OCEAN 2 - THE ANSWER

Another near perfection masterpiece that Eloy has pulled out from their sleeves. This one is a direct continuation of Ocean, release in 1977, as Tides Return Forever may have signalled a return to the classic form. This album, however, features much more analog synthesizers than the previous album, giving a different tone and feel. Both are definatly classics, and so is the 1977 release, but this one is the best of the 1990's.

"Between Future and Past" is a little uninteresting because it's just an intro, but it is beautiful for the most part. Atmospheric and spacey, but no lyrics. Shining guitar and simmering keyboards. "Ro Setau" is an interesting track. It has it's own feel to it, an Eloy feeling, but it's a little darker. The lyrics are very passionate and different. The vocals are very good, but Frank's German accent is still very present. The basslines are really good, as with the drumming being much less stiff than the last few albums that Eloy has released. The keyboards are really nice, adding alot of spacey elements to the song. "Paralysed Civilation" is another spacey trip, but much better than the first two tracks. The bassline is really good for this one, and the vocals are much better. It has a very strong hard rock feeling to it, but it still has some spacey feelings which is what I really like about this track. The female choir on this one adds some classy feeling to it, making it a little more than a rock song. The lyrics are pretty good on this one, I like it all. The middle section of the song seems is a return to the past, really. Amazing spacey guitar solo, filled with some nice keyboards and synthesizers, topped by a fast and fluid rhythm section that will make you ears happy for a while. "Serenity" is a little too short, but it's good. The bassline is really nice with it's stomping intro. I love the glass-like guitar sounds, it has some really cool effects. I really love the lyrics and vocals on this one, really soft and passionate. This song is just too short, but it's got amazing moments. "Awaking of Consciousness" is a pretty good track, it's one of the good middle sized tracks. The intro is very metal feeling, much like Rush's Test for Echo album, to me at least, but a little better excecuted to me. The vocals are really nice on this one, as with the lyrics really flowing with the song. The music on this song is different, but still very good. "Reflections from the Sphere's Beyond" is one of the three excellent epics, and this one is definatly the best. The intro makes you feel so different and so spaced out like the old Eloy albums used to do. The keyboards are on fire on this track, buring with passionate playing and percision. The guitar is fairly slow and atmospheric on this track, as usual with this album. After a minute or so, the vocals and bass take their place in the song and add something to the song. The rest of the song is just an awesome spacey rollercoaster. "Waves of Institution" starts with waves for an intro, and it paints a picture of being at a beach with the waves rolling onto you. The guitar solo at the beginning is really cool too. The vocal harmonies are farily good, filling in with the slow and steady pace of this song. The bass line is really nice. "The Answer" is another awesome epic. It has a much harder feeling than the other two, but it's structure isn't as good. It dosen't make me feel as spaced as the other epics did, but this one is pretty good still. The vocals are excellent on this one, as with the lyrics being superb as usual. The keyboards really shine on this one too. This track is awesome, and I wouldn't miss it for the world.

This album is excellent, and it has ton's of beautiful moments. The vocals are very good on this album, and so are the basslines, guitar solos, drumming, and the analog synthesizers really make it one. This album gets a well deserved 5 stars.