Eloy - 1984 - Metromania

Eloy

1984

Metromania

01. Escape to the Heights (5:03)
02. Seeds of Creation (4:28)
03. All Life Is One (6:28)
04. The Stranger (3:59)
05. Follow the Light (9:37)
06. Nightriders (9:39)
07. Metromania (6:10)

Frank Bornemann / lead vocals, guitar, producer
Hannes Arkona / lead guitar, keyboards, syncussion (drum synth), Vocoder
Hannes Folberth / keyboards
Klaus-Peter Matziol / bass
Fritz Randow / drums

With:
Kalle Bösel / backing vocals
Jane "Janie" James / backing vocals
Sabine Matziol / backing vocals
Rainer Przywara / backing vocals
Romy Singh / backing vocals
Susanne Schätzle / backing vocals
Michael Flechsig / backing vocals
Monika / backing vocals

Although they clung to 70's-style progressive rock far longer than the competition, Eloy ultimately proved just as susceptible to 80's pop/rock aesthetics. The band made an abrupt turn toward prog-influenced synth rock with 1983's Performance- a record that, while fairly progressive by the standards of its time, is widely regarded as the first disposable release in the Eloy catalogue. 1984's Metromania extends the transformation begun by Performance, yielding what is unarguably the most "80's-sounding" release of the band's career. It's in no way a poor release, and should appeal to the exact same set of listeners who enjoyed its immediate predecessor, but it's also bound to upset many progressive rock fans. Interesting enough to earn a modest recommendation for lovers of spacey prog who aren't overly bothered by 80's synth tones and a relatively thin production style.

Metromania splits the difference between synth-driven space rock and more accessible synth pop fare. There are still a handful of lengthier tracks, suggesting complex multipart compositions, but nothing here is particularly challenging. As with Performance, there's also a curious lack of assertive guitar work, with most songs focusing on multiple interweaving synth lines. And it's in those synths that Metromania most clearly distinguishes its from all of its predecessors. Frank Bornemann seems intent on trying out as many bloopy synth sounding as possible, and even resorts to vocoder for the primary vocal hook on one of the tracks ("All Life Is One"). Otherwise, the melodies here aren't significantly different from those on Performance. There are handful of forays into punchier, radio-friendly rock, but there's also a fair share of hypnotic slow-burns. Bornemann's vocals are also immediately recognizable to anyone remotely familiar with the band, and if you ignore the bounciest passages the vocal melodies here aren't hugely dissimilar from the more accessible side of Planets or Time to Turn.

Overall, Metromania is obviously a far cry from Eloy's classic sounds of the mid-to-late-70's, but it also isn't a complete betrayal of the bands roots. Just compare the album to contempory works from Jethro Tull or Genesis- things could've went far worse for longtime Eloy fans. I personally consider the album to be a marginal step back from Performance but still strong enough to warrant an "above average", 3.0-star rating. The synth tones are periodically distracting, far more so than on Performance, and the weakest tracks here are less engaging than the weakest tracks off Performance. In fact, Metromania is the first Eloy record since their debut that contains multiple skippable tracks ("All Life in One, "Stranger"). I will admit that, even in its least impressive moments, Metromania does a better job at incorporating catchy guitar/bass lines into its predominantly synth-led arrangements. Bornemann has clearly become more confident with his newfound synth rock style. I just don't find that style particularly interesting.

For longtime Eloy fans, the primary attraction on Metromania is the 10-minute space rock opus "Follow the Light". That track isn't quite as memorable as the similarly backward-looking "A Broken Frame" (Performance), but it occupies a similar place in the group's discography and probably would've fit on Planets if it had a different production style. The remainder of Metromania features a pair of additional tracks that I genuinely enjoy, namely "Nightriders" and "Metromania", but even the best bits here feel more like guilty pleasures than legitimate favorites. "Escape to the Heights" and "Seeds of Creation" elicit similar feelings but are slightly less catchy (though "Escape to the Heights" may have the best synth mix on the album and appears to have its fair share of supporters…). That leaves "All Life Is One" and "The Stranger", both of which were best left in the studio. At least Metromania avoids the downright boring fare that would come to dominate on Ra and Destination

Metromania is an acceptable yet utterly inessential addition to the Eloy catalogue that exemplifies many of my issues with 80's-era releases from 70's progressive rock giants. It seems that Bornemann himself sensed the artistic stagnation of this release, and would put Eloy on hiatus for several years following the album's release. Seeing as Bornemann would completely retool the band's line-up for Ra, I suppose you could characterize Metromania as the final release from the initial incarnation of the band.