TROYA

One of those albums that puts a smile on your face

I have a penchant for the naive and childlike in music. Low budget production, one take, haphazard playing - splicing everything together on a whim, and then just releasing the bloody thing, instead of using 40 takes on a drum roll or a certain bleep sound that is supposed to sound like duuiiiiihht and not like duuuih...

Troya were an obscure German band who made their sole album Point of Eruption back in 1976, and even if the title sounds like a bad porn flick, the point of eruption is close at hand here. Bring those tissues honey! Regarding the quality of the thing, then everything I just mentioned about the naive in music goes for this album. The sound quality is rough and at times comes across like it is suffering from a bad cold. Every instrument reeks of garage and cardboard, and yet I find it surprisingly charming. This is by no means 'bad' production, but sounds more like a project that in spite of the lack of money - still found its way onto a record. Making lemonade out of lemons.

The music is a combination of psychedelic grooves akin to Krautrock - mixed up with some rather delicious symphonic codas which get delivered with trembling guitar accompaniment, that more than once made me think of The Future Kings of England, although these bands are separated by a couple of decades - if not three. Coupled together with some rumbling and distinctively bouncy drumming and bass work - the music is coloured with a somewhat unique touch. It's smooth and gentle with the hand lotion guitar segments and rivalling organ work, but with that rhythm section that bumps and jumps the overall feel is that of a deliberate counter-pointing effect made in heaven. This band reminds me of Italian space-rockers Sensations' Fix - both production-wise as well as that liquidy rawkous space symphonic music that ooze by like dense drifting fog.

Had it not been for one fatal mistake, I'd have given this album 4.5 stars and a raspy blowjob to boot, but it does sadly feature one of my biggest gripes with a lot of the German releases during the 70s: Bad English vocals! Boy... Sure there's very little of them - in fact only a couple of the tracks feature vocals, but when they do, I cringe and desperately start listening to what's happening in the background, where you often get floating organs, that sprawling rhythm foundation as well as that soothing and somewhat naive sounding guitar. Why oh why didn't these acts just sing in their native tongue?

It's a small nuisance and I can easily forgive Troya for making the same mistake as countless of their fellow country men did, but it still robs them of a whole star. However, if you're into Sensations' Fix, Eloy and Novalis - bands that managed to slip a couple of acid taps in the symphonics' drink, then you really can't go wrong with this album. It's charming, psychedelic and warm like a rainbow coloured moth dipped in coffee. 3.5 stars.

This curious album starts with a lovely hippie vision of "Her", residing plentiful to both keyboards and drums within slightly symphonic-oriented arrangements. Later emerging vocals create a sound associating early Streetmark, enriched with some stinging psych guitar tones familiar from the other continental European records of the era. Following "Battle Rock" has a quite jumpy selection of themes culminating as folk-oriented pacifistic anthem, pairing heavier riff sections and mellow moody passages resembling slightly Pink Floyd searching their new sound after departure of Syd. Also a less experimental incarnation of early Mythos could be a comparison. "Chromatik" allows the guitar to swim in an euphoric sea of keyboard sounds, and proves that a song can be built from very small amount of ideas. "Festival" starts with minor sabre-dances, and evolves as a delightful rejoicing of lovely people having fun together in ancient ways. "Sinclair" then is a mellow sad tune dominated by archaic synth theme, carried forward by electric guitar, and being melodically quite nice piece. Bass signals the rhythm and theme changes to more jazzy directions, later repeating again alterations of the starting themes. Last track has curiously clumsy rhythmic passages and sounds quite funny, and the progress with guitars and keyboards brought memories of Erlkoening's sound. Last sequence goes back to dramatic keyboard theme, upon where rest of the band accompanies to perform the coda.

So, quite sympathetic stuff, more relying to enthusiasm and sincerity than professionalism and calculated taste selections. I liked the sounds and elements included, but as listening experience this album did not grow my own personal favorite. Can't see though why this should not happen to somebody else, so thus this is recommended for fans of obscure European progressive rock recordings.

Great organ driven sound. One of the few records of such old age that can say so. It sounds like something very, very old and it's exactly what I want. Quite a short, only 32 minutes, I know. It's sad that they released only one album, because they could have been better. And I wouldn't mind more records like this at all. Music is somehow sad, but don't ask me why and how. I don't know, I just let this music feel and circulate in my veins. Some people blame Mandalaband for being overblown and to be false prophet at all, this one is far less known. I should take this Eruption and bring it to people. To refresh old times little bit. Heh, well, this is nice suprise of this evening.

Garden of Delights must be commended for unearthing this gem from the mid 1970s. Amateurly produced, down to the barebones cover, but very professionally played, "Point of Eruption" is not quite a typical German symphonic release from the 1970s, as a discernible Celtic sensibility is imparted to the classic Krautrock spaciness, particularly in the vocals, lyrics and melodies of "She", "Battle Rock" and "Festival".

Organ and mellotron dominate, but Elmar Wegmann's guitars provide balance not to mention some good raw solos. Passages alternate agreeably between the atmospheric and the bombastic, sometimes bringing to mind Novalis' "Banished Bridge".

All the tracks not specifically named are instrumental and of high quality, but I feel the vocal tracks, warts and all, really give this band a distinctive quality and warrant a higher rating for the disk than the recording alone could justify. Recommended to lovers of refined melodic keyboard oriented prog, who don't have hangups about production!

Another unknown but very good symphonic album. Point of Eruption is the only release from Troya. The music sounds both melancholic and space, and is mainly guitar and mellotron driven.

The opener, She, introduces the disc with smooth organ and light guitar, to go on with beautiful symphonic piano and vocals. Battle Rock is more energic and alternates between epic and slow movements. The next song, Chromatik, features mysterious atmosphere and trippy guitar solos sometimes reminiscent of Novalis. Festival announces that the second part of the album will be dominated by organ and mellotron and is very psychedelic. The two final tracks Sinclair and Choke conclude superbly the album and let the listener in the sky...

Point of Eruption is not terribly different from other albums of the genre from this period, but is very enjoyable and relaxing. It's a pity that the album is too short and the sound quality is below average. Anayway, a beautiful spacey symphonic album which should please fans of Pink Floyd, Eloy and Novalis !

Like a lot of German bands, English vocals are terrible. Of course this album (dated 76) is not quite a new one but still, weren't there anybody to understand this weakness in Germany?

It will always remain a mystery for me (even important bands like "Eloy" will get this trademark).

Last section of "Battle Rock" reminds me a bit of "Saucerful of Secrets" and is the best you can get out of this recording. Intro from "Festival" is of course stolen to "Watcher of the Skies", but there are lots of these available, right?

Musical sections are OK but still, we are far from listening to a masterpiece. This album sounds pretty old and is rather short. Two stars my friends.

This album was originally pressed in a quantity of 200 and sold at concerts. The music is symphonic prog and sounds like Camel of Eloy. It is both melodic and melodramatic. When the vocals are not very good (partly because of the heavy German accent), the production is even worse, it sounds very homemade. On the positive side, the tracks are rather good. The opening of the track She reminds me of something I heard before. This intro must have been stolen by another artist, but I don't know which one. Anyway, it's a good opener. Battle Rock is an upbeat track, except for the vocal parts, where the music is very slow. The next track is an instrumental, and apart from the Camel influence I also hear a little bit of Genesis coming through. Festival has few vocals again and sounds a bit folky. The remaining tracks, Sinclair and Choke, are instrumentals again. Both tracks sound similar to each other and have good solos with fuzzy guitar and heavy organ. If only the production was a lot better, this would have been a good album.