Search - Ivory Tower :: Beyond the Stars

Decent, but not "Beyond Three Stars"

Matt from www.prog.web.com | 01/04/2001

(3 out of 5 stars)

"After hearing and being blown away by the song "Distant Light" off of the band's self-titled debut, I was surprised at how much trouble I had getting into this album. Sadly, that one song seems to be better than anything the band could come up with for this, their sophomore effort. Overall, the album has an incredibly amateur flavor to it that left this listener feeling completely untouched. To make matters worse, the lyrics -- hindered by the band's German background, no doubt -- are unmistakably weak wherever they're not embarassingly silly. Not that the album is completely without its highpoints. The singing from André Fischer, for instance, is outstanding -- I may even place him in my top 10 after hearing the performance on this album. Other highlights include the song "Secret in Me" (and to a lesser extent "Flight into the Self") as well as the remarkable instrumental section in the middle of "Foreboding" and the enchanting piano/vocal intro to "Silence". With its finale, the album makes a last ditch effort at redemption with the noteworthy 9 minute "Treehouse" epic, but its contribution to the whole of the album is literally too little, too late. Overall, the album suffered from a lack of variety and just couldn't seem to cross that line which separates the exceptionally average from the truly memorable."