Chimera go electric for their second and final studio release. While the core of the band’s sound is still folk, they manage to stumble into prog-folk territory by virtue of what I suspect was actually an attempt to appear more mainstream by adopting some soft rock and pop sensibilities. While the first album featured almost exclusively acoustic instrumentation and virtually no drums (in fact, none that I can discern although there is a bit of percussion here and there); the songs on this record are all noticeably ‘rocked-up’ with snare drums and electric guitar. Not Def Leppard by any stretch, but more like the sort of modernization makeover the Welsh band Brân went through just a few years prior with their second record. There are bright spots, particularly the soft-rocking “De Stalknecht” with unmistakable eighties riffs and danceable rhythms but also quite lovely vocals from Ms. Verkade and a couple of dulcimers that aren’t prominent but serve to balance the electric guitar. “Da Stirkganz” is also quite good, very similar to the stuff the band recorded on their first album with plenty of recorder, flute and violin to accent Verkade’s excellent vocals. “Wachten” features more of the same but includes vocals from Verkade’s husband as well. The last couple of tracks veer off into artsy pop-rock territory though, with a combination of violin and keyboards that is toe-tapping enough, but not at all in the same mold as the rest of the album and a bit ill-fitting on the record as a whole. The band sounds like they spent a fair amount of time in the studio trying various sounds and styles that might click with several audiences, but instead of working toward cohesion they simply threw everything together and called it a day. Taken individually the songs are all decent, but none of them stand out with the possible exception of the slightly stodgy “Da Stirkganz”. Review by "ClemofNazareth" (Prog Archives).
RATING: 7.75 / 10
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RATING: 7.75 / 10
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