ENCOUNTERS

One of the lesser appreciated neo-prog bands in the scheme of things, the Hamburg based German SYLVAN started cranking out uniquely designed albums since its debut "Deliverance" in 1998 although it took many years to get to that point. After losing its bassist Patrick Münster, SYLVAN returned two years later with Lars Koster on bass as well as the saxophonist Soren Grimme. ENCOUNTERS was released in 2000 and found SYLVAN upping its game in a number of ways. While the debut was excellent in its own right, this sophomore release found the band expanding its sound and confidence level to a more sophisticated approach with tighter song structures and increasing complexities. It features a typical neo-prog trait of a nebulous concept, this time about a journey to ENCOUNTERS that will change the world. Well ok now!

While broken up into 12 tracks, ENCOUNTERS basically features two distinct tracks followed by the ten suite title track that swallows up 40 minutes of the album's near 54-minute run. Continuing its primary focus on catchy neo-prog melodies, SYLVAN focuses on more guitar, bass and drum based compositions without all those heady layers of atmospheric keyboards however the keys are without a doubt a vital part to the band's sound. "No Way Out" starts the album and worthy of being released as a single although the band never went that route. Catchy and bouncy, it's more of a typical symphonic rock song with the typical verse / chorus structure and predictable developments however it's chock filled with energetic drive and is a great way to get the juices flowing as you're introduced to the band's second offering.

Next up, "Essence Of Life" provides a transitional approach that is overtly more proggy yet retains some of the immediacy of the opener. At eight minutes plus it's definitely one that delves more into the neo-prog sound with emotive guitar sweeps and keyboard based moments of placidity. The song also showcases SYLVAN's mastery of dynamics with faster motifs trading off with the slower more contemplative moments. It also revs up the prog aspects in the songwriting territory but still has those staccato guitar stomp sort of catchy choruses that give it a slightly commercial feel. Like the debut album ENCOUNTERS benefited from an excellent production job with lots of nuances to tones, timbres and electronic effects that are delivered below the surface. This one has more atmosphere as well and pretty much sets the stage for the ten suite title track that follows.

The real treat of the album is without a doubt the 40-minute title track broken into ten distinct suites. This is where SYLVAN really comes of age and showcases its ability to craft super complex compositions that wend and wind and yet cohesively construct a larger theme. Displaying influences from Marillion, IQ, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Eloy and others, the band offers a bit of metal light with feistier guitar moments and keeps the individual suites on the shorter side and distinct. While "Overture" displays a multitude of sounds, "About To Leave" opens with a trippy spaced out keyboard sequence out of the Eloy playbook. "Your Source" is the ballad that mixes a jazzy sax with a rather AOR sounding rock style and my least favorite part of the album. Exercising their skillful use of dynamics though, the guitar crunch fueled instrumental "Tremendously Different" offers some nice proggy workouts on the keys with some more demanding moments of technical wizardry.

"Long Ago" is basically a piano based warm up that adds some guitar crunch before ceding into the funky "All Of It" which sounds more like a progressive metal band like Dream Theater than neo-prog. "Presentments" jumps back into neo-prog territory with lots of keyboard parts, passionately delivered vocals in the IQ or Pendragon style and cedes to the similar sounding "Would You Feel Better" only with variations in keys and bass more abundantly displayed. "In Vain" operates with an acoustic guitar intro before breaking into rock and then offers an abrupt jazzy saxophone performance. The title track part of the title track suite ends nicely with a Dream Theater flavor in the vocal department and a neo-prog grand finale sort of coming down vibe.

Perhaps a bit overweening at times but ENCOUNTERS is a decent slice of high quality neo-prog without enough diverse elements and a competent dabbling of prog to be worthy of an ENCOUNTER. Marco Glühmann doesn't display any trace of a German accent and rest of the band flawlessly executes its British and American influences while whipping them into a style all their own. Kay Söhl's guitar work is above average in a neo-prog context adding tastefully delivered solos and traces of metal without losing that connection to the world of Steve Hackett's influence. Likewise Volker Söhl finds exciting ways to keep the keyboard and piano runs from falling into staleness. Perhaps the drumming of Matthias Harder could be, well harder! While not a perfect album and it does feel a little lopsided with a commercial sounding opener that slowly ratchets up the prog until a 40-minute sprawler but overall this is a brilliant delivery of extremely competent prog.