Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Eloy
Label: EMI Records
Released: 1984
Rating: 3.5/5
German space rock greats Eloy went through a minor sonic rebirth with the release of “Performance” (1983), which brought them closer to some of the sound concepts of the 80s. Their traditional space rock sound picked up hard rock and in places even heavy metal elements, while the keyboards had fully adapted to classic 80s production. The changes weren’t as radical as some of their fans feared, but for a while it did mean the end of the highly ambient sound and the ambitious albums spiced up with sci-fi concepts. In short, despite the influence of 80s sound technology, Eloy remained instantly recognizable. Their knack for creating everything from epic, dramatic to hypnotically dreamy atmospheres survived on most of the compositions on “Metromania” too, the final act of this version of the band. Sure, this album didn’t match the breadth and depth of most of their earlier output, but it was still a thoroughly solid piece of work that once again proved Eloy were one of the few progressive rock veterans who could proudly wear the label “progressive” in the 80s without shame. Longtime band chief Frank Bornemann, a masterful guitarist, excellent producer and slightly less dazzling singer (his pronounced German accent isn’t for everyone, but personally I can’t imagine Eloy’s sound without it), wanted to keep their recognizable identity while keeping pace with the times, which was a perfectly logical move.
“Metromania” is a partial concept album, although none of the songs refers directly to its central story. That story is about a city set in the near future, steeped in cybernetics, grayness, nanotechnology and cold rationalism, watched over by the big eye of Big Brother. The main protagonist secretly plays music on his futuristically designed guitar, music aimed straight at the face of the oppressive regime. A typical, rather worn-out Orwellian concept that by no means reaches the depth of most of their earlier concepts. The legendary Frank Zappa had already served up something similar before, in a far wittier, more polished and more original way. Much more than in the individual compositions, the concept comes alive on the excellent cover by British artist Rodney Matthews, whose illustrations adorned a few Eloy releases in the 80s that came out for the British market. His style was quite reminiscent of the much better-known Roger Dean (cover artist for Yes, Uriah Heep, Asia, Budgie, Greenslade, etc.) and mostly dealt in fantasy or sci-fi motifs.
Stylistically, Eloy once again stuck to the mix that had proven effective on the previous album: their traditional space rock with its characteristic variety of ambient keyboard textures, plus hard rock, reflected mainly in the punchy guitar passages and fiery drum fills of traditional hard rock drummer Fritz Randow. As usual, Frank’s guitar work sits somewhere between the subtle lines he picked up in the school of David Gilmour (Pink Floyd) and classic hard rock riffs. Teamed up with Hannes Arkona, an additional guitarist and occasional keyboardist, he forms a solid blend of guitar finesse and white-hot power. By this point, keyboardist Hannes Folberth had grown into one of the best keyboardists on the German prog rock scene. His mix of electronic and symphonic arrangements on the synthesizers takes up the lion’s share of the album’s sound, though it never comes across as dominant. As on the predecessor, the individual songs are noticeably less complex than their usual standards, but the arrangements are still rich enough to please any prog connoisseur who doesn’t see the 80s merely as a dark age for progressive rock. This time Frank got help with the lyrics from Martine Ryan and Andrew Ward (not the same-named former Camel drummer), which means he still preferred to entrust the poetry to Anglo-Saxon authors rather than his own countrymen or his own pen. The result was that Eloy had considerably better lyrics than most German rock bands of the time. Frank’s production was excellent for its day and still sounds very good today, and he also steered clear of the excessive synthetic sheen typical of the period.
None of the tracks on the album sound commercial, and none were made with that in mind. Opener “Escape To The Heights” is a good combination of their traditional elements, hard rock and the influence of 80s sound technology. Electronic-sounding synths are backed by punchy hard rock passages, accompanied by Frank’s recognizable vocals, “enriched” with that German accent (though here it’s already a bit less obvious than on past albums). The guitar passages often melt into all kinds of synths, building a futuristic, cybernetic atmosphere. “Seeds Of Creation” opens with Folberth’s recognizable synth lines, plenty of electronic effects and female backing vocals that work effectively as a sonic backdrop. The electronic synth sound is propped up by a dynamic, melodic rhythm line. The best moment comes in the instrumental section, when a mighty synth solo crashes in and creates a rather majestic mood. “All Life Is One” has an esoteric, almost Oriental keyboard intro. Backing vocal harmonies soaked in synthetic effects and a slow rhythm with rich curtains of synthesizer layers crank up the prevailing cybernetic mood second by second. Eventually Frank’s dramatic vocals come in too, along with his trademark guitar passages, which are much sharper this time.
On “The Stranger” you can detect a bit of new wave influence in some of the rhythmic elements. Otherwise it’s once again a typical blend of hard rock and space rock finesse, where punchy guitar passages mix with assorted keyboards to form an effective wall of sound. The middle section brings in a classic hard rock guitar solo, electronic keyboard textures and dramatic backing vocal harmonies. The central chorus sounds quite pop rock by their standards and creates an interesting contrast. The epic “Follow The Light”, which in my opinion is also the best piece on the album, contains some of the best traditional Eloy elements and ranks among their classic space rock feasts. The dramatic intro, with all sorts of keyboard passages and dramatic vocals, begins to spin an idealistic story about an individual’s urge to break out of the grayness of everyday life toward something higher. At one point Frank’s voice reaches a fairly high register, at least for his usual range. Then comes a masterful passage where hard rock guitar lines and rich keyboard backdrops flow into a harmonious balance. In the background come in excellent female backing vocals, which occasionally take center stage in the main melodic, pompous chorus. The keyboard textures once again create a strongly futuristic mood and, together with mighty rhythmic transitions and subtle guitar lines, build rich arrangements. The keyboard textures in the closing section are slightly reminiscent of the style usually associated with Geoffs Downes (Asia, ex-Yes). The album peaks right here.
“Nightriders” is an almost metal gem with plenty of punchy guitar passages and drum blasts, while the keyboards are pushed a little further into the background this time. Frank’s vocals again lean toward the higher registers. The song’s main strength lies in its central, classic hard rock riff and an excellent guitar solo. Whenever Eloy stepped into the role of a hard rock band, they came off quite effectively, which isn’t surprising for a group that started out as a hard rock band. At the same time, it’s a nice proof of their versatility. To close, there’s the title track “Metromania”, yet another very solid space rock composition with lots of symphonic arrangements, punchy guitar passages and unpredictable rhythmic changes. The intro surprises in a good way with varied, artfully laid electronic synth textures and a hefty guitar riff, followed by almost classical symphonic arrangements. Frank’s dramatic vocals identify through the lyrics with someone who, in the spirit of the novel “1984”, has finally made peace with life in a cybernetic, emotionless city under Big Brother’s “protection”. The keyboard arrangements are excellent again, while the rhythm line bends under the weight of numerous drum fills and the melodic lines of Matziol’s bass. At the same time, it radiates incredible dynamism. The punchy guitar passages constantly inject white-hot pomp. The best moment comes when the synth passages tip over into an exceptionally refined section, where they blend with the work of both guitars and the epic vocals. This is followed by a splendid ambient section with a rhythmic build-up, excellent bass work and plenty of jerky riffs. The classical-flavored motif returns several more times, together with the chorus. On this composition Eloy managed to hit that perfect effectiveness in merging their tradition with the sonic finesse of the 80s. What a fitting end to the album and to an era in their history.
“Metromania” was of course no masterpiece, but in my opinion it’s still a bit better than its predecessor, because it achieved that fitting balance between tradition and some of the modern sound elements of the 80s, which Frank so badly wanted. As a whole it also sounds somewhat smoother and more natural than its predecessor, and it has less flirting with pop and new wave elements, which is surely closer to the hearts of all their traditional listeners. Even though Eloy still enjoyed a healthy amount of popularity outside German-speaking countries after the release of “Metromania”, this album marked the beginning of the end for this lineup. On the tour that followed, their show in London was even recorded by the BBC radio/TV station, and the gig was attended by members of neo prog rock champions Marillion, who were then their label mates at EMI. That event was surely one of the highlights of their career. The very next year brought a complete split between Frank and his bandmates. After the release of this album, their contract with EMI had run out. Frank wanted to take time to think about where to go next, while the rest of the band, without his approval, used the band’s name and logo for the release of “Operation Wildgeese” (1985), which contained music for the film of the same name with Klaus Kinski in one of the leading roles. So for a short time there were two bands called Eloy, which was the only controversy in their long history. More on that strange episode in the review of the next album, the only “Eloy” album made without the involvement and approval of Frank Bornemann.
Lineup
Frank Bornemann – vocals, guitar
Hannes Arkona – guitar, keyboards, vocoder
Klaus-Peter Matziol – bass guitar
Hannes Folberth – keyboards
Fritz Randow – drums
Production
Frank Bornemann
Track list
1. Escape To The Heights (5:03)
2. Seeds Of Creation (4:28)
3. All Life Is One (6:28)
4. The Stranger (3:59)
5. Follow The Light (9:37)
6. Nightriders (9:39)
7. Metromania (6:10)
Total running time: 45:24
