X-RAYED

Fourth album for this German band. Musicianship is still very good (I quite like Marco's voice and style and Kay is a solid guitar player). The problem being their song writting. Nothing really great on this record. The album opens with some good songs with a definite neo-prog mood like "So Easy" or the mellowish "So Much More".

Unfortunately, Sylvan will also change direction in several songs. They are heading towards heavy metal sounds. Listen to "Lost", and to "Fearless" : they are rather unbearable. This is not prog (even neo). Just horrible metal-like music out of purpose here. The spacey middle part will not save this track from complete misery, I'm afraid (and the supplice lasts for over nine minutes in the case of "Fearless"). "Through My Eyes" is made of the same mould.

This album is boring most of the time. Uniform and tasteless music like "Belated Gift"and "Today". Of course, I am not a huge fan of "Sylvan" but they have really reached their lows here. From time to time, a good prog tune will break the dull mood. Like in "You Are" and its definite Floydian flavour.

"Given, Used, Forgotten" is by far the best (and only great) number of this album. Nice vocals and above all, great guitar job : very Gilmouresque. Since it is the longest track of the album, it will prevent me to give the lowest rating possible for this work. It is really a bombastic song. If only Sylvan would produce more of this type !

In this maelstrom of noisy and useless music (excepting four songs so far), the closing number "This World Is Not For Me" sounds as a breath of fresh air. A mellow rock ballad with a grand finale (guitar again, of course). The very end of the song though, with the children choir and sweet piano could have been avoided.

All in all, not a record to be remembered (even if forty-five minutes of it are good). Actually, if they had released only five songs, the album would still have a decent lenght and would have gained in quality. I really don't see the point in releasing exagerated lenghty albums. At the end they sound pretty boring (same applies for some TFK, Mostly Autumn or Cast work). To my ears, their only album whorth listening so far is "Artificial Paradise".

Two stars for this one.