IN OCULIS MEIS

German band TRAUMHAUS can trace their history back to the end of the 1990's, and they revealed themselves to the public in 2001 with the debut album "Traumhaus". Since then the band have delivered new studio albums every 6 years or so. "In Oculis Meis" is their fourth studio album, and was released in 2020 through German label Progressive Promotion Records.

Traumhaus isn't a band that will appeal to dedicated fans of niche segments within the progressive rock universe, and the focus on darker tones and darker moods may well alienate a few as well. But those who enjoy high quality progressive rock explored with a focus on darker moods, compositions that are more atmospheric laden and accessible and a band that exist somewhere inside the triangle of hard progressive rock, neo-progressive rock and progressive metal should find the latest album by Traumhaus to be something of a treat I'd imagine. From a personal point of view I'd describe this as a highly enjoyable creation.

After seven years of silence, TRAUMHAUS presents us his fourth album, four for a quartet of which only one representative of the first lin-up remains ..., the singer, keyboardist and composer ALEXANDER WEYLAND. This Germanic group sends us two versions, one in English and the other in German in order to vary the pleasures, to reach the world market eventually, and to show us that this guttural language can easily infiltrate the world of prog while keeping its inherent and authentic identity. The two versions are absolutely identical, and present no difficulty for the listener who would be looking for any accent. We can locate this formation in the royal road of prog metal, embodied by groups such as PAIN OF SALVATION, THRESHOLD or even DREAM THEATER but with a lower tone for technicality, and skillfully entangled in modern neo-prog like ARENA or GALAHAD . Compared to the previous pancakes, the music here appears harder, with a tendency to metallize, while retaining the sweet and harmonious side that the neo prog distils. The production will not be commented on. Let's see more closely if this Anglo-Saxon pancake will give me an appetite ... A gala piano opens "The Awakening", accompanied by a small choir without words in the style of the BEACH BOYS. A powerful voice suddenly cuts off this reverie to rise in intensity crescendo in the octaves as could the singer of the Swedish group ACT, the whole metallic armada then sets in motion and conditions us for the continuation of the hostilities by this short interlude of 2:13, but interesting nonetheless! With "Preserve & Understand" there is no longer any doubt, the orchestration comes as if to pound our eardrums with all the vehemence and force of steel, a pretty liberating melody will bring down this high magnitude by episode. It is linked by keeping the same line to become progressive and symphonic, some special effects will intersect this sustained rhythm, embellished by a vocoded mellotron and a successful guitar solo à la YNGWIE MALMSTEEN. "Walk On Yourself" begins slowly with synthetic keyboards and a slow voice, with a deep and articulate elocution, before the arrival of a simple and effective melody with the paces of fm rock, tempered keyboards and guitar solis with BRIAN MAY resonances will spice up this song resembling a well-crafted tube. "Escape" ushers us in through a door where space rock is inscribed, where a distant song will remind us of the Saharan desert and will be tuned to a round and rhythmic bass. The chorus will be melodic in harmony with the transcendent vocal of ALEXANDER WEYLAND which will offer us a whole panel of voices surfing superbly with PETER GABRIEL, a rise of organ at the end of the track will make more than one shiver ... very good, well-balanced piece! "So Many Ways" is another powerful hit whose chorus contains an air of already heard, without difficulty for the comprehension and a little redundant for my taste, just like the guitar with the sounds of GARY MOORE which will leave us on our hunger for the sensational and progressive side. "The New Morning" presents interesting mixtures of 70s-style keyboard solos, sometimes heavy metal and a few passages really well brought up but, lonely in this house with dark walls. "Understand & Preserve" is a well-composed entirely instrumental piece, a kind of demonstration of strength and know-how taking us into the colossal repertoire of said group, enhanced by some epic and metallic overtures ... there, we are not bad ! To conclude this opus "X-Ray The Darkness" we get from the start a movement "Zeppelin", an "Immigrant song" reworked for the circumstances DREAM THEATER style and repeated in several places in different variations, the chorus will take us into in contact with ARENA as much by the style as by the voice, this voice which is metamorphosed admirably and naturally, influenced once again by the leader of GENESIS first period. Let's come back to this double CD with multiple linguistic choice: after having listened carefully to the two proposals I do not have the impression that the German version brings the same consistency and the same impact as the one in English, I could be wrong, but I have the feeling that the compositions are thought out and produced in english. I picked up words and made comparisons to the same passages, for me it is obvious that English is essential, thanks to greater fluidity and a better targeted and more precise mathematical organization of the syllables. And to finish the subject, just like French, my mother tongue, singing in German is not a priority for me and does not have the same resonance in my ears, and that since I was little, surely a question of habit or alienation ...? This group has just openly taken the direction of metal and naturally aspires to the notoriety of a DREAM THEATER, and I think it would not take much to achieve that, but not everyone is lucky enough to have within it a JOHN PRETRUCCI or a MIKE PORTNOY ... Despite this, the prog is here with all the attributes and structures required to create the link that indicates belonging to this great family. I really liked the voice of ALEXANDER WEYLAND which I found deep, mutant, powerful and appropriately exploited in all compartments. Without mentioning all the instruments, the accompanists are not left out and show us a great professionalism for what is presented to us here, nothing to say about it! The melodies are simple but well born, the chords and harmonies are not of great complexity but are admirably composed and managed to catch my attention, the balanced mix of metal and neo-prog has a lot to do with it! Good listening

True to their career history to date, German band Traumhaus took seven years from the release of the third album to give us their fourth. There were also the customary line-up changes, with just founder Alexander Weyland (keyboards, vocals) and guitarist Tobias Hampl (who joined for the second) still there, with the line-up now completed by Ray Gattner (drums) and Till Ottinger (bass). The band have always been known for releasing their albums with German vocals, and that is again the case here, but this time we have a double CD set with Alexander also providing the lyrics in English. Personally, I do not see the need for this, but if it gets them across to a wider audience then that has to be a good thing.

It is interesting to play this against the reissue of the debut as one would not imagine there is nearly 20 years between as the two are very similar with the same mix of neo-progressive rock with some symphonic tendencies and metal here and there, plus they tend to keep to a darker place than many progressive bands. While the rhythm section keep it nailed down, they feel more restricted than others, with the guitars and keyboards really stretching. Here is an album where they have more embraced their inner Threshold, and it is this move into more progressive metal territory which is the most noticeable difference in the overall sound. However, they firmly keep their feet inside the neo prog territory as opposed to going full bored and the result is an album which is both polished and accomplished. I have been fortunate to now hear all four of their studio albums, and they are all incredibly enjoyable, and here is a band which definitely needs to be far wider known across the progressive community. Definitely worth seeking out.