Echoes From the Past is album number 21 in the long career of Germany's premier progressive/space rock legends Eloy, and the title basically tells you all you need to know in that the band aren't going to be deviating much from their trademark sound, and giving you plenty of 'echoes from the past', which should please longtime fans quite a bit. In the band for this latest opus are:
Frank Bornemann / vocals, guitars, composer, production & mixing
Hannes Folberth / keyboards
Michael Gerlach / keyboards
Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass
Stephan Emig / drums
Eloy are one of those bands that I don't think have ever released a bad album, though obviously some of much better than others. Echoes From the Past contain many of the things most of us love from Eloy, such as Frank's highly accented vocals, those sumptuous Richard Wright styled keyboards, soaring lead guitars, and their 'rocked' up brand of Pink Floyd influenced space rock & prog. Their last couple of releases, Visionary, and the two-part The Vision, The Sword, and the Pyre were decent enough, though spotty albums, none of which breaking any new ground for the band but still delivering all the elements already noted above, and we get much of the same here. Production wise, this one sounds spectacular, with the synths from Folberth & Gerlach front and center and really the star of the show across tracks such as "Conspiracy", "The Pyre", and the thrilling title track, and truth be told, this album does rock a bit more than the few that have come before it, which is always a good thing, as Eloy are always at their best with the 'rock' part of their prog dialed up a bit. The addition of female backing vocals as always contributes a richness to their music with certainly gives these songs extra depth, especially seeing as Frank's vocals are often seen as somewhat one-dimensional. 'Warning Signs" is another good one here, darker and quite spacey, with loads of ripping guitars and waves of synths...Eloy doing what Eloy does best.
Overall, not much negative you can say about Echoes From the Past, as it's a good sounding, solid latter day Eloy album that doesn't reinvent the wheel, but gives you all the little nuances that we come to this band for in the first place. Recommended.
Track Listing
1. Conspiracy (5:45)
2. Compassion for Misery (3:05)
3. Echoes from the Past (5:39)
4. Danger (4:42)
5. Deceptive Glory (5:10)
6. Warning Signs (6:34)
7. Fate (3:21)
8. The Pyre (9:22)
9. Farewell (5:19)
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