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Rating:
THE REVIEW
Ugh, another Brazilian band... with an attitude halfway between annoyed and resigned, I started listening to the debut album of these Eclipse. This attitude stems mainly from the fact that for a few years now, the land of Pelé has been highly prolific in terms of progressive music, with new bands popping up every day like mushrooms. This quantitative abundance does not necessarily correspond to a similar qualitative abundance, and many productions can easily be filed under the "useless bands" category. However, listening to this CD, I must say that something started to intrigue me right from the start, and it was with great pleasure that I realized I had a good record in my hands.
The main influences of Eclipse are pretty much the usual ones: Camel, Yes, up to the Marillion (listen to the final track with the semi-plagiarism of the Grendel section which in turn "semi-plagiarized" Genesis's Apocalypse in 9/8). As you proceed with the listening, you'll find subtler influences, such as a female voice used as an instrument that weaves very beautiful vocal lines, inevitably recalling the Pat Metheny Group or, to stay in South America, something by Lito Vitale (they also reminded me of "Boris" by Yezda Urfa, which features vocal lines in a similar style...). Another band that Eclipse reminded me of is the Dutch group Cliffhanger, particularly in the parts sung by the male voice, due to some vocal timbre similarities between the two singers. It should be noted that a weak point of the album is the sung parts (in English), which come across as somewhat flat and lacking punch (the original language would have definitely served the work better, enriching it even more).
In conclusion, an excellent album, among the best coming from Brazil in the early 2000s: to find a qualitatively superior one, I have to go back to 1997 with the extraordinary debut of Tempus Fugit (by the way, André Mello, keyboardist and composer of Tempus Fugit, contributed to the composition of some tracks).
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Summary by Bot
The debut album Jumping From Springboards by Brazilian band Eclipse stands out in a crowded progressive rock scene. While the English vocals lack energy, the music draws solid influences from classic prog bands and features interesting vocal arrangements reminiscent of the Pat Metheny Group. The album is considered one of the best Brazilian prog releases of the early 2000s, with contributions from notable keyboardist André Mello of Tempus Fugit. Overall, a worthy listen for progressive rock enthusiasts.
