Detailed Reviews [Peter Frohmader - 2003 - "Eismeer"]

Peter Frohmader (Germany) - 2003 - "Eismeer"
(60 min, Gazul: a division of Musea)

Preamble. Within the framework of his classic project Nekropolis, Peter Frohmader pioneered such a unique style as Gothic Space Rock. Counting those released under the banner of Nekropolis (and excluding EP's), "Eismeer", subtitled as "A Symphonic Adventure", is the 35th album by Peter. To learn more of this legendary composer and musician, visit his official homepage (see Related Links below).

The Album. As you can see above, there are only three compositions on this album, two of which are monstrously long. The music on both of them represents nothing else but Gothic Classical Music with elements of Jazz-Fusion and Electronic Rock. Here are the aspects that distinguish these remarkable works. First: this is a true Gothic. Filled with mysterious, hypnotic, dark, tense, and dramatic colors and shades, this music possesses an almost materially tangible magnetism, so people whose nervous system isn't that stable should prepare themselves before listening to it (especially with headphones). Second: this is a real Classical Music with a strong academic feel to it. Apart from a synthesizer and piano, there is a wide variety of string and chamber instruments (violins, oboe, bassoon, clavier, et al.) on "Eismeer", all of which while being synthetic, sound very realistic and down to nuances (pizzicatos, etc). Even though both Eismeer and Orchestral Crossover (1 & 3) are about the same stylistics overall, some differences between them are more than merely obvious. There are little percussion instruments on the album's title track, and most of the arrangements here are based on the parts of string and chamber instruments. A guest musician (see line-up above) is very active on Orchestral Adventure, so the solos of real brass instruments rule practically everywhere on it. (In that way, the quantity of elements of Jazz-Fusion is here large than on Eismeer.) The solos of bass, electric, and acoustic guitar are also noticeable on Orchestral Adventure. The 4-minute 'core' of the album: Funebre is above all notable for the contrast between the slow and lush passages of a few synthesizers and fast solos of piano. The atmosphere here is quite dark as well, and the sounds of the bells, along with the other special effects, supplement a picture. Believe me or not, but Funebre is an example of that classic Gothic Space Rock, which made Peter Frohmader a cult artist immediately after he released his first album, "Nekropolis", which happened almost twenty five years ago.

Summary. Although it's clear that the current situation with progressive music won't allow "Eismeer" to reach a more or less mass audience in the near future (to say the least), which, above all, is due to its complexity, this brilliant album is and will always remain a classic for the future. And I wonder whether there are at least a couple of weak albums on Gazul Records, which is certainly one of a few of the truly progressive labels on our planet today.

VM: April 15, 2003