Cyril: The Way Through

Although taking on the band name Cyril merely confirms my fears that all of the good monikers are already gone, it did allow me to close my enthusiastic review of this German acts’ 2016 effort Paralyzed with the immortal line, “Nice on Cyril, let’s have another one!�. Now if you get that reference not only are you showing your age, but you’ll also be delighted to know that it’s exactly what Cyril have gone and done. The Way Through is its name and in terms of style, the latter Gabriel meets early Collins era Genesis musings are still perfectly in place. Based round a conceptual idea of a man in a coma flitting between fighting to get back to real life and his journeys in a parallel world, this story was constructed and written by Guy Manning (Manning/Tangent etc.) As you’d expect then, this tale is involved and intricate, although as Manning’s works can be at times, it’s also a little too literal in places.

Produced and composed by the band’s ex-Toxic Smile keyboard player and sax man Marek Arnold, musically we are also in safe hands, the lush melodies that infuse this album a melodic Prog delight where song and hook take precedence over virtuosic ability, although there’s also plenty of that on show too. “First Love (A Lullaby)� might repeat its chorus line once or twice (or twenty) times too often, but there’s no doubt that it’s an ear catchingly memorable outburst, while the lush, sprawling “Get Up High� adds a huge surge of ever building keys and guitars to the mid-section of a song that also possesses soothing passages and the album’s biggest, boldest riff - the latter courtesy of Ralf Dietsch, who is superb throughout. With themes revisited across the album to reinforce the story as it unfolds, if I’ve one slight reservation, then it’s that the main and often heard motif during "My Own Reflection� and “A Sign On The Road� is inadvertently reminiscent of the guitar line to Eric Clapton’s hit “Bad Love�, and I recall that song every time it reappears here. However, with the vocals from Larry B (also ex-Toxic Smile) enough to stop you in your tracks and the likes of “The Wasteland - Home Again� and the album’s title track both hugely impressive, it’s a small niggle on an album that is excellent from start to finish.

Track Listing
1. The Gate
2. My Own Reflection
3. First Love (A Lullaby)
4. Get Up High
5. A Sign On the Road
6. The Wasteland - Home Again
7. The Way Through?

Added: May 25th 2019
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Cyril on facebook
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Language: english

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