Reviewing the new album of Germany’s Art rockers RPWL one has first to take masterminds Yogi Lang explaining words, as Beyond Man And Time is not only the seventh but the first conceptual record of the band. Those words leave you thought-provoking, make you think, and yes, they also demand awe.
This piece does not want to be conformist – actually, the exact opposite. It is a plea for original thinking, for dissent, for liberation.
A plea - No poetry - No science.
A protagonist on his journey of self-discovery, in a Nietzsche way of thinking, peppered with his kind of allegories. Beyond Man And Time is philosophy set to music.
The identification phenomenon meanwhile remains. Having definitely developed an own style RPWL’s music still reveals its heroes. They pay homage to Pink Floyd in Unchain The Earth, and to Rush in The Ugliest Man In The World. Also quotes of Pain Of Salvation (The Shadow – the heaviest Song on since Beyond Man And Time), Porcupine Tree and Anathema I can hear out. What grandiose mélange. In between awesome guitar and keyboard solos quiver, tricky and complex parts end up in wonderful melodies and earthy bass and drum work adds an almost harsh approach. Beyond Man And Time perfectly balances between the sophisticated complexity on one side and the lightness of (not so easy) listening on the other. Beyond Man And Time is an intellectual album, musically as well as lyrically. But not overly done. It is much more a profound and touching gem of music.
In addition to the regular version Beyond Man And Time will be also available as bonus edition limited of 2,000 copies. This exclusive edition includes an additional audio book that connects the music even more closely to the philosophical approach, plus a topographic map of the new world that has to be explored.