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Eyesberg - Blue CD (album) cover

BLUE

Eyesberg

 

Neo-Prog

3.81 | 56 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Gerinski
Prog Reviewer
4 stars Eyesberg are a veteran German band who were playing already in the late 1970's and early 1980's but their original music never got released. 30 years later three of the original members (guitar & bass player Georg Alfter, keyboardist Norbert Podien and Germany-based British singer Malcolm Shuttleworth), encouraged by the modern easier possibilities to record and release an album, decided to rework their old stuff and finally release it.

Fortunately they got the collaboration from drummer Ulf Jacobs from Argos, a band formed by another of the original Eyesberg members Thomas Klarmann, instead of having to resort to programmed drum tracks. Ulf's drumming is really good and fits the music well.

The music and sound are reminiscent of 80's ' 90's Genesis mixed with 80's Camel and other Neo bands like Illuvatar, Quidam or Everon. Shuttleworth's voice frequently sounds similar to Phil Collins, occasionally adopting a more theatrical style which can remind of Fish, although with a more positive spirit instead of the frequent sombreness of the latter.

Highly melodic and easy-listening tunes, where the progginess comes more from frequent breaks and tempo and section changes rather than odd time signatures per se or technicality show-offs. Most songs are relatively short (around the 5 min mark) and yet they contain several sections so they flow nicely, nothing gets too long and the transitions are always fitting and nicely resolved, unlike other bands whose transitions sound patchy and forced.

Guitars are Rothery / Latimer influenced, melodic and never too distorted. Soloing by guitar and keys are often more melodic lines rather than traditional rock soloing. Flute sounds are frequently used, even in some uptempo sections, giving some Camel-esque or Quidam-esque vibe, although no flute player is credited so I assume they are produced with the keyboards.

The tracks contain a variety of tempos and dynamic patterns and they are well arranged in terms of sequence so the complete album has a nice dynamic flow. I find the last two tracks rather weak and they could have been dropped making a better 50 min album, and 'Winter Gone' is a bit cheesy, sounding like a Phil Collins ballad but it's not bad, and for the rest all the tracks are at a similarly good quality level. The production is good and clear from what I can say from listening to the album on Progstreaming via my computer and hi-fi system.

There's nothing too spectacular in this album but the music is well composed, arranged and performed. I would say, excellent addition for Neo fans, while harder-edged proggers will probably find it a bit bland.

Gerinski | 4/5 |

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