eclipsed No. 104 / 9-2008

YES
game without limits

"Art comes from skill!" - many retroprog acts almost defiantly carry this slogan in front of them. "Genius comes from enjoyment!" - this witty word of Ernst Penzoldt one would like to hold out to the often grim musicians. A treat is what Yes, the progenitors of "Retro-Chic", have been serving up to the progressive rock world for 40 years now: In their best moments, the group has displayed a playful sophistication and lightness that are unmatched to this day. We honor the British Symphonic Prog princes with a three-part feature.

ALICE COOPER
Schizophrenia as an Opportunity

It is the archetype of shock rock, a species of music that is mostly at home in US-American climes. And even at the age of 59, Alice Cooper feels like a poodle in the role of the macabre freak. His latest prank tells of a serial killer with spider phobia.

URIAH HEEP
Everything on top: "Wake Up (Set Your Sights)"

After their comparatively mediocre albums in the 90s, Uriah Heep now wants to regain lost terrain. The band wants the title of their first studio album in ten years to be understood as a wake-up call to themselves: "Wake The Sleeper" is one of the heaviest heep works in a long time.

SIGUR RÓS
With one foot on the ground

Studio album number five marks a turning point in the development of Icelandic art rock innovator Sigur Rós: the ethereal intermediate world eremites suddenly dare to venture near the earth, they want to see what the earthly inhabitants enjoy: From those who set out to learn life.

THE BLACK ANGELS
Music as Religion

With "Directions To See A Ghost", The Black Angels have released their second album, which also continues the tradition of the Velvet Underground founded, soulful, rough psychedelic rock. Nevertheless, the Texans move in the here and now and prove that in them the opposites bubble.

SYLVAN
Murderous ruffle during his lifetime

In 2008 Sylvan are a seal of quality for progressive rock "Made In Germany". Their recently released DVD "Posthumous Silence - The Show" and the live album "Leaving Backstage" prove this impressively. Ten years after the first release it is time to review the career of the Hamburg formation.

JADE WARRIOR
Cosmopolitan Rock Ping-Pong

Jade Warrior have enriched the history of music in a sustainable way, even if this cannot be proven by sales figures. The English group created a sound amalgam that can be roughly simplified and defined as world music. It is only in recent years that the band, which had a niche existence in the seventies, has received more attention.

KLAUS SCHULZE & LISA GERRARD "
Music is a shrine!"

Klaus Schulze and Lisa Gerrard: This alliance of two soul mates with different musical backgrounds is certainly one of the most exciting artist constellations of recent times. German electronics meets Australian mysticism.

Keep the text up! Cult songs and their meaning
THE EAGLES - HOTEL CALIFORNIA

"WELCOME TO THE HOTEL CALIFORNIA! WELCOME TO HELL: IN THEIR MOST FAMOUS SONG, THE EAGLES CRITICIZE THE UNRESTRAINED HEDONISM OF THE SEVENTIES - TO WHICH THEY THEMSELVES HAD LONG SUCCUMBED.

eclipsed PURCHASE SHEET MAN
Hippet dreams in multicolour

Just recently a British magazine called Man "The Smoker's Choice". Of course, no marijuana plantation has been safe from the Welsh idyll Swansea since the band was founded. They embodied hippie ideals: they were always friendly, always open-minded towards fans and other bands (e.g. Nektar), peaceful and cheerful..

PATTI SMITH
Survival Artist

Patti Smith is a survivor. Unlike Jim Morrison, her brother in spirit, they did not put the excesses of their early days to rest. Nevertheless, Jeanne d'Arc des Rock der Tod followed at every turn in the last two decades - as if she had to pay for her own survival..

TONY IOMMI & NECROMANDUS
Heavyweights in the Producer's Armchair (Part 2)

In addition to Ian Gillan, who produced Jerusalem in the early seventies, Black Sabbath's Tony Iommi also enjoyed the producer's armchair. He had noticed a band from near Carlisle, which in 1973 consequently appeared several times as an opener for Black Sabbath.