VISIONARY

Eloy is the classic space rock band. Revered for their classic album "The Ocean" and other space rock gems, the band is well known in the progressive community. 11 years after their last studio album, the band reformed on their 40th anniversary to record their latest album, "Visionary." On this album contains seven exceptional tracks, each with classic Spacey spirit with a new hard rock aura. Although some of the music can seem uninterested and just along for the ride, the album ends with a satisfied feeling in my ears, and is no doubt a very good album.

The Refuge opens the album slowly at first with a cool atmosphere which quickly begins to accelerate into the hard rock river that the album turns out to be; with a constant flowing feel, the song never really lets up. Adorned with some really great riffs and instrumental breakdowns, the song has some really great qualities. However, many of the riffs seem to be a little overused, with little variation in the pretty standard song form.

The Secret has a spacier feel to it, with more atmospheric guitar themes and pulsing rhythmic drum lines. The vocal melodies are distorted in a psychedelic sort of way, giving a nice spacey taste to the music. Once the song gets into the chorus, it has a nice poppy feel, with pleasant melodies and nice use of the various instruments allegedly used in the recording (some seem a bit synthesized). Overall, the song continues the album's trend of interesting spacey rock, with a harder, albeit poppier, sound, with some interesting instrumentation and nice melodies. Although the music is not incredible, it certainly is good.

Age of Insanity has a heavier edge than the previous track, with a heavier use of synthesizers as well. At this point, we start to see the apparent re-use of ideas and similar themes and the melding of track distinguishability. However similar the tracks seem to be getting, this song certainly has some really great themes and riffs to go by. The instrumental section is great, with some great solos and fantastic spacey atmospheres backing them. Although the themes start to get a bit overused throughout the track, it is still one of my favorite songs on the album and a great track overall.

The Challenge is another rocking spacey track, with some cool riffing and atmospheric synth work. The bass line is the main attraction, with a nice rhythm behind it and a nice melodic forefront. Overall the song seems to repeat much of the same formula as the other songs, with a similar feel and atmosphere constructing the song. In the end it's not a bad track, but more another variation of the good songs that precede it. Summernight Symphony is by far the mellowest track on the album, with the strongest return to Eloy's spacey beginnings and psychedelic feel. The song is built on sublime melodies with a cool summer feel, raised up upon breezes of musical prosperity; the song is like a cool wind upon the back of trepidation, allowing the night sky to engulf the thoughts of the gazer and forget the woes he may have against the world. In the end, the track is another of my favorites, giving the album a fantastic feel for Eloy's true melodic quality.

Mystery, a continuation of some of the themes, both musically and lyrically, of The Secret, is the longest track on the album, both in physical length and the amount of material the band managed to shove into its nine minutes. Taking quite a long time to build up to anything, it serves more as filler than anything else, in my opinion. It contains slow and steady somewhat spacey riffing and atmospheres, sustained for nine minutes with little break. Melodically it lacks, with little variation in Bornemann's tone. Overall, this track is certainly not my favorite, with little to its name but its length.

Thoughts is the short ender, adorned with some mellow guitar chords and nice melodies. It ends the album on a nice mellow note, with some pleasant harmonies to its name.

ALBUM OVERALL: Visionary is an adequate return for Eloy. The seven songs that make up Visionary are all good in their own right, with admirable melodic qualities and a new hard rock sound that isn't found on much of Eloy's previous work, or at least to the extent of my knowledge. However, each of the seven songs also follow an almost identical formula, with similar feels and atmospheres, making for much of the album to sound alike, which can get a bit boring. In the end, Visionary is a good effort for the newly reformed band, with some really great passages and some equally low passages. The album really flattens out to an overall good album. 3+ stars.

Share this ELOY review

Social review comments () BETA

---

---

Review related links

• Send comments to Andy Webb
• Report this review (#435059)
• Buy ELOY music online with PA partners
• Show all ELOY MP3/Stream
• Go to ELOY page for videos, full discography with ratings, reviews and much more
• Go to Visionary page for more details, where to buy and ratings/reviews
• Search the Forum for ELOY related discussions