By 1994’s ‘The Deafening Silence’, Abel Ganz had rebuilt almost entirely around a new singer, Christopher Forsyth, and reviewers hear the band moving toward a sleeker, more rock-leaning sound.

The short version

‘The Deafening Silence’ is Abel Ganz’s fourth album, released in 1994. It presents an almost wholly new line-up: Christopher Forsyth takes over lead vocals, with Robert Wilson on guitar, Stuart Clyde on keyboards and Colin Johnson on drums, and only bassist Hugh Carter carrying over from the earlier records. Reviewers describe a shift away from the long-form neo-prog of the 1980s toward shorter, more polished songs with a stronger mainstream-rock streak; several note flashes of AOR alongside the progressive elements. It is generally seen as the band’s most divisive early album, valued by some for its melodic craft and dismissed by others as a step from their progressive roots. For listeners mapping the band’s history, it marks the end of one era.

A New Line-Up, New Direction

After ‘The Dangers of Strangers’, Abel Ganz went through its most sweeping change yet. When the band returned with ‘The Deafening Silence’ in 1994, only bassist Hugh Carter remained from the earlier records. The new faces were singer Christopher Forsyth, guitarist Robert Wilson, keyboardist Stuart Clyde and drummer Colin Johnson, and the album came in a limited run on a small label. Sources describe a band writing shorter, more streamlined songs and reaching for a wider rock audience. This is the Abel Ganz album that sits least comfortably under the neo-prog banner, often treated as a transitional or outlier record.

The sound

‘The Deafening Silence’ is polished, rock-leaning neo-prog, and it divides listeners more than any other early Abel Ganz album. The songs are shorter and tighter than the 1980s work, with Forsyth’s vocals set against Wilson’s guitar and Clyde’s keyboards in arrangements reviewers call cleaner and more radio-shaped. Several critics hear distinct AOR leanings alongside the remaining progressive touches, and at least one argues the record is closer to straight-ahead rock than prog. Others counter that the melodic writing and keyboard work keep enough of the band’s identity intact.

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The songs

‘Look At Me Now’ opens the album and signals its approach at once, a tightly arranged song built more on hooks than extended development. The title track, ‘The Deafening Silence’, is among the record’s most characteristic pieces, pairing Forsyth’s lead vocal with the band’s cleaner, keyboard-and-guitar sound. ‘Serendipity’, the longest track at close to eight minutes, reaches nearest to the group’s earlier progressive scale. The three together show the balance the record strikes: mostly compact, rock-shaped songs, with occasional gestures back toward the longer forms of the band’s 1980s albums.

Reception and legacy

‘The Deafening Silence’ has the coolest reputation of Abel Ganz’s early catalogue. On ProgArchives it sits below three stars, and the reviews are openly split: some acknowledge that it keeps a share of the band’s neo-prog qualities, while others describe it as largely a hard-rock or AOR record with little prog left, one calling it essentially a title for completists. Even sympathetic listeners treat it as a shift rather than a peak.

The verdict

‘The Deafening Silence’ is best approached with clear expectations. Listeners hoping for the expansive neo-prog of ‘The Dangers of Strangers’ may be disappointed: this is a shorter, sleeker, more rock-oriented album, and prog purists treat it as the band’s weakest. Those who enjoy melodic, keyboard-tinged rock will find more to like. It has historical value too: it documents a near-total change of personnel and closes the band’s first phase before a fourteen-year silence.

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