TRIP IN THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD

After a few spins of this album I got the idea of checking out of the band description here on PA and expected a comparison (at least) if not a clone mention to Marillion. But guess what ? There wasn't ! Surprise because many neo bands are compared/referred to Marillion and sometimes not even justified but this band is as neo as it gets and has clear resamblance to the leaders of the subgenre and yet ... no mention. Never mind, Egoband is not a cheap clone by any means, let me be clear about this. But some reference, I really think so.

Anyway, if it's like Marillion, it's certainly not worse, in my opinion it's even much better though not with every song. When I had my first five listening efforts I was a bit confused: was this album absolutely magnificent or just good ? I couldn't make up my mind because I was tossed about between these two possibilities after each listening. But now I have found out why this happened. The fairly simple answer is that there are two mindblowing tracks on this album (Tree of Life and especially the title track) and the rest is hardly more than good/very good.

Or in other words: the two stand out tracks are close to 5 star efforts, simple as that and are both better than the best songs Marillion ever produced. Huge instrumental contributions and stunning build up of the compositions. In both cases it mainly shows in the second half of the song. I think these two are contenders for my top 100 songs ever ! But the other 5 (8th track is just a short reprise) are like I said good/very good meaning somewhere between 3 and 4 stars. Especially second song In the Air is very Marillion resembling. Listen to the rhythm of this song, it's very Script. Even the guitar sounds like Rothary. Very good track, this one as well coming close to 4 stars. The opener scores 3,5 *. Third and fourth track also have Marillion resemblance and things are also caused by the vocals I suddenly realize. Both tracks are worth 3,75-4 stars imo.

Sixth song Nowdays and Fatality is PA's stream track and can thus be checked out any time. I think it's not really the best and hardly representative for the album so don't let this one put you off. Still worth 3,75 stars to me.

Conclusion: a stunning and sensational debut this one by Egoband and as this is the first review I think this can be considered a hidden gem. One of those you always hope to find as a reward for your searching activities. Highly recommended for the real neo fans ! 4 stars easily (4,25).