CLAUSTROPHOBIA

Georg Alfter (guitar, bass), Norbert Podien (keyboards, drum programming) and Malcolm Shuttleworth (lead and backing vocals) are back with their third album as Eyesberg, with drummer Jimmy Keegan (Spock's Beard, Pattern Seeking Animals) now a full member, and the addition of backing singer Emma Edingloh. Their first album was mostly retro prog, the second neo-prog, and this sees them move more firmly in that direction, although often with less guitar than one would normally expect from that subgenre. The drums are kept quite high in the mix (which works well, but it is also worth noting that Keegan produced this album which may also be a reason), and often it seems almost as if it is just drums and dated keyboards combining with the vocals of Shuttleworth to drive it forward.

Shuttleworth is a superb singer, with vocals which quite often have as edge to them so having them subtly smoothed by the addition of Edingloh is a nice touch. Like many, I have always admired Keegan's work in various bands, and here he allows himself to really show what he can do, sometimes keeping everything tight, but at others providing blistering fills which really take this music in a different direction with addition dynamics and contrast. Lyrically this is a concept album, charting the life of Van Gogh from his childhood through adolescence and adulthood until his insanity and death.

It is a pleasant album, but to be honest it is rarely more than that. Keegan and Shuttleworth really stand out due to their performances, but musically there is little in the way of inspiration, and I don't see this as a step forward from 2016's 'Masquerade' but instead a move in the wrong direction. There is just too little which is middle of the road prog, with rare flashes of inspiration. When they do arrive, such as the unexpected guitar break at the beginning of 'Walking In Storms', then it puts the rest of the album into stark relief and makes one wish that there was just a lot more of that sort of thing as opposed to the prog by numbers which often seems to comprise much of this album.

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Posted Saturday, February 26, 2022 | Review this album | Report (Review #2695689)

Originally this was a German band, founded in 1980. unfortunately Eyesberg failed to impress and called it a day. But in 2014 founding members Georg Alfter (guitar and bass) and Norbert Podien (keyboards and additional drum programming) decided to re-unite, along with new member Malcolm Shuttlew ... (read more)

Report this review (#2636115) | Posted by TenYearsAfter | Monday, November 22, 2021 | Review Permanlink

Eyesberg: Claustrophobia (Progressive Promotion Records 2021) Claustrophobia is the 3rd CD release of the German-British formation Eyesberg and a clear step forward. The band has planned a lot and presented a complex, multi-layered and coherent album. Based on an idea by singer Melcolm Shuttl ... (read more)

Report this review (#2523871) | Posted by progflame | Friday, March 12, 2021 | Review Permanlink

EYESBERG is a Teutonic and Grand-Breton project which began in 1980, reformed in 2014 and retracing the life of Vincent VAN GOGH for their opus in a libretto digipack; their 3rd album to date. An air that smells of GENESIS 70's and 80's, the IQ, a bit of the MARILLION of yesteryear, in short, pr ... (read more)

Report this review (#2506959) | Posted by alainPP | Friday, February 19, 2021 | Review Permanlink

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