PURE

2,5 stars really A typical neo-prog release which is clearly influenced by the early Marillion, IQ and the heyday of Saga. Most songs are quite simple, yet not less effective. I remembered being impressed by the excellent song writing when hearing the music for the very first time. There's some top notch melodies in "Stay", "Call for life", "Jericha" & "Cat's worst grave". Unfortunately there's also some flaws like the instrumental "Winterpause" which can only be called boring or "The ultimate song" which is more pop than prog. I can imagine that some prog lovers will find the instrumental side of the band too predictable but just remember that this was only their debut album. The next album of this German band would contain more adventurous compositions. "Jericha" & "Cat's worst grave" have some IQ influences and may be the best compositions of the bunch thanks to a series of magnificent moods and atmospheres. "Dictator" is a satisfying popish track that holds influences from both Genesis' supper's ready and Saga.

Overall the atmospheric keyboards are sounding great, if not, a little outdated. The guitars are quite enjoyable and reminiscent to both Steve Hackett & Steve Rothery. The closing solo on "Call for life" is simply breathtaking. Fortunately Singer Martin Eden has a characteristic, dramatic voice that you won't forget. Sometimes he reminds me a bit of Fish or Peter Nicholls but in essence the sound of his voice is highly original in progressive music. "Pure" has a clean, crisp sound that suffers from eighties production techniques which is especially noticeable by the rhythm section which would have been more suitable for an AOR band.

Conclusion : An album that definitely has some highly enjoyable moments but overall this is more like a collection of very different songs than a real album. Sometimes the arrangements are too less elaborated and the songs are too simple and popish but when listening to the excellent closing track, you'll forgive them all..