Fingers crossed that they will continue to record music of this quality on a similarly regular basis.
It took almost thirty years for the British/German Prog combo Eyesberg to record their debut album 'Blue' which finally surfaced in 2015. Thankfully, the three-piece – consisting of Germans Norbert Podien on keyboards and Georg Alfter on guitars/bass with Brit Malcolm Shuttleworth on vocals – have now decided that that huge gap shouldn't happen again with the much swifter arrival of their new Prog opus 'Masquerade'.
If you're a Prog fan that likes the heavier, more Metallic end of this genre, then Eyesberg's subtle, yet very English sounding Prog Rock (that calls to mind early Genesis, Jethro Tull and Yes) may not be what you're looking for. However, if lush and rich musical tapestries filled with multi-layered keyboards, clever guitar refrains and light airy flutes sounds good to you, then might I suggest you give this classy album a try.
'Joke On You', the superb 'Faceless', a song all about losing your identity on social media, the Marillion-esque 'Here And Now' and the keyboard-driven 'Storm Flood' all prove that you don't need thirty years to write and record a great album. Yet it's the album closer, 'Wait And See', where we find out just how good a band Eyesberg are; at almost eighteen minutes in length, this meandering musical piece is full of clever arrangements, delicate keyboards, stellar guitars, wonderful complimentary drum work – from guest artist Jimmy Keegan (Spock's Beard) – and deep melancholy filled lyrics. This paint-box of sound, colours and textures flows together to help make this the type of song that takes many listens to actually get to grips with. That, I think, is where the magic of this album is, because there are no instant fixes. You have to invest yourself in its musicality before you even start to get the most out of Eyesberg's music.
Fingers crossed that now Eyesberg have got the bit between their teeth, Shuttleworth, Podien and Alfter will continue to record music of this quality on a similarly regular basis.
Ian Johnson
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