FANTASMA

'Fantasma', released in 2000, was Everon's 4th studio album, and successor to 'Venus'. Between the albums, Ralf Janssen left the band and had been replaced by Ulli Hoever on guitars, and along with him an altogether heavier, more muffled style was generally adopted, which tended to lean the band toward a heavy progressive rock tag, while attempting to maintain their melodic style they had previously built on.

Ironically, although Fantasma is widely considered as being a step up from 'Venus', Everon went backwards insofar as the album doesn't have as much musical variation as it's predecessor, alternating more predictably between the heavy guitar sound and the quieter, more melodic moments.

Once more, the tracks vary in quality, although they are more uniform than on previous releases. The album's opener, 'Men Of Rust' is certainly one of the stronger tracks, but it isn't until the 5 part 'Fantasia' suite, where Everon truly show a 'progressive' element on the album, where the 14 minute track is able to wind through the most varied sounds cape, using cello, violin and classical guitar; a dimension which would have benefitted the album as a whole if they had been utilised further. Here, many of the main themes re-occur intermittently, offering the music some structure, which works surprisingly well. The album closes with the shorter 'Ghosts' suite, another highlight, which once again demonstrates some lovely interplay between guitar and keyboard, in its intro.

Ultimately, Everon seem to find it difficult to produce an album without weak patches, and I find either the repetitive 'Perfect Remedy' or the predictable 'Fine With Me' musically enhances Fantasma. Having said that, the excellent production quality and large sound they have managed to create, overcome some of these shortfalls, and have helped create a very good album, just about worthy of its 4 star rating.