DAWN

Being a bastard child of the open and more repetitive structure of space/psych prog and the classical aspirations of symphonic prog (augmented by the use of an actual orchestra on this album), Dawn often walk on familiar paths and rarely surprises with any real invention. Instead it focuses on fan service; it is overblown, pompous, dynamic and...just a greasy musical burger. But as such it's also precisely what a hungry classic prog fan need now and then.

Yes, the combination of space and symphonic is a successful one indeed. The drawn-out, pseudo-jammy feel created by slowly progressing synth waves and a strong, often quite simple and highly effective bass create a lofty, suspended and timeless atmospheric skeleton which is fleshed-out by a number of different methods. Eloy manages to do this in quite a few different ways, and it's mostly that fact that makes Dawn such an interesting album. Chunky rock riffing, the balanced but noteworthy use of orchestral arrangements or efficient, clear noodling from the guitar or an array of swirly effects and percussion. And yet its identity of mysterious transcendence is maintained by the strong spacey atmosphere that permeates all the songs.

The band obviously likes to suck on motifs and themes, giving them a lot of time to mature, slowly shifting in layering and detail and rarely disturbing a lyrical delivery by drowning it in sound. They stick to this high-viscous approach for most of the album, making it disturbingly uniform when not giving it proper attention. Interludes such as orchestral crescendos, a sudden shift to nothing but guitar chord work or a whirling Celtic passage help shed more light to the variety, but the basic rule is to enjoy the music as its delivered, if that makes any sense to you.

Dawn can be a powerful spiritual journey when you're in your most perceptive state of mind, but just a tad too overpowering and pretentious when you're not. It's still filled with quality music though, and I recommend it to all fans of classic 70s prog.

3.5 stars, but it qualifies for a 4 on ProgArchives.

//LinusW

Share this ELOY review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to LinusW
• Report this review (#188877)
• Buy ELOY music online with PA partners
• Show all ELOY MP3/Stream
• Go to ELOY page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Dawn page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ELOY related discussions