ERPLAND

Erpland is my first excursion into this wonderful,unique little band, and I must say i'm impressed.These guys clearly have a spacey thing going, but I hesitate to compare them to Pink Floyd at all since they are so different.

Firstly, much of this album is uptempo, and seems to be very rhythmically driven with the guitars and keyboards simply taking up a more supportive role. This is only helped by the flawless production which really brings the volume of the drums and bass to the forefront where they should be. The spacey atmosphere is all over this album, not to mention that they also implore some Eastern music into the mix at times to create a rather eclectic and interesting mix.

The first half of the album is very strong, containing some truly atmospheric moments filled with energy. 'Eternal Wheel' and 'Tidal Convergence' are especially strong. 'Mysticum Arabicola' is very interesting, if only for the almost video game-sounding melodies.

I will admit I was not quite as excited with the second half. There is a certain lack of energy, but more so the Eastern influences and oddities just start to get to me.

Overall, I would say this exhibits a flawless combination of atmosphere and energy. Unfortunately, it is a bit overlong and inconsistent for me to consider it a masterpiece.