Detailed Reviews [EAS - 1994/2003 - "Absolute Presence"]

Prolusion. I continue reviewing CDs from the reissue series "Mellow Golden Fund". Regarding this production however, I can't say whether "Absolute Presence" is the only album by the Texas band EAS or not.

Synopsis. While on the whole, "Absolute Presence" is by no means deprived of original and fresh ideas; the traces of Rush's influence can be detected on it as well. Fortunately, these are light traces that, moreover, aren't that legible and are present on only a couple of tracks. In that way, it will be much more precise to make a reservation that the members of EAS are inspired by the creation of that legendary band, which by no means conflicts with the freshness of their own sound. Despite the fact that "Absolute Presence" is actually a coherent album, it would be pointless to define the prominent musical stylistics of it. Just a soft Prog-Metal, the energy of heaviness of which is equal to that in the music of Rush in the 1980s, is presented on Shardesia (2). Unlike all of the other tracks on the album, Shardesia doesn't contain the parts of keyboards, as well as those of acoustic guitar. A soft Prog-Metal with elements of Symphonic Art-Rock is the style of Journey's Descent and The Dance (3 & 5). Both of the longest tracks here: the 8-minute Absolute Presence and the 12-minute Everlasting Dream (1 & 4) are about Classic Symphonic Art-Rock with elements of Prog-Metal and are of a moderate complexity. Finally, the music on The Return (6) doesn't contain any heavy elements and represents Classic Symphonic Art-Rock with elements of Classical Music. This is the only composition on the album featuring the parts of a string ensemble and, instead of a powerful drumming, the solos of light percussion instruments. Along with the aforementioned Everlasting Dream and Absolute Presence, The Return is one of the most diverse and intricate tracks here.

Conclusion. Despite the fact that this music isn't of a high complexity, it's far beyond the interests of the fans of Neo, including the most adventurous of them. While most of the lovers of Classic Progressive Rock (notice that I didn't say Metal) should be very pleased with "Absolute Presence".

VM: May 19, 2003