Live reviews

2.ECLIPSED FESTIVAL

Alias Eye, the band from Mannheim whose first work 'Field of Names' has struck the prog rock scene as one of the most astounding debut albums in recent years, embody a new hope as they display a fresh and unaffected approach, full of ideas, vigorous, and exceptionally skilful, too. Consequently, expectations were very high this evening. But the band lived up to them, or maybe even exceeded them. Their performance started with the title track of their album, a fine song indeed which masterfully uses accordion, an instrument seldom heard these days. For me, though, the chorus lines ('Deny it, defile it…') come across a bit weaker than the rest. Be that as it may, the acoustics appeared to be very good, not too loud, with every instrument distinctly audible in the mix. Initially, the musicians seemed a bit tensed up, but that impression vanished as they got in touch with the audience. Wasteland was next, starting off in a King Crimson kind of way, but turning into an upbeat, driving tune, with a nicely built-in quiet interlude. Hybrid then enchanted with its Bach reminiscences - Vytas Lemke's influence at work here - and its twisted structure. The band's playfulness and their not so dead-serious attitude, both of which are most apparent in Hybrid (notice, for example, the Pop goes the Weasle insert), helped to break the ice completely. Just another tragic Song came across as just another brilliant song - everything works fine here, the arrangement being well-balanced and versatile. Lemke's piano solo enthralled in just the same way that Phil Griffiths' impressive vocals did. Driven, the longest track in the set, focused attention on Frank Fischer for a time, as it is built upon a prominent bass line. In the middle part then, Matthias Richter came to shine with a well performed, lengthy guitar solo before the band made a funny excursion, playing some verses of Pink's Lady Marmelade. Such cover inserts do not only exhibit a band's further musical interest, they also bear witness of their self-confidence. That given, Alias Eye appear to be open-minded and sufficiently poised - they're best equipped to successfully pursue their way in the business, and to try out many avenues. Mystery supplies evidence that they even feel comfortable in a more jazzy vein. The subsequent song, The Readiness is all, originally saw Philip Griffiths and his father, Beggar's Opera singer Martin Griffiths, take turns on vocals. As the latter wasn't present, Phil jumped in for his father while keyboarder Lemke took Philip's place. And it worked very well; I especially liked the instrumental break with its splendid keys and guitar work. To top it all, the band suddenly departed for a rendition of Beggar's Opera's Time Machine. After that, Griffiths announced their (theoretically) last song, Premortal Dance. When this dance was over, the band left the stage, but the frenzied applause quickly lured them back and they went on to perform a rather poppy song (To be or not to be) that didn't make it onto 'Field of Names' - well, frankly spoken, I don't really regret that. As the final encore, the album closer An end in itself was played, a gentle ballad that had the performance end on a leisurely note - which didn't prevent the crowd from bursting into thunderous applause. All in all, Alias Eye delivered an inspiring show that made one hungry for more, and they surely won a whole lot of people who are going to observe the band's future deeds. After RPWL's celebrated debut, Alias Eye solidify the impression that German ground is rather fertile for the Prog seed to sprout.

Kunstvoll arrangierte Komposition

Gruppe Alias Eye stellt ihre CD in Mannheim vor

Beinahe hätte die Scheibe nicht pünktlich vorgelegen. Erst ein paar Tage vor der großen Release-Party, der Live-Darbietung zur Veröffentlichung ihres Debüt-Albums "Field Of Names" im Mannheimer Forum wurden die CDs angeliefert. Alias Eye hatten schon befürchtet, am großen Tag mit leeren Händen dazustehen.
Doch alles stimmt. Der große Saal ist gut besucht, die Akustik sehr rein und transparent. Trotzdem müssen im Sound Abstriche gemacht werden, denn der Anlage mangelt's an Bass-Volumen, um den Songs auch die richtige Tiefe und den treibenden Rhythmus-Druck zu geben; es klingt etwas höhenlastig. Aber Musik und Musiker sind exzellent, der Laune-Pegel ganz oben.
Neben dem zehn Nummern von "Fields Of Names" spielt die Truppe ein paar Titel, die es nicht auf die Platte geschafft haben, die aber dem Rest in nichts nachstehen. Kunstvoll arrangierte Kompositionen der anspruchsvollen Rockmusik hat das Mannheimer Quintett zu bieten, das sich eingerichtet hat in jenem Genre, das in den siebziger Jahren Kunst-Rock oder Art-Rock genannt wurde und heute mit dem Begriff Prog-Rock belegt wird. "Prog" steht für "progressiv" und ist aus den Siebzigern übriggeblieben, als das Wort noch einigermaßen berechtigt war. Heute, da in der Rockmusik so gut wie alles schon ausprobiert und miteinander kombiniert worden ist, bleibt die Fortschrittlichkeit der Verwendung komplexer Formen und Strukturen vorbehalten und der Einarbeitung vermeintlich artfremder Einflüsse.
So machen sich bei Alias Eye mitunter ausgeprägte Jazz-Harmonien und klassisch inspirierte Melodien bemerkbar; dass Keyboarder Vytas Lemke, im Hauptberuf Mathematiklehrer, ein Bach-Liebhaber ist, merkt man seinem Tastenspiel an. Neben der ideenreichen Gitarrenarbeit von Matthias Richter und der präzisen Rhythmus-Sektion Frank Fischer (Bass) und Ludwig Benedek (Schlagzeug) besticht vor allem der Gesang von Philip Griffiths, Sohn von Martin Griffiths, dem einstigen Sänger der Anfang der Siebziger erfolgreichen schottischen Art-Rock-Formation Beggar's Opera. Philips reife, souveräne Leistung gibt den Stücken Nachdruck und Gewicht. Noch sei er nicht so ausdauernd wie sein Vater, grinst er, und gönnt seiner Stimme nach der Hälfte eine viertelstündige Pause.

Mike Seifert
© Mannheimer Morgen, 12-06-01