, the colossal 20 minute + "The Harvest" presents church organ and Hammond organ up front and center, buttered by deep mellotron layers and gashed by some weird ambient atmospherics. Verging on gruesome, the bass eruptions are tectonic, bathed in chaotic fuzz until a slowly blossoming theme takes this into another direction. Even though one can easily detect some overt liftings (a Genesis rhythmic snippet here, a touch of Emersonian bravado, some later counterpoint harmony singing that would make Gentle Giant blush with envy), all is done within context and extreme reverence , the introduction of a jazzy saxophone confirming their intelligence in keeping the listener off guard. A restrained respite of gentle ambience prepares a main chorus that recall the simplest innocence , swirling synths patrolling the skies, opaque waves of mellotron filling in the blanks, torching it off to the guitarman , who takes this sucker into the stratosphere. Now if that wasn't enough, catch your breath because the finale is a mastodon epic, the 34 minute "The Great Event" and suavely incorporates all the ingredients that make this a must have addition to any collection. Not to many epics that can knock this one off the podium, this magnificent musical adventure begins with a classic Floydian grandeur, certainly psychedelic ("How would you like to live in space"), deep felt sax swerves and then boosting it up with a more upbeat section, interrupted by that Giant quote I mentioned earlier (incredible gall) and slammed by some inquisitive keyboard densities. Again the double keyboard attack produces some solid playing, the bass pounding uncontrolled, the sax blurting nicely and the raging guitar kicking you in the guts. The displayed daring is unrelenting and almost cocky, willfully stretching the boundaries while maintaining the basic theme throughout. This is no collage of assorted themes and styles, edited together to make one long pretentious megalith like so many have done in the past but instead a musical whole that has shape, form and depth. The unexpected interventions are welcome diversions that heighten their appeal and it becomes easy to see why fans would love this intensely. It's not an easy listen, requiring repeated plays in the audio system thus undeniably revealing new perceptions and appreciations. The vocal work is quite splendid as mentioned previously, even using effects when least expected, the harmony work is sinfully adept at tingling the spine. When dealing with a colossal piece, it behooves the composers to keep things creative yet clearly structured and these Swedes have certainly passed the grade in flying colors, alternating the hard and the urgent with the sweet and the pastoral, various solos adding to the embrace. Yes, its retro yet very contemporary, fully deserving of the high ratings here. I am pleasantly surprised. Now about that first album.....

4.5 Swedish meatballs served with lingonberries

I can do nothing else than join this massive choir of praise for this magnificent example of that progressive rock still is a relevant and alive genre!! The things I enjoy the most I guess is that there is not only loads of nods to the old prog-masters (Yes, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Pink Floyd and the likes) of the seventies but also to bands like ELO, Return To Forever and Swedish fusion combos like EGBA and Kornet (also from the seventies)! Somebody here in an earlier review said that they sound more like an American prog band than a Swedish one. I agree on that. You can tell they have been inspired by Echolyn, Spock's Beard. Still they have their own distinct sound firmly rooted in the seventies tradition. It definitely is a huge leap forward from previous album Stories which is nice but perhaps a bit unfocused in comparison to Believers & Deceivers. I don't want to be careful with those fivers so I'll give this five starsNow I just can't wait to see them att Slottskogen Goes Progressive in Gothenburg Aug 22nd. Will be a blast!!