Deyss ~ Switzerland

Vision in the Dark (1987)

Deyss were the most maligned of all progressive rock bands. At least back in my day, which was real time in the 1980s and 90s. Their debut At-King was a complete misread of the contemporary audience and played off every caricature one could think of when talking progressive rock. It was something of an embarassment really. To be fair Deyss didn't have a whole lot of data, support, or feedback to rely on like any modern band of the internet age has / had at their disposal. To this day At-King finds itself on many of a Top 10 Worst prog albums of all time. And folks of my generation (and obsession I must add) still talk about it. To the point where it was clearly a scarring moment for many, and psychologists are in employ because of it. Fortunately I never gave it much thought beyond it's an album I didn't want to keep and sold it off three decades ago.

One must remember the era in which At-King came out. We were all starving for new progressive rock, and outside of England, it was pretty slim pickings. But things were starting to pick up in France, Italy, Germany, and beyond. Especially Japan. So having a vocalist named Jester wasn't such a bad idea on paper, even though it quickly became our Spinal Tap moment.

But what of their follow-up Vision in the Dark? Was it terrible too? No, of course not. Certainly I didn't feel that way since I've owned this LP for some 37 years now. However it's been at least 30 years since I last heard it, so would I be repulsed, overjoyed, or neutral?

The reality is Vision in the Dark is Marillion Script for a Jester's Tear worship. Itself Gabriel era Genesis worship. No question this is music of the 80s, in the same way Marillion were. Nothing analog about it. Jester isn't the right guy to be the lead singer, and he does bring a local accent. It's fine when the band has much going on, but the sections where he's the feature aren't going to win any awards.

It isn't until B3 that Deyss begin to cook, and this variation of neo prog has aged very well for me. Here they sound more like vintage IQ than Marillion. And the bass work is particularly notable, bringing out his inner Chris Squire. By the time we get to the side long suite (Side 3) it's as if we're listening to an entirely different group. For one, it's mostly instrumental. And for two, Yes now becomes the primary influence, and secondarily it's more Genesis than Marillion. There's even a bit of early King Crimson going on towards the atmospheric ending.

It's really too bad Deyss didn't continue on, as I'm sure they would've cleared up their good name in fine fashion. Many highly revered modern prog bands started off inauspiciously. Galahad, Abel Ganz, Citizen Cain, and Versailles to name but a few. Some would even throw Pendragon into that mix. They all had to learn the hard way what the modern prog fan wanted to hear.

So what's the answer to the question I posed above? Pleasantly overjoyed. Though for the first half, I'd only offer neutrally pleased. And yea, I like the cover too. It's Prog 101, but is that so bad?

Ownership: 1987 private (2xLP). Gatefold with picture collage inner bags.

1988 (first acquired); 4/21/25 (review / new entry)