Label: GUN Records (Germany), 74321612592
Style: Progressive Rock
Country: Hannover, West Germany
Time: 57:50
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 395 Mb
The
long awaited sequel of ELOY's "Ocean" album finally arrives 21 years
after the original. Contrarily to what its title may suggest, the music
of "Ocean 2" is quite different from the iconic 1977 opus. It also marks
an evolution in style and production quality compared to their recent
previous releases. All ingredients of Bornemann and co. are present:
spacey guitar and synthesizers, epic choirs... and a flute. The tracks
become longer and totalise nearly one hour of music, which make "Ocean
2" the longest and most ambitious studio release by the Germans.
However, compared to ELOY's typical fantasy space prog style, the
compositions sound more polite and smooth, less extravagant and
memorable than usual.
The short opener "Between Future And Past"
reminds PINK FLOYD with its clock and spacey "Shine On"-ish overture. It
introduces the melancholic "Ro Setau", one of the best passages of the
record, featuring an aggressive metal riff, female voices, and a nice
minimoog solo by early 80's keyboardist Hannes Folberth, invited as a
guest for this track. "Paralyzed Civilisation" is another catchy song
with variations and an extended guitar solo by Frank Bornemann. The
beginning and end parts are in the style of the "Planets" album.
"Serenity" is a calm aquatic pause before the more rhythmic "Awakening
Of Consciousness". Its heroic melody fantasy space rock sounds more like
typical ELOY.
The 13 minutes "Reflections From The Spheres Beyond"
sound overall rather flat and fails to really lift off. Despite its
various ambiances, this track has too rare good moments to justify its
length. The weakest passage of the record. The first part of "Waves Of
Intuition" sounds again very floyd-ish as Bornemann tries to sound like
Roger Water. This song is nonetheless pretty nice. In the tradition of
ELOY's 90's albums closing tracks, "The Answer" is grandiloquent and
features this time the Prague Philharmonic Choir. Despite its heavy
metal ambiance, this tune is a little flat and repetitive and fails at
being the awaited epic ending.
"Ocean 2" is an ambitious album but
could have been shortened. It's a pity the longest compositions are also
the weakest. Its polite sophistication in sound and arrangements also
restricts a little the fantasy and magical side typical of ELOY's
musical universe. Although this last opus from the 90's does not hold
all the great promises due its title, it however remains quite pleasant
and unique in the German space rockers' discography.
(metalmusicarchives.com/album/eloy/ocean-2-the-answer)
01. Between Future And Past (02:42)
02. Ro Setau (07:09)
03. Paralysed Civilization (09:28)
04. Serenity (03:11)
05. Awakening Of Consciousness (06:03)
06. Reflections From The Spheres Beyond (12:59)
07. Waves Of Intuition (04:56)
08. The Answer (11:19)
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