INSIDE

Eloy is a German band that started out in the late 60's, and was one of few German bands to attain international recognition in their chosen musical style - progressive rock. Most people consider Inside, their second release from 1973, as the bands real debut.

Musically much has been said about Eloy; for many years the prog scene seemed to have a consensus in the fact that Eloy weren't original musically. Which could be the case, personally I'm not that familiar with 70's rock in general or 70's prog in detail.

What I find on this release, is a musical blend that seems rather unique. Much of the music here is hard, at times aggressive, and often with a good drive. All of it with the organ as a central instrument. Although different in mood and atmosphere, there are som touches of Deep Purple to the music here. The structure of the songs here, as well as some bluesy solo guitars and primitive guitar riffs, for me indicates an influence from the earlier German krautrock scene to the music here. Some mellow and ambient moods may or may not have been influenced by Genesis and Pink Floyd; and there's a couple of segments here that reminds a bit of Jethro Tull - especially a 30 second long theme in "Future City" that sounds uncanny like a section from Tull's Aqualung.

Although more or less obvious influences can be spotted relatively easily here, the overall soundscape does have a feel of it's own here. This is dark, brooding and intense progressive hard rock; with the organ being the central instrument.

The songs are good as well, high on atmosphere, with good drive and intensity captivating the listener. A prerequisite for anyone considering buying this album is that you'll have to love the organ. It's everpresent in the songs here. A high tolerance level for German accent is needful as well; as it is impossible to not notice the heavily accented vocals here.