BETWEEN THE UNIVERSES

This subtle, effortlessly eclectic slice of space rock hails from the Germanic Regions, & is appropriately Tuetonic in composition & execution. Tritonus seem destined to be thrown into the same Symphonic pile as ELP & their noted German pseudo-imitators, Trimvirat; imho, such comparisons hardly do the music on this LP justice. Not to decry the aforementioned bands, but 'Between the Universes' is not, at least most of the time, mile-a-second Emersonian keyboard wizardry. Indeed, the second track 'Mars Detection' (dedicated to the July 1976 landing of the Viking spacecraft) is an eight-plus minute trance-out, with a repetitive undertow of throbbing liquid synths that reminds me oddly of 'My House On Mars' (coincidence??) by Ayreon, though I can draw more chronologically-pertinent comparisons to Kraftwerk & Kraan. True, there are rambunctious moments, when the symphonic influence surges to the fore; this is most evident in the second movement on the second side. However, 'Between the Universes' manages to ultimately remind this reviewer far more of Eloy than Trimuvirat. A solid five stars, & a raised eyebrow at this band's state of general dismissal by the prog community. Herein lie myriad deep-green beauties, & the album's ultimate effect is (to me) rather exalted.