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HUBI MEISEL ‘EmOcean’ Lion Music (2004)
German vocalist Hubi Meisel has been around a while, but this his is
his 2nd solo album. Prviously he is known for his singing on prog-metallers
Dreamscape debut album 'Very'.
His first album was an album of covers, fortunately this time
he has recorded an album of originals and a concept album to boot.
This time around he has surrounded himself with some musicians of
the highest calibre, guitar maestro, Marcel Coenen (Sun Caged,
Lemur Voice) and Mind's Eye drummer, Daniel Flores, being the more
well know.
As the album title says, the album concept based on Hubi's visions of
and enchanting underwater world. Song titles like,'Dolphin's Wake',
Underwater Fears' and Aqua Phoenix' indicate this, but without a lyric
booklet to go into detail, it's a little vague as just exactly what
Hubi is trying to say.
The music, while nothing like the progressive metal of Dreamscape, is
more in the AOR mould, Hubi's voice is more suited to the lighter
material presented here. In fact his voice does take some getting used
to if you haven't heard it previously. All the songs are well written,
have memorable melodies, without being too outstanding.
Heavy riffs are few and far between, with the keyboards providing the
background for Hubi's lyrics and melodies. Marcel Coenen gets to rip a
few solo's here and there, when he does he is, without doubt, the
highlight of 'EmOcean'.
Fans of the lighter side of progressive music, though I am not
entirely sure this music is progressive, will appreciate 'EmOcean'.
A pleasant surprise that I liked this so much, it wasn't what I was
expecting, but that is more the pleasure of discovering something like
this.
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Review by Graham Hyde
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