Metromania

Metromania
Studio album by Eloy
Released	15 June 1984 [1]
Recorded	1984
Studio	Horus Sound Studio, Hanover, Germany
Genre	Hard rock, Prog rock, Space rock [2]
Length	40:24
Label	Harvest / EMI Electrola Heavy Metal Worldwide (UK issue)
Producer	Frank Bornemann
Eloy chronology
Performance (1983) Metromania (1984) Code Name: Wild Geese (1984)
Audio sample
"Metromania" file help

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[3]
ArtRock	[4]
Music Street Journal	favorable [5]

Metromania is the twelfth studio album by the German rock band Eloy, released in 1984.

It is a concept album, telling the sci-fi story of a futuristic dystopia, controlled and oppressed by artificial intelligence. The protagonist tries to find hope and prospect by writing music and lyrics on a rooftop.

The term "metromania" (Greek: μετρομανία) means a mania for writing poetry, especially doggerel.

The artwork is a Rodney Matthews creation, as were the United Kingdom-exclusive artworks of the project Planets / Time to Turn .

Synopsis

Rendition according to the album's lyrics ^[6]

Surrounded by oppressive machines and clueless people, the protagonist feels trapped and without perspective, but hope begins to grow within him, and he finds motivation to fight for escape. ("Escape to the Heights", "Seeds Of Creation"). Experiencing a spiritual uplift, he feels an unprecedented connection with nature, which guides him to express himself through poetry ("All Life is One).

His creativity is expressed by singing one of his songs in front of a crowd. People are mesmerized and believe that he might be the messiah they are hoping for, but he categorically denies it ("The Stranger"). As a magical light fills his soul, it drives him to rouse the people towards a revolution against the oppression of man and the destruction of the environment by machines ("Follow The Light").

Some renegade police officers organized into motorcycle-riding squads patrol during the night, terrorizing the citizens as the protagonist watches from his roof ("Nightriders"). While on the roof, he realizes that the only way to escape, the means to overcome all fear and doubt, and the path to his freedom, is intensive writing ("Metromania").

Background

After the moderate success of Performance , Eloy decided to return to their prog rock roots, while trying to keep the 80s vibe in their music. According to the band's leader Frank Bornemann, audio engineer Harald Lepschies, who had previously worked with renown musicians like Herbert Grönemeyer, played a key role in Eloy achieving the exact sound they had in mind. ^[7]

As the album was on its final mixing stage, Eloy were invited to play a show at the famous Marquee Club in London. The show was sold-out, and Eloy were asked to play a second night in a row, this time with BBC Radio broadcasting the concert live. The second show was sold-out too, and amongst those impressed were Marillion, who invited Eloy to join them on their Fugazi supporting tour. Eloy decided to decline the offer, as Bornemann had to work on Metromania's final mixing, while Arkona, Folberth and Matziol were working on the Code Name: Wild Geese soundtrack. ^[7]

Reception

Metromania failed to enter the German charts, being the second Eloy album to do so since Ocean first entered the charts in February 1978. According to Bornemann, sales were not as bad as indicated by its non-charting status, but they were still disappointing. ^[7]

Tensions returned within the band, as they seemed unable to catch the pulse of the times and at the same time maintain, at least partially, their prog rock musical identity. Exhausted and burdened with constant debates surrounding artistic positions and the band's future, they failed to find a common ground. Frank Bornemann made the decision to break up the band for a third time in late 1984, with the hiatus lasting until 1988. ^[7]

Track listing

Music by Eloy, lyrics by Martine Ryan and Andrew Ward, except where noted.

No.	Title	Lyrics	Length
1.	"Escape to the Heights"	Frank Bornemann, Mark Sarkautzky	5:03
2.	"Seeds of Creation"		4:28
3.	"All Life Is One"		6:28
4.	"The Stranger"		3:59
5.	"Follow the Light"		9:37
6.	"Nightriders"		4:39
7.	"Metromania"		6:10
Total length:			40:24

Personnel

All information according to the album's liner notes. ^[2]

Eloy Frank Bornemann: guitar, lead vocals Hannes Arkona: guitar, keyboards, vocoder, syncussion Klaus-Peter Matziol: bass Hannes Folberth: keyboards Fritz Randow: drums

Additional Vocalists (In liner notes order) Sabine Matziol "Janie" Jane James Romy Singh Kalle Bösel Monica Susanne Michael "Flexe" Flexig Rainer Przywara

Production Frank Bornemann: production Harald Lepschies: engineering, recording, mixing on all tracks except "Follow the Light" Bernd Jost: mixing on "Follow the Light" Jan Nemec: engineering on basic tracks Thomas Stiehler: engineering on basic tracks Artwork Rodney Matthews: painting

References

1. "Eloy - Metromania". Albumrock.net. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
2. "Eloy – Metromania". Discogs . Zink Media, LLC. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
3. Couture, François. "Metromania - Eloy". Allmusic . RhythmOne . Retrieved 12 June 2024.
4. Horyszny, Paweł. "Eloy — Metromania". ArtRock.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 12 June 2024.
5. Pierpoint, John. "Eloy - Metromania". Music Street Journal. Retrieved 12 June 2024.
6. "Metromania - Eloy". Genius . ML Genius Holdings, LLC. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
7. Kuinke, Volker (2005). Eloy – Metromania (booklet) (in German). Harvest Records - EMI Electrola. pp. 3–4. Retrieved 21 June 2024.

External links

• "Metromania". Eloy official website. Retrieved 24 June 2024.