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Eden "Erwartung" 1978
German Symphonic Prog Masterpiece

An excellent German progressive band with powerful Christian themes and German lyrics.
Erwartung (expectation) is the best of their albums, as it comes closest to a concept album. For me it was as fresh as twenty years ago when I heard it recently, with the lyrics beautifully fitting into the music (or vice versa). There is rich instrumentation with violin and flutes dominating the brighter parts of the lyrics, as well as strong keys and guitars and varied drums. While the first two songs can be seen as a kind of introduction to what follows (a cry for God's mercy and the expectation of something better yet to come), the other three songs are constructed as a unit and deal with the basic biblical truths in chronological order: God's wonderful creation, temptation by the serpent (listening to the words of the snake in this song always gives me the shivers) and the fall of man, Jesus coming into the world, His work on earth, man's hatred towards Him and His death on the cross, and finally, in a triumphant manner, His glorious resurrection and the call to leave Satan and follow Jesus. Pure gospel and this time not in analogies but literally. Wow! This music meant and means a lot to me, since in Germany we are not as blessed with so many proggy good Christian bands as you are in the States. ~spiritualprog.com (English lyric here)

1. Spaetregen
2. Erwartung
3. Eden, Teil 1
4. Eden, Teil 2
5. Ein Anderes Land