b o b

After reading one glowing review after another about this band, I quickly snatched up As the World when I found it at a used CD shop. To be honest, I think this band is vastly overrated. They're certainly not bad - they've got chops and know how to play high-speed, fairly complex music. The vocals are also well done. But for some reason it doesn't all gel into what I would consider a great prog album. About the only track that I really enjoy is the very short instrumental, "The Wiblet". I think my problem with this band stems from the music being too flashy. I hate the "too many notes" criticism of music, but in the case of this album it really seems true - like they're just playing that fast to impress, not because it adds anything to the composition. After a while, it gets mind-numbing. Also, the lyrics try so hard to be deep and worldly, but come off sounding like a whiney teenager who thinks he's smarter than everyone else. The Christian-rock influences (something I rarely see mentioned about Echolyn) don't help to endear them to me either. In the end, I'd say that if Spock's Beard could double their chops, they'd sound just like Echolyn. If you think that sounds like a compliment, then Echolyn might be just the band for you. review by Bob Eichler — undated —

s e a n

Echolyn's shot at the big time, this is the only album they recorded with Sony before breaking up, only to reform in late 1999. The music shows a progression of the band's style away from the naive neo-prog of the first album towards a fusion of 90s rock and progressive rock that works very well for me. While there is certainly some accomplished musicianship on this album (particularly from keyboardist Chris Buzby) they tend to stick to writing songs rather than sprawling compositional "epics". There is plenty of vocal harmonization on this one, and occasionally a light jazzy touch to this one that sticks out in contrast to the rockier parts. There is a fair amount of string work on this one, particularly at the start of songs. Although a string section is credited, I'm not sure which parts are them and which parts are synthesized. Apart from that, the instrumentation is fairly standard for rock let alone prog, save the addition of Buzby's keyboards (and yes, I am among the people who wishes he'd buy a moog or something, just for kicks). Although some might be put off by the increased commercialism of this release, and there are those who would criticize the ever-optimistic nature of the lyrics, I think this album does an excellent job of marrying progressive rock to what was going on in the 90s, in a way that was much more relevant than similar attempts by Spock's Beard and other such bands. There are songs here, such as "One for the Show", or "Settled Land" which strike me as strong on every level, evaluated from either the genre of rock or the genre of prog. Maybe I've just been suckered by this one, but I greatly enjoy it, and I recommend it without hesitation to a fan of any type of music. review by Sean McFee — undated —

j o e

You'll have to overlook one of the world's worst rock album covers to get to some great music contained on this disc, but hopefully that should be easy enough. Alongside Änglagård's Hybris, As the World was probably the most talked-about progressive rock release of the 1990s. Echolyn were noted for a dizzyingly inventive harmonic sense (both in their dense, layered vocals and in the music) combined with impressive technique conscientiously held at bay from the contemporaneous wankdom of the Magna Carta label. Obviously, their days on a major label were numbered. The lyrics and Ray Weston's vocal delivery can get a bit overdone at times in that exaggerated 'wide-eyed, idealistic youth' kind of way, but that's a small complaint. "Entry 11/19/93" and the album's memorable closer "Never the Same" are both classics, personally speaking. A great disc. review by Joe McGlinchey — undated —

e r i c

Essential 90's prog! I remember when I bought this, and the guy I get my CD's from locally was telling me that these guys were it, our hope for a prog revival. When I put it on the player and heard the violin strains and mesmorizing vocals to "All Ways The Same" I knew this was something special. Great musicianship, excellent songwriting, vocals sung with authority; a prog band with balls. Unfortunately for all of us the band fell apart after this release, but "Suffocating The Bloom" is still available (ed: not anymore) along with a final release of material "When The Sweet Turns Sour". Along with Änglagård, they were the best prog I heard in the 90's in my opinion. The influence of Gentle Giant is strong, but the band has its own unique sound. My favorite tracks here are "A Short Essay", "Entry" which is mellow and "Audio Verite". Two splinter groups formed out of the bands demise, Finneus Gauge and keyboardist Chris Buzby's latest outfit, and Still (or Always Almost) with vocalist Ray Weston, Brett Kull, and Paul Ramsey. Weston has recently hooked up with Dark Aether Project as vocalist. I miss this band; get this one and the others while you still can. review by Eric Porter — undated —

b r a n d o n

It took me a while to start liking this release, and to be honest I still don't quite see what the hype is. Echolyn plays a mostly fast-paced, constantly theme-shifting brand of prog (for some reason I sometimes thing the band is in this way similar to Deus ex Machina), with a whole crapload of vocal harmonies a la Gentle Giant. At first listen, with all those changing themes and meters, and all those goofy vocal harmonies, I absolutely despised this stuff. By the third listen I'd gotten over my initial distaste of the vocal harmonies and was working on figuring out all the shifting themes. I've stalled at this point - I still don't think the whole thing fits together very well. The album is way too long, also, and I can never listen to the whole thing in one sitting. There are several individual songs I like - the more relaxed, less schizophrenic ones, mainly, such as "How Long I Have Waited" (love the rhythm section in this one) and "Never the Same" - but as a whole, I haven't yet found what's to love. As a final note, while these guys are often categorized as neo-prog, I have my doubts as to whether the average Marillion or Pendragon fan is going to like this stuff, as it definitely has its quirks and complexities. review by Brandon Wu — undated —