Showcase Album January 2000

Elegy's "Lost" was their third and final album with Dutch vocalist Hovinga. After he left, they basically turned into "The Ian Parry band" and whether that is a good thing or not depends on the opinion of the person ranting about it. While the name of the band itself conjures up dark imagery immediately, and often lyrically it wanders itself into some fairly dark territory, musically, its 'melodic prog' with punch and bite. Some people love them, others hate them, but "Lost" is an improvement over their previous release "Supremacy", which played out almost like a concept album and which for all practical purposes was a fantastic album, yet it lacked the variety that is presented and drives "Lost".

If you can handle the vocals, you'll love the music for the two go hand in hand. The natural high vocals of lead singer Hovinga, sets the pace for the overall sound, which is quite high pitched. His vocals do become a tad screechy at times, but the music usually calls for such, yet on the tracks where he just belts it from the soul is where he really shines. The guitarists picked up on this and have tailored their axework to match, which creates a sound that is quite remarkably unmistakable. There's lots of progressive trappings, including some basic Dream Theater framework that most of the songs are based on and written around. More time changes than you can shake a stick at and very prog drum sounds and musical pacing ground the music firmly in the world of prog metal, but deep within even the most progtinged tune, is an addictive melody that can be compared to AOR Hard Rock even. Sometimes these melodies are buried so far its difficult to pick it out, other times it just flows over the top, which has branded this early incarnation of the band almost 'pop progressive'. The only band that I can think of that I can compare Elegy to is Eternity X in their "Zodiac" period.

1.] Lost - The almost buzz sound of the guitar pops up a few times in the musicianship skill flaunting opening. Hovinga goes all out on this tune screeching and screaming almost every other word, and that's ok, he's got to let loose sometimes. This one of those songs that buries the flowing melody pretty deep, but its there, coming out from hiding mostly in the chorus. Fans of prog metal will most likely appreciate the techy sounding section in the middle, with the drums and guitar battling each other amongst a huge backdrop of instruments all snaking about in their high pitched finest. If you can hang in there with this song, you will enjoy the rest on the album more.
2.] Everything - Very pretty opening, with sythesizers, almost an organ type sound and those clean - pristine guitar runs just filtering out and swirling all around. The instruments settle into a mid tempo song, with Hovinga taking turns between his deeper rumble cooing voice and his high pitched stuff. It all comes off very clean, with a super sing-a-long chorus, in the vien of past Elegy favorites like "Take My Love", with the lyrics even being about one of the subjects most used in all genres of music, love. European hard rock flavored with a thick coat of prog smeared all around.
3.] Clean Up Your Act - The loosely bang bang of the drums can get a bit annoying, but otherwise its a decent Elegy song, with their typical backing gang vocals doing a "HEY!" now and then, and even a part that sounds like them cheering the words along like little cheerleaders.. kind of weird, but it fits in a way.
4.] Always With You - Screaming pop prog (was there such a thing even before Elegy came around?), this is a toe tapping sing along. Hovinga does a more straight forward rock thing here, only lifting his voice a little on the end of some of the verses, which makes him just pop out from the rest of the music. Music fits nicely with the bubbly rocking pace, with piping synthesizer, nice guitar riffing and typical middle-of-the-song guitar solo here, but its nicely performed, and comes back for an encore to close the song out on a very high note.
5.] Under Gods Naked Eye - Without question, Elegy's finest song, and a four minute and 50 second masterpiece. Vocally, its gorgeous, Hovinga turns in the performance of his lifetime, on this slow paced, rich emotionally dripped ballad. Piano provides the perfect backdrop to enrich the impact, especially the spray of notes that act as a prelude to the powerful chorus. Twining guitars give the song its electric edge, especially in the the beautiful solo that polishes off the song and brings it to a close. This piece is simply breathtaking, with the rather subdued vocals, brought only to a high when necessary. While holding back on the full speed ahead progressive noodlings, Elegy pulled off a performance that gave the song room enough to breathe and let the various highs of the song flow effortlessly without sounding forced. The results speak for themselves.
6.] 1998 (the prophecy) - What do you follow your best song of all time with? An instrumental of course. A fine display of guitar virtuosity in a mood twisting apocalyptic setting, running the full array of emotions, dwelling on apprehension that bleeds into heart ripping sorrow, to an uncertain ending. Short, yet nicely done.
7.] Spirits - Some heavy pounding drums kick this one off, leading the tune into a darker dramatic direction. This tune takes a slightly different sound than some of the others, with Hovinga belting out some deeper, aggressive, yet
8.] Crossed the Line - This is pure Elegy - doing what they do best, uptempo bouncy prog metal, with those soaring yet brittle guitars that fly to the sky and rarely come down. Thick rhythm riffing makes a stark contrast against all these high pitched sounds. The 'final curtain' of the song is full of violins and fast paced thickly done guitar, which fades to end.
9.] Live It Again - Ahhh another ballad. I personally think Hovinga sounds better in his subdued form than screaming his ass off (which he does quite well, even with that heavy Dutch accent). While it won't peel the paint off the walls, its a very *atmospheric* song. Check out all the strings, the deep rumbling bassy synth sounds, and that little dancing 'tick tick' sound that flutters about during the chorus and other key points in the song.
10.] Spanish Inquisition - I have mixed feelings about this song. It gallops along at a speedy pace, the vocals screech right along with the rest of it, but its just kind of average, typical material for the band. There feels to be something missing from it, leaving a nagging gap that can't be dismissed. Solid, but its not a head turner.