SCHIZOPHRENIA

Shamall is the project of German music producer, DJ and multi-instrumentalist Norbert Krueler. The album 'Schizophrenia' offers what amount to two double LP's of music that indeed is prog-related, but only by reference in my opinion. The music of Shamall aims to create dark electronic music in de vain of the Blade Runner soundtrack, but less condensed to its most pivotal moments. In stead this record sounds like a long electronic jam with some interwoven 'songy' parts. The pallet is that of modern electronic music (including movie soundtrack electronics), lot's of mid-paced drumming (also electronic) and some echoey rock guitars. The link to the neo-progressive genre - that I can't separate from its emotive songwriting - is than a bit of stretch in my opinion. The male vocals by Krueler are competent and often mixed like Queen's Innuendo album. The three vocal performances of Anke Ullrich are a welcome change, also a gifted singer with her own style. The album's main defining attribute seems to be its running time and uninterrupted flow, which allows for full immersion in the music. The album would also do a fine job as background noise. The production by Norber Krueler is flawless, with a full-bodied sound and a pleasant mix.

Whilst everything on this record is just fine, I fail to see how such an amount of tracks that more or less sound the same (sound pallet, rhythm, tempo, minor key, lyrical theme) could impress listeners of the progressive all that much. To me this music sounds like a very well made copy of a copy of a copy of something. Furthermore, he lyrical themes of schizophrenia and inconvenient truths do become a bit of a drag. Now, there's no need to rate anything less then a three star rating for a professional album that obviously people here are enjoying - but I would definitively not recommend this to listeners of neo-prog.