The Eclectic Measure by Hypnos 69, a 2007 album.
Fourth album by Hypnos 69, a Belgian band I have long discussed in my reviews of their albums, it marks a turning point for the band, which drops its early stoner rock sound to embrace a more complex prog rock and space rock.
It is a concept album that explores man’s inner conflict, a melancholy and introspective journey in search of the human soul and the world around it. The central theme is the mythological demon Abraxas, a figure taken from Carl Gustav Jung’s Seven Sermons to the Dead, themselves inspired by the Gnostic doctrines of Basilides of Alexandria.
The cover and the album artwork are by Malleus Rock Art Lab, a well-known Italian art collective, with illustrations rich in esoteric symbols that evoke tarot cards and perfectly match the music’s hazy, mythical atmosphere.
Curiously, the album’s release coincided with a crisis that led to the temporary breakup of Hypnos 69. The band later reunited in the summer of 2007 to play European festivals, before releasing their last album, their absolute masterpiece, Legacy, in 2010.
Musically, the album leaves behind the gallops of the past for more complex and elegant arrangements, alternating aggressive moments with dreamy ballads. The influences range from ’70s progressive rock to the spacey, ethereal atmospheres of Pink Floyd.
In addition to the classic rock instrumentation, the band used in the studio a wide range of vintage instruments: Hammond organ, Fender Rhodes, Mellotron, Korg synthesizers, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone, clarinet (played by Steven Marx), theremin, Space Echo effects, orchestral timpani and glockenspiel.
The album consists of ten tracks for a total of about 48 minutes.
The Eclectic Measure is a true gem of European psychedelic and progressive rock of the 2000s and represents the peak of the band’s artistic maturity, managing to blend the raw power of the early stoner-rock works with the symphonic elegance of classic progressive rock. The heavy use of Mellotron, Hammond organ, saxophone and vintage instruments creates a warm, nostalgic yet incredibly fresh atmosphere.
The tracks are always engaging and never banal. The album alternates acoustic ballads with aggressive, adrenaline-fueled instrumental suites. The band, while drawing on typically ’70s sounds, keeps production and sound control extremely modern, comparable in care to that of Porcupine Tree.
In my view, it’s an essential album for fans of progressive rock, psychedelia and space rock. It proved that prog-rock was not a genre confined to the past, but could evolve in an energetic and fascinating way even in the new millennium. Excellent!
My Version
Label: Elektrohasch Schallplatten – Elektrohasch 115
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Repress
Country: Germany
Released: Jun 2017
Tracklist
A1 I And You And Me (I)
A2 The Eclectic Measure
A3 Forgotten Souls
A4 My Ambiguity Of Reality
A5 The Antagonist
A6 I And You And Me (II)
B1 Halfway To The Stars
B2 Ominous (But Fooled Before)
B3 The Point Of No Return
B4 Deus Ex Machina
Lineup
Bass, Synthesizer [Moog Taurus], Electric Piano [Hammond, Fender Rhodes] – Tom Vanlaer
Drums, Percussion, Timpani, Glockenspiel, Synthesizer – Dave Houtmeyers
Tenor Saxophone, Baritone Saxophone, Electric Piano [Fender Rhodes, Hammond], Mellotron, Clarinet – Steven Marx
Vocals, Electric Guitar, Acoustic Guitar, Theremin, Synth [Space Echo] – Steve Houtmeyers
