The Old Man & the Spirit is the debut release by German progressive metal act Beyond the Bridge. From the title of the CD and the attractive cover art, it would be pretty safe to assume that The Old Man & the Spirit is a concept album, and you would be correct in that assumption. An explanation of the storyline, taken from the bands website: “The album ‘The Old Man and the Spirit’ deals with the polarity of human sensousness and superhuman awareness. The latter is embodied by the character of the Spirit. She is the personification of all wisdom and awareness that is unachievable to mankind, however, lacks of the ability to feel. Her opponent, the character of the Old Man, is presented as a bon vivant who has lived through all highs and lows of human sensation. Steadied by his old age, he searches for a sense, for a coherence, for the meaning of his life in the maelstrom of transciency. As the story unfolds, the Spirit convinces the Old Man that there is no way for Man to overcome the limits of human perception. They can only be transgressed with the help of the Spirit’s wisdom. Aware of human curiosity, the Spirit offers to answer all of the Old Man’s questions – in exchange for his experiences and feelings. A high price, as they are inseperably connected to the Old Man’s memories.”
So yes, a grand, majestic storyline to go along with some pretty sweet musical ideas. Though the band have been around since the late 90’s, it’s taken them quite some time to get to this point, and judging by the impressive sounds on The Old Man & the Spirit, the time was well spent putting this album together. The band is comprised of Herbie Langhans (Vocals), Dilenya Mar (Vocals), Peter Degenfeld-Schonburg (Guitar), Christopher Tarnow ( Keyboards), Dominik Stotzem (Bass), Fabian Maier (Drums), and Simon Oberender (Keyboards/Guitar ). The great thing about Beyond the Bridge is that they don’t fall into the Dream Theater or Symphony X clone trap, which we see too many progressive metal bands slip into these days. Instead, the band goes for a much more symphonic and dramatic slant, somewhat similar to fellow German band Vanden Plas. The dual vocals of Langhans & Mar are quite good, and it’s interesting to hear the male/female thing going on material of this nature. Many of the tunes here are semi-epic in both scope and length, so expect plenty of sweeping orchestrations and extended instrumental passages, not to mention the layers of vocals that help tell the intricate story. Lots of exciting guitar & keyboard solos to be found throughout, especially on “Triumph Of Irreality”, “The Apparition”, and “The Primal Demand”. Though the album never gets too heavy, a track like “Doorway To Salvation” does have some serious crunch to it, as well as Mar’s angelic vocals, and “The Struggle” uses some modern metal elements to give it some oomph, including a venemous vocal from Langhans. The album closer “All a Man Can Do” is a gorgeous epic driven by fantastic vocals from both singers and sweeping orchestral arrangements, quite lovely and a fitting finale here.
Overall The Old Man & the Spirit is a fine debut from Beyond the Bridge. I’m not quite sold on the production, which at times I felt could have been crisper, especially in the guitar department, which seems a tad muddy, but that’s a mild criticism. With a label like Frontiers behind them, Beyond the Bridge should make some waves with this concept piece, and I’m sure anyone into melodic & symphonic progressive metal will want to check into this one.
Track Listing
01.The Call 06:34
02.The Apparition 08:02
03.Triumph Of Irreality 06:11
04.The Spring Of It All 01:48
05.A World Of Wonders 05:02
06.The Primal Demand 02:07
07.Doorway To Salvation 07:53
08.The Struggle 05:22
09.The Difference Is Human 07:55
10.Where The Earth And Sky Meet 06:57
11.All A Man Can Do 09:33
