VISIONS IN THE DARK

Deyss's debut received critics, ranging from mediocre to even laughable thoughts and propably this was a good reason for the group to move on to corrective actions.They recruited a regular drummer named Francois Bauer and a new vocalist entered the band, mysteriously hidden under the pseudonym Jester.In November 86' the rebuilt Deyss line-up entered the Relief Studios in Belfaux to record their second work, which was finished three months later and released privately as double-vinyl and CD pressings.

Deyss had taken their lesson and the new album is extraordinary MARILION-esque Neo Prog, this time with a great vocalist, having his own identity, amd some pretty solid musicianship, containg symphonic touches and memorable melodies.Despite the presence of two guitarists the sound still is keyboard-dominated with Slavati strengthen his flashy synthesizers with frequent moves on Hammond B3 and Mellotron.The overall style is extremely British-influenced with ABEL GANZ, IQ and of course MARILLION stylings throughout, from the nervous synth passages to the melodic and striking guitar solos.The tracks move from atmospheric parts with multi-layered keyboards to great guitar-based textures, including Jester's very good vocals somewhere in the middle.The same stands for the sound, which goes from emphatic, symphonic and dynamic movements to laid-back and more lyrical moments.A couple of nice ballads are thrown in for good measure, far from the cheesy offerings of ''At-king'' and keeping much of the artistic style of the group.The 17-min. title track epitomizes Deyss' mature playing, switching from intricate and rich instrumental parts to more melodic and sensitive soundscapes, definitely among the great pieces of 80's Classic-styled Progressive Rock.

The same year the band put out the picture disc compilation ''For your eyes only'', pressed in the limited number of 1,000 copies, but this meant to be also the farewell offering by Deyss, that seemed to have been stabilized under the new core.Nevertheless, ''Visions in the dark'' is an excellent album of Neo/Symphonic Prog with some fine melodies, superb keyboard work and pretty great vocals.Highly recommended.