ELOY "The Vision, the Sword and the Pyre: Part II"

ELOY

“The Vision, The Sword and The Pyre” (Part II)

Active since the early 70’s, ELOY put out one of the best prog rock albums of all time in “Ocean”. If you want to hear classic prog at its best, that’s a record worth seeking out. However, I’ve lost track of the band in recent years and missed “Part 1” of “The Vision, The Sword and The Pyre”. So be it...I will soldier on, much like the subject of this epic, Joan of Arc.

ELOY is really pretty much just Frank Bornemann and whoever he chooses to work with these days. This two part prog epic is a historically accurate look at the fascinating career of the “Maid of Orleans”, Jean de Arc. As such, you might expect a pompous, bombastic rock opera with songs that wander on forever. No such luck! Although some tracks here like “An Instant of Relief: Still the War Rages” and “Reims: the Coronation of Charles VII” have a very cinematic, operatic side to them, no song here goes over 7 minutes. That’s the essence of brevity for a 70’s prog band such as ELOY. Many of the tracks are quite easy to digest and none of them really wallow around in needless musical digression.

There are some catchy hard rockers like “Patay”, “Joy” and “Paris” that are based on solid guitar riffs embellished with tasteful keys. Some like “Resumé” and “Compiégne” are more quiet and reserved and function mainly as background for characters giving spoken narration. Those songs give this the feeling of a “rock opera” without going overboard like a lot of such efforts do. And then there are some soothing and ethereal cuts like “Tormenting Imprisonment” (which has the title of a death metal song!) and the album-ending “Eternity”, where Joan speaks to us from beyond the grave. The end result is a pleasing tapestry of songs that really doesn’t challenge the listener much.

Frank could hardly be considered a great vocalist and his German accent is apparent, but he is in no way unpleasant to listen to. Considering the guy has to be in his 70’s, that makes ELOY’s achievement here more notable. Not a true classic, but very enjoyable for fans of prog rock and just plain rock music in general.

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