Review Summary: A trip to space that will leave your jaw on the floor
Eskaton is a Zeuhl band from France. They started off utilizing stylistic tendencies of the genre's father, Christian Vander of Magma, but slowly moved towards a sound that is very distinct, extremely otherworldly, and trance inducing. Here the French five-piece decides to see what space is like (or maybe they knew all along), and they document their cosmic journey to us through sound.
Ok, this album is f**king nuts and this should be mentioned firstly. I wanted to write this review rather hastily for what I normally do; I'm literally standing in my room writing this on my Kindle because I'm freaking out about how good this sh*t is. But back to the album. It features wonderful bass, keyboard, and guitar interplay that really has a life of its own and distinguishes itself from other Zeuhl. It's apparent this album was far ahead of its time, as we can often hear electronica-like drumwork march forward along with space-age synth. Immediately, its apparent this is something totally unique, yet coherent.
That's what's cool about this album. Another world breathes through it; a celestial tale of discovery and ancient artifacts. Its captivating stuff, to say the least. They are able to use the French language instead of the traditional Kobaian and still do not give off any earthly presence. The music often takes on this hyper-disco frenzy of pounding bass grooves and whacked-out synthwork that just doesn't sound like anything else today or in 1981, which is when I believe this was first officially released.
Above all what Eskaton does best here is they do their own thing, which isn't always a guaranteed success, but they do so with ease. They could be aliens, I don't know. Listening to "Four Visions" allows me to suspend judgement for a bit and abandon preconceptions. What I thought I knew about this genre went out the door when I heard this record, and is arguably more of an experimental record that uses Zeuhl elements. Whatever you want to call it, "Four Visions" is certainly a tremendous achievement of imagination.
