Traumhaus is an old band (creation: 1994) but not very prolific, since it delivers with "In Oculis Meis" its fourth opus, presented for the first time in vinyl edition and in a double English and German format. This is not the only novelty, since the entire rhythm section has been renewed, giving a resolutely more metallic tone to their style which until then had been rather neo-progressive.
This irruption of biting guitars naturally makes the subject heavier, all the more so since Traumhaus spares no respite in this dense album (except for the very neo-classical piano introduction), with a rather rough tone that fits quite well with the German version.
Fortunately, Traumhaus has a real know-how: the recipes of prog are carefully applied, with a lot of variety both in the composition and in the arrangements, using reminders of themes and going back to the starting point in the songs. 'Understand & Preserve', for example, is an archetype of the instrumental title taking up the codes of the previous 'Preserve & Understand', exploiting a beautiful diversity which makes it an endearing title. The refrains are often federative ('X-Ray The Darkness'), sometimes a little easy ('So Many Ways'). Alexander Weyland (vocals, keyboards), leader of the group and the only survivor of the original formation, has a rather neutral timbre close to that of the singer Simen Valldal Johannessen of the Norwegian group Oak, and delivers a rather sober score.
Throughout the eight tracks, Traumhaus manages to maintain a balance between the vocal and instrumental parts. One think about "Arena" in the instrumental parts, as much in Alexander Weyland's way of using the Mellotron in anxiety-provoking backgrounds such as Clive Nolan, as in the way Tobias Hampl performs his guitar solos, quite close to John Mitchell's style (though less subtle). All this gives a record without any real weakness, but without any great originality, which will be easy to listen to for those who are not allergic to vroom-vroom guitars.