Detailed Reviews [Metamorphosis - 2004 - "Nobody Cares"]

Metamorphosis (Switzerland) - 2004 - "Nobody Cares"
(64 min, 'M' & Galileo)

Prolusion. The 64-minute "Nobody Cares" is the second album by Switzerland's METAMORPHOSIS. Still, keyboardist and vocalist Jean-Pierre is at the helm and is the primary author of the material. Inasmuch as Dominique Schlager is out, guitarist Giova Esposito now assumes the duties of bassist, too, while the producer, engineer and second guitarist David Grillon has become a full-fledged member of the band. Finally, just like on Metamorphosis's debut album "After All These Years" (the review is >here), Milena Zaharieva plays flute on one track.

Synopsis. Archetype: Progressive Rock. Benefactors: Pink Floyd and Eloy. Creed: Neo Symphonic Space Rock. It is difficult to adequately judge a progressive album after the first listening to it, which is almost an axiom, IMHO. First I was equally pleased with all the contents of "Nobody Cares", but later I found that the album is rather noticeably more accessible than its predecessor, though this factor is not apparent everywhere. By the development of dynamics of musical events "Nobody Cares" much reminds me of Camel's "Harbour of Tears" where the classically diverse and intensive arrangements appear only on the second half of the album. No, there is nothing in common between the music of Camel and Metamorphosis, as the principal sources of Jean-Pierre Schenk's inspiration seem to be unchangeable in space and time. Just like in the case of the project's debut outing, these are Eloy and Pink Floyd. In short, the traces of influences of these two are everywhere on the album and are especially evident on the first four tracks, though here, Jean-Pierre applies the archetypes of the late creation of the bands. The basic compositional structures resemble those in "Ra", and the parts of electric guitar, especially solos, those in "A Momentary Lapse of Reason". Of course, Jean-Pierre's vocals are not unlike Frank Bornemann, as usual. In the case of "Nobody Cares", the comparisons are not only appropriate, but are also inevitable. The style that Looking for Somewhere, Home Again, Nobody Cares, and Full Moon Is Rising Tonight (1 to 4) are done in is Neo Symphonic Space Rock with and without elements of Space Metal. Fortunately, the other four songs turned out to be largely instrumental. While the album is stylistically uniform, the compositional and performance aspects of Glimmer, Nothing Left of Our Dreams, Silence, and Before All Is Over (5 to 8) are much closer to those typical for the classic manifestation of the genre. Besides, each of these four possesses some amazing space-related mystery. Most of the arrangements on the album's second half are rich in the parts of acoustic instruments and are lushly orchestrated in addition. The active use of the sounds of Hammond is the central hallmark of the album and is probably the only constituent of the band's music, the originality of which is beyond any doubts. Fortunately, the organ solos play a prominent role on most of the tracks here.

Conclusion. Once again, Metamorphosis presents us somewhat a quintessence of Eloy and Pink Floyd, though, in this case, it concerns the late creation of the bands, which isn't the best period of their activity. In all, this is a good, quality production, and its potential audience might be much larger than that of Metamorphosis's debut, which, nevertheless, I like better.

VM: June 17, 2004