FANTASMA

Will somebody tell me who Everon sound like? I know, it's my job as the reviewer but as much as I love these guys, I'm in Deja vu! I know they sound like somebody but I can't place them.These guys are simply incredible and considering they've made six albums going back to 1993 and two months ago was the first time I've heard them, I seem to have dropped the ball. How could I be so Obtuse?

Anyway, enough ruminating, let's get serious, because serious is what Everon's music is. Remember that name, Everon, Everon, Everon, Everon, Everon, EVERON, got it. Dumb name, but would you rather have a clever name/dumb music or dumb name/clever music?

Have you got the picture yet, Everon is astounding. I'm beginning to think that they do not remind me of one band but maybe dozens of great bands, performing similar music but oh so much more grandeur. Maybe they're an improved Journey, Asia, Boston, Night Ranger, Little River Band. Could they out bombast Rush, Saga, Queensryche, Styx, Savatage. Are they a dream composite of all the great bands of the past? I don't know. What I do know is that I haven't been this exited about a band since the marvelous year of 2001, when I made one great discovery after another, with Green Carnation, Evergrey, Within Temptation and Therion.

German band Everon plays a brand of neo-progressive rock music sometimes referred to as Art Rock and Somewhat influenced by later Marillion and Rush. The group was formed in 1989 by Ralf Janssen (guitar), Christian Moos (drums), and Schymy (bass), who played together for a few years. Everon potential was fulfilled when the band added song writer and lead singer Oliver Phillips, a musical genius in my opinion. Before I continue, I must say something about Oliver Phillips. This is the consummate musician. Phillips is a masterful singer and exceptional songwriter. His singing, though not the greatest in the world, is very very close and I can't picture a vocalist who fits the music better. You'll know, of what I speak, if you hear it. And th songwriting is superb. Phillips apparently has never heard of filler. Twelve songs all four stars or more.

Highlight Songs

"Men Of Rust" "There was a time when we were/As close as hearts can be /Your pain and fear, your dreams and hopes/All that you shared with me/I was just a child back then/As I grew up I had to see/Not all those wishes that we have/Become reality"

"Men Of Rust" starts with pleasant piano intro gradually building to a big sound that blasts into your ears with heavy guitars and keyboards. After a couple minutes the orchestra is joined by Phillip's wonderful vocals. There are numerous tempo changes, which help to hold your interest, though that hardly seems necessary.

"Perfect Remedy" "People like us are never where they want to be People like us suffer from their incapacity People like us never trust the world they see People like us are lacking self-security"

"Perfect Remedy" is pretty much a blend of a ballad with a glorious heaviness, an incredible fusion of children like music and heavy metal. This is a magnificent song that starts out wonderously childish with Phillips singing to light keyboards, a harp and bells before being joined in by heavy bass work and drums with the sound so thick you couldn't get a needle through it but ending back on a light note.

"A Day By the Sea" is another great power ballad blend. I never knew a liked power ballads so much. Must be the New Years Cheer. Naw, it's wonderful music. Starts out slow then the curtain raises to a huge lush sound, then slower, then faster, then slower, then faster, etc. My co-Favorite song.

The Fantasma Suite

"Right Now" No fillers right? right! this is a short powerful instrumental, an excellent touch!

"The real Escape" Again a slow start, slowly picking up speed with their grandiose sound and after an excellent piano solo segueing into: "Whatever It Takes" Why stop now? A continuation of all the wonderfully homogenous music that preceded it.

"Battle of Words" Sorry to keep throwing the adjectives at you but this is an amazing instrumental with a huge catchy sound that reminds me of a movie score for something The Big Country

"Ghosts" "If we give up before we ever fought If we only do what we are told And think we know it all, but never really learnt If we turn the page before the page has turned

If we close doors, we never opened up If we don't really start a thing before we stop And never speak the truth although we do not lie If we're full of plans but never dare to try...

Ghosts we are, made of flesh and bone With empty minds and hearts of stone The seed that was not meant to thrive Existing but not really alive"

"Ghosts" Hey if it works why change the formula. Yes it's my other co-favorite. Light, heavy, light, heavy.......... and oh such great singing and guitar playing. You know how you know it something is phenomenal? It brings water to your eyes or gives you chills, that's how!

Conclusion

One could surmise, from the utter quality of this album that Phillips and company were deeply inspired by the death of their good friend, Detlef Dohmen in a car wreck and to whom the album is dedicated, but although I have not heard all of their other five albums, I own their next release Flesh and I can assure you it's equally good. Hence I have ordered their whole catalog.

As for who Everon sounds like, I still haven't figured out yet. I have noticed some similarities to the great Emerson Lake and Palmer, both style and singing but not delivery or substance and although some of Everon's refrains do indeed sound classical it is a light classical as opposed to ELP's dark classical.

Similarities also exist, to a lesser extent, with Dream Theater, again with style and timing but not substance.

Well it's a remarkable discontinuous album of "Pomp-Rock", with some surprising elements of progressive and metal progressive rock, but also a perfect production and the recording as well. In fact there are convincing tunes with a certain impact, except on some tepid melodic lines, regarding for example the first track (however the instrumental first section, before the guitar riff, is memorable)and other less memorable songs; nevertheless you find some fine songs within, as those ones inside the important suite "Fantasma", whose best and preferred tracks are "The Real Escape", characterized by a splendid romantic interlude with a piano and a fine violin as well, and the following epic awesome track "Whatever It Takes", which is characterized instead by a powerful guitar and a stunning crescendo too, which alone makes this album worth checking out!!

This fourth Everon's album, it's also their first outstanding MASTERPIECE in my opinion...

The three years between Venus (1997) and Fantasma (2000) were hard years for Oliver Phillips, the Everon's mastermind, who suffered the death of a dear friend and the end of a long relationship with a girl... And this dark feelings are in this work, with a marvellous and sentimental lyrics that showed these sentiments of lost and pain, but love and hope too... Oliver showed in this album that he is a very very talented writer...

In this record there is an obvious contrast between melancholic and gloomy songs (Men Of Rust, A Day By The Sea, Ghosts...) and more happy and positive others (Perfect Remedy, the great instrumental Battle of Words, May You...), something that makes this album very variatied and funny to listen. The only thing really homogeneus in this album is the great quality of all the tracks!!!

And the Oliver and Christian Moos's production it's simply awesome, this record has one of the best sound works I've heard in my life (along with the Everon's later releases "Bridge" and "Flesh"...) The drums's sound it's simply incredible, as the guitar's one (both acoustic and electric...) The piano and keyboards sound it's also very well and with a very modern feeling. The Schymy's bass lines are awesome, like in A Day By The Sea... Perfect sound!!! But it's very understandable, because Oliver and Christian are very reputed producers in Europe with their Spacelab Studio, where this album was recorded, while the mastering was made by Grobschnitt's Eroc... A wonderful team, of course!!!

Best songs:ALL, REALLY!!!

A must album and band for every good music's lover...

'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.

Ho-hum.

Many sites are giving good reviews about Everon, and many reviewers seemed to be totally into this german band. I searched a bit, and in the end, Fantasma seemed to be a reasonnable choice to start somewhere.

Hey, why not trying it?

Here's why: been there, done that. Even for a Néo-progressive amateur as myself, this album is simply the same recipe but done more heavily. It's not that it's bad, it's just that for the experienced listener, this will make you wonder what they've ment by making a record on this worn sound. I simply sick and tired of hearing a sound that could easily pass for something done 18 years ago. Frankly, I really wanted to like this record, but it keeps pushing me away and pulling me back at the same time.

There's a suite nicely done, with small orchestration and a tangible desire to please your ears in melodic lines, but again, they simply cannot hold my attention for a long time. There's too much stuff to say, and too few intstrumental passages. Althought on the good side, this is probably the heaviest Néo-prog band I've heard. The guitars are cutting sharply the chords and sometimes the crunch factor could surprise you.

The frustrating factor of the 'old sound' is really dragging me away. Play that to your friends and they'll ask: 'Dude, why don't you cut on the 80's, eh?' The closest influences I could scout could be the Power Windows/ Hold your Fire period of Rush...and this record been done in 2000 by the way! Once again, I don't know why so much bands are nostalgic about this period. Don't you want to make a living out of your music? Not a good marketing move here, guys.

Okay, okay. This is not a bad record in any ways. The songs are pleasant and very melodic and there's a certain heavyness, not seen enough in the Néo genre. But once again, go with more original bands first like the latest Arena or IQ material. To me this type of material really needs a lifting, even if it's renewing your sound completely (which they should do).

Once again, a let down from the Néo departement.

This album is dedicated to Detlef Dohmen who was a dear friend of the band and also their sound engineer. He was tragically killed in a car accident in 1997. It's been three years since their last album "Venus" and they have chosen a more emotional and heavier path for this their fourth record. I am very impressed with this album and band. It has grown into an album that I really enjoy listening to for it's power and emotion. The vocals are very well done by Oliver Phillips, and new lead guitarist Ulli Hoever is in the spotlight much of the time. This really appears to be a concept album about a couple who have broken up. The lyrics are absolutely heartbreaking and brilliant. The best i've seen in some time.

"Men Of Rust" opens with piano and synths as it starts to build. Heavy drums and a full sound arrive with vocals right behind 2 minutes in. The vocals are quite passionate at times as is the guitar playing. I like the calm sections too. Scorching guitar 5 minutes in. Great start to this album. "Perfect Remedy" is mellow to begin with as fragile vocals come in. This is such an emotional song for me when he sings the chorus. I like when the heaviness comes in as he sings "People like us..." over and over. During the chorus he sings "Am I good for you, are you good for me. Are we each others poison or each other's only therapy." Later he sings "People like us always reach for the stars, people like us have a heart covered with scars." "Fine With Me' is a straight up Metal song. Heavy drums and guitar as he sings with passion. Uptempo with riffs galore. "A Day By The Sea" features reserved vocals and piano. It gets fuller a minute in. This contrast continues. Scorching guitar 3 minutes in and also a minute later. "Right Now..." is like most of the lyrics for these songs beyond anything i've read. So wise and so emotional. Some ripping guitar in this one as well as it gets really heavy as it blends into "...Til The End Of Times" as it continues to be heavy duty with killer guitars and pounding drums. Nice deep bass lines as well. "Fantasma-Theme" is less then a minute of piano melodies. "The Real Escape" opens with acoustic guitar and violin as fragile vocals join in. Some orchestration half way through. Some good guitar after 3 minutes. "Whatever It Takes" is like his battle cry in this story.

"Battle Of Words" is of course an instrumental. Piano opens the song beautifully before drums and a full sound arrive. Scorching guitar follows and goes on and on. Nice. "May You" is where he has accepted things and it's like he offers up this prayer "May you..." as he wishes her the best. This is incredibly emotional. He sings "May you have all that you have been dreaming of. And may your smile come from the heart and be no fake. May you find love. May someone give you all I could not give. And may he still love you when you are old and gray. So take good care of yourself. And I hope you know I really mean it when I say Of all those years we shared, I don't regret a day." Gulp. "Ghost-Intro" opens with haunting sounds before piano then tasteful guitar come in on this less then 2 minute intro track. "Ghosts" is almost like the moral of the story. Be committed to your partner and live freely, take risks in life, love one another holding nothing back. Instead he has chosen to be a ghost with an empty mind and heart of stone, existing but not really alive, he chose to live in chains. Beautiful guitar 4 minutes in. 5 minutes in we can hear someone (him) dying as the haunting sounds are back. He's breathing slowly fighting for air until he's gone. Figurative of course of this man who's thoughts we've been listening to through these songs. He's now the ghost, he burned out before they ever burned.

Masterpiece.

I might as well agree with Semismart´s review: Everon indeed sounds like no other. Their music is familiar, yet you can´t really pigeonhole it. There are some obvious influences here and there (like Rush and Marillion, to name just two). Although labeled as neo prog in PA, I´ve always heard other sites and magazines to call them prog metal. To me they both missed the point. Maybe art rock or heavy prog would be closer to what they really are. Anyway, you have to hear them to understand. Everon is Everon.

Fantasma (´ghost´ in portuguese) was the first album I ever owned by Everon, and like the others, it took me some time to really appreciate their music. Years, in fact, since when I bought it I was expecting a prog metal band sound. Although Fantasma is heavier their earlier works, like Venus, it is not metal in any way. Everon music was always too proggy and the heavy guitars bursts that are kind of their trademark, along with some great piano lines, is something very particular and unique. Quite interesting, after a few listenings.

This is a very emotional record, since the main inspiration was the death of a dear friend in a car accident (and to whom this CD is dedicated). The songwriting and perfomances are very strong and convincing. Oliver Philip´s vocals may not be everyon´s cup of tea, but sure it fits Everon´s sound perfectly. As ever, the musicanship is awesome and very much used for the music´s sake, there are not much noodling here. It all helped by the right production (done by Philips himself and drummer Christian Moos, who also handles the engineering) and the very good arrangements.

A different prog album, by an original and different band. Maybe their very best, up to that point. It takes some time to sink in, but then this is the trademark of most great prog bands. Excellent addition to any prog music colletion. Four stars.

Forth album by Everon, and again a good one all the way - entitled fantasma from 2000. I always like this band and their heavy prog combined with symphonic elements. I guess the main reason I like so much this band is because of the voice of Oliver Philips, excellent vocalist who really knows to sing at the highest level any time the usic needs him, but also of course the instrumetation is good. So Fantasma is another great album of Everon with nice blend between heavy riffs and melodic arrangemets , specially on keys. The best pieces are : the opening track Men Of Rust, here Everon simply shines, the folower Perfect Remedy and the piece that ends the CD - Ghosts - simply a great tune, maybe among the best Everon ever created. So all in all a solid 3 stars, a good album all the way, but not realy a masterpiece of prog music, more like 3,5. Similar band at some point maybe Enchant. Worth to listen to this band if you want something comfortable and enjoying music in the same time.

A truly amazing album from what can only be described as one of Europe's finest progressive rock acts of all time. This album is one of the band's darkest. Both music and lyrics are truly haunting, while still retaining their Everon trademarks that is melodic, symphonic and powerful progressive rock. No one can question the musical genous of the band's singer/keyboardist/lead guitarist Oliver Phillips.

It is hard to pick a favorite track on this album. But some of the tracks that really stand out on this album - and can hold their own to the prog classics of Gabriel era Genesis and Wakeman powered Yes - are "May you", "Ghosts" and the "Fantasma suite" (the last actually being five songs in one).

A certain level of musical maturity separates this album from it's predecessor "Venus". Not that Venus is any less of a masterpiece (I rate them equally). But you can definitely tell that something happened to the musicianship between Venus and Fantasma. A change that would stick and be a constant factor in the albums to follow. Less raw, less youthful, less wild. More deep, emotional and dare I say bitter?

Pompous heavy prog, almost on the metal and/or 1980s "classic rock"vein. Nice clean sound production and enough space to hear everything--which is nice.

1. "Men Of Rust" (6:20) opening with a Iona-like near-Celtic Prog rocker, there is a great reverb effect on the prominent grand piano. The sound is so clear and clean! Great use of frequent changes of temp and motif with very smooth and comfortable/believable shifts--a feat which can only come with mature songwriting and highly proficient musicianship. I'm not quite as impressed with the vocal or vocal melody choices. (8.75/10)

2. "Perfect Remedy" (5:19) straightforward ballad with great melodic hook and catchy, pleasing music. Oliver's vocals work very well in this style and medium. (8.75/10)

3. "Fine With Me" (3:33) opens heavy and abrasive like a great BLUE ÖYSTER CULT or URIAH HEEP song. Oliver's voice here sounds quite different--nearer to Geddy Lee and Ozzie Osbourne than previously. Everything on this song is working. Great prog song. My first top three song. (9.25/10)

4. "A Day By The Sea" (5:47) some fine anthemic music with awesome textural and mood change in the mid-section and three different tempo shifts. My favorite Oliver Philipps vocal performance on the album and a top three song for me. (9.25/10)

Fantasma Suite: (55.5/65) 5. "Right Now..." (2:04) a sound that seems to combine RUSH and late-1970/early 1980s YES. (4.5/5) 6. "... Til The End Of Time" (5:16) ?turns more AC/DC w/Brian Ferry singing, though a little more sophisticated on all levels. (8.25/10) 7. "Fantasma-Theme" (0:38) computer-piano solo. 8. "The Real Escape" (4:24) cello, classical guitar, and synth strings provide the foundation for three quarters of this vocal ballad. (8.25/10) 9. "Whatever It Takes" (2:10) repeat of Fantasma piano theme, this time with band support and vocals. Sounds more like a finale. (4/5) 10. "Battle Of Words" (3:42) solo computer-piano opens this one before YES-like rhythm section joins in. At 0:49 the music shifts slightly before the addition of STEVE HOWE-like lead guitar--which really picks up and shines over the course of this pleasant instrumental. (8.75/10) 11. "May You" (4:33) Oliver and piano open this delicate song, singing softly in a JOHN WETTON-like voice. (How chameleonic is this man?) Ballads on heavy prog/prog metal albums always feel a little out of place to me--and this one is very much like a Disney anthem. (8.5/10) 12. "Ghosts-Intro" (1:52) could be a Paul Speer or Chris Spheeris New Age piece. (4/5) 13. "Ghosts" (5:55) another RUSH- and THOMAS THELEN-like anthemic ballad. Great guitar solo featured in the sweet spot of the song. Nice. Great last impression to leave the listener with. My final top three song. (9.25/10)

Total Time: 51:45

While I love the sound production on this album--this despite the use of some of those dated 1990s keyboards that I never liked--the musical style choices and vocals don't always hit the mark for me--and the "Fantasma Suite" is just one big splat--totally lacks meaning, cohesive flow, or redeeming features to me.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection and something even more attractive to someone that loves the sounds and styles of those 1980s power rockers.