OCEAN

Ocean is considered one of the top albums of the space rock sub-genre, and rightly so. While it may not be the genre's number one best or most appreciated works it certainly stands its ground against some of the giants that are its peers such as Nektar and Hawkwind. The band often find themselves in comparison with the likes of some of the most established space rock bands often, and is usually called by the moniker ''The poor man's Pink Floyd''. Style wise this is an accurate comparison, however, as Eloy oftentimes plays the style of Floyd with heavily keyboard laced instrumental sections over subtle guitars, a prominent and driving bass and some dominant vocal sections. Fans of the Floyd will find this album as a good place to be introduced to the German equivilant of the band, as the soundscapes should please the ear of any astral traveler.

What Eloy does best (especially on this album) is create an atmosphere that drives the song in instrumental sections. Right off the bat with the 11-minute long Poseidon's Creation the band paints a wonderful picture driven by that bass formerly mentioned. The long instrumental sections in the middle and end of the song are wonderfully hypnotic and could go on forever if they wanted to without getting redundant. The same goes for the final half of the finishing track, Atlantis Agony, which brings things to a more aggressive level with more pressing keyboards and bass. The most of the rest of the album is either slow or quick (but never overly fast) with the keyboards creating a wonderfully spacey mood.

The vocals do feel out of place on the album, though. While the vocals are pleasant enough they often seem forced, and the mix of spoken-word and singing doesn't often blend well. A constant echoing effect on some of the tracks like Decay of The Logos feels like it could have been skipped but wasn't, while some of the lyrics on Incarnation Of The Logos are so cheesy that is would make some modern progressive metal bands hold their sides with laughter (a particular favorite is when the echoed voices come in from the background and whisper ever so seriously ''and the Gods made love...!''). The vocals have a peculiar charm though, since the German accent is so thick that it leaves one wondering just what the lyrics are supposed to say (''Son of God and daugher of Euhrsh''). But for their wonderful campy style Eloy win over just as many people as they turn off because it really does create more than just a song - it's a story which I can imagine could often be called pretentious in some circles. But isn't that what prog is all about?

When it comes right down to it - campy vocals and cheesy lyrics or not - Eloy can really churn out some good spacey material, and on this effort they could easily do battle with the best of the best in the genre. Impressive instrumental sections that are spaced and yet demanding make for a very interesting listen, and they lyrics will have the more intellectual fanbase giving a thumbs-up. 4 decayed logos out of 5 for a fun experience - if not taken too seriously.

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