Reviews

French review
www.progressive-area.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=401&Itemid=2

...Diversity, complexity, intensity and melody are keywords for this quintet from Hamburg, and the whole album reeks of class. And it spans from the melancholic piano ballad: "Final Curtain", which at times reminds me of the atmosphere and mood of Dream Theater's "Space Dye-Vest", thru progressive smashers like "Cincinatti Road" and "The Red Line", before it all ends with the 18 minutes epic "A New Days Rising" - sort of their musical statement...
www.powermetal.dk/reviews/ricochet_review.htm

...Dealing with abuse, murder, and pain, the music of ‘Zarah’ reflects such content, specifically (sound wise) in relation to Dream Theater’s ‘Train of Thought,’ and Fates Warning’s ‘A Pleasant Shade of Grey,’ with a little bit of Vanden Plas thrown in. There are heavy moments such as ‘Caught in the Spotlight’ and the title track that pertain the guitar laden crunch dominating the sound of these particular cuts. Nevertheless, balladry with ‘Final Curtain’ and pop prowess with “Disobedience” and the anthem styled ‘A New Days Rising’ show more intellectual approaches towards the music; where the stylistic approaches involved change with the mood that is implicated in different sections, creating the right atmosphere for what the lyrical content expresses. And yes, these guys have the musical ability to perform such a work...
www.ytsejam.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=878

...The strongest single element on Zarah - and certainly the most immediately impressive - is Christian Heise's singing. It's in an upper mid-range with perfect pitch and wonderful range, and a similar timbre to Arena's Rob Sowden. Listen to "Final Curtain" in which he starts in a strong low voice, and progresses flawlessly through to very a well-controlled higher pitch. Heiko Holler's guitar work is also impressive, and the tight interaction among the instruments across the diverse compositions is at the state of the art in hard-edged prog...
www.seaoftranquility.org/reviews.php?op=showcontent&id=3245

...There are also some big differences between DT and Ricochet. Heiko Holler's guitar style is very different from that of John Petrucci, clearly less technical, much more in a hard rock style perhaps closer to Deep Purple's Blackmore. Also, on the mellower passages, he plays in a style that could be compared to Rothery or Hackett. The compositions, even though there are Prog references, are closer to hard rock or straight Metal. References to Queensryche and Threshold would perhaps be more pertinent than to Dream Theater in that aspect. The musician's performances are all very good, but I should underline the strong presence of Jan Keimer on drums, that really dynamises the music...
www.proggnosis.com/MUSIC_DBCDInfo.asp?txtCDID=18496

...'Zarah – A Teartown Story' is a conceptual album about the downfall of a young girl, getting in trouble through drugs and criminality. I honestly must confess, that I was afraid that Ricochet was not capable of making a pretentious album like this, without the (financial) support of a record label. Self-financing bands often have a lack of experience and knowledge to create a satisfying product. Well, fortunately, there is no need to be afraid. Ricochet's 'Zarah – A Teartown Story' is an excellent prog rock album, featuring very experienced musicians, an excellent sound and great songs. Each song has a completely different character and is perfectly added to the album's story. Musically, Ricochet is situated somewhere between Dream Theater and Threshold; the technique (although less pretentious) of DT, and the song based approach of Threshold. Check out 'The Red Line', for example. Lead vocalist Christian Heise is an excellent singer, and with his diverse voice he creates the perfect atmosphere on each song, which makes this album a classic one. There are lots of highlights on the album, like for instance the opening song 'Teartown', a ten minute epos, perfectly structured and by using a very catchy chorus, it's a very versatile song. Other highlights are the haunting 'Silent Retriever', the Queensryche like piano ballad 'Final Curtain' and the instrumental song 'Disobedience'...
www.lordsofmetal.nl/showreview.php?id=6931&lang=en

Interview with the band
www.lordsofmetal.nl/showinterview.php?id=1249

A long introduction called “Entering the Scene” opens this album with majestic sounds and fastly slides in the second track called “Teartown”. This band has long compositions that are closer to the nine minutes some of them and with a magnum opus call “A New Days Rising” that is eighteen minutes long. The music here is full of keyboards and is very climatic, with a very warm voice that handles really well the middle range and creates interesting melodies. As I said the keyboards are very important here because they are the ones that create the main atmospheres of the compositions. Also the guitars are very important and they sound heavy and give that progressive metal sound to the music. This is pure progressive metal with many changes and arrangements and with plenty of virtuosism. There is much technique here in the musicians and the rhythm section doesn´t abuse arrangements to show its skills but instead keeps the rhythm of the compositions and supports all the changes that the tunes have. The guitarist stands out and he makes really good solos with good taste and a very good sound: A band that shows good taste and virtuosism.
www.musicextreme.com/cd0605b.htm#RICOCHET_-_ZARAH,_A_TEARTOWN_STORY_

In listening to this album, I realize how their biography holds true when it mentions, "it is clear that drummer Jan Keimer, keyboard player Björn Tiemann, bass player Hans Strenge, singer Christian Heise and guitarist Heiko Holler have been playing together for ten years." I also agree that in listening to this album, success will not be by accident. The band’s 1996 debut album entitled “Among The Elements” (T&T/Modern Music) was released all over the world, attracting brilliant reviews and considerable sales figures, especially in Europe. This success wasn’t just coincidence, its reality...
thecelebritycafe.com/cd/full_review/11740.html

German review
www.idioglossia.de/review.php?id=308

...But most importantly, Zarah’s flow is exemplary. Being a successful concept record, the album is one of those that’s more of an accomplished body of work than a collection of excellent individual songs, so when you put it on, you’ll start at the beginning and won’t stop until the album is over 70 minutes later. If you’re looking for an album that aptly bridges the prog rock and prog metal genres, but doesn’t overdo it in either the self-aggrandizing or convoluted way that turn some people off to those genres, then do check out this album. It’s a highly enjoyable piece of work to come back to.
www.maelstrom.nu/ezine/review_iss42_2975.php

...Granted, Ricochet did not re-invent the wheel. They are a melodic heavy-metal band; Prog-metal. Along the lines of such greats as Threshold, Dream Theatre and many others, but with their own twist. Great musicians and a fabuluously original vocalist keep one's interest in the music all along. I just love it when the vocals are treated as an instrument more than as the main focus...
www.webcandesign.com/ajmusicmedia/Without_FL/iframes/iframe_artists/reviews/original/ricochet_teartown.asp

Italian review
www.hardsounds.it/PUBLIC/recensione.php?id=2158

... Despite the concept nature of the album, Ricochet avoid to hire or to call numerous musicians and singers to dramatize it, but they prefer to take it on their shoulders. What is imminently evident is that the band concentrates more on the melodies and the structures of the songs, instead of exhibiting their skills. Indeed in all songs, even in the instrumental "Disobedience", you will not find endless parts of raving musicianship. They administrate their story in a very mature and wise way that in overall serves the listener and not themselves...
www.metalperspective.com/reviews/ricochet.php

French review
www.lesacteursdelombre.com/Ombres/chronique/detail.asp?rsRubrique=Groupe&rnChronique=2956

...Obviously fans of progressive-metal and specifically the Dream Theatre style will thoroughly enjoy Ricochet. But even for more symphonic minded listeners there is much to appreciate with Zarah – A Teartown Story. For those moments where something a little heavier is desired, this is a perfect disc to satisfy that craving.
www.dvdivas.net/ProgVoices/R/ricochet-zarah.html

Gereman review
www.blooddawn.de/reviews.php3?showID=2336

...This is a full album by today’s standards but in no way is there any filler to achieve it. One of the highlights for me, and the most progressive, is the final 19 minute track A New Day Rising. To me this song sums up what the band is capable of doing. Not saying the other songs don’t but this one showcases their progressive side. Chalk this up as another winner from the fantastic ProgRock Records and gets my highest recommendation.
www.geocities.com/prognaut/reviews/ricochet.html

...Musically the band can at times sound a bit like classic Marillion, at other times similar to classic Dream Theatre; but most of the time they explore musical landscapes inbetween those counterpoints. Most of the time there's a distinctly metal edge to the music, so when it comes to musical genre prog metal should be an adequate description...
www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=105341

...As prog metal is a somewhat loose definition of musical style, a more detailed description is obviously needed to get an idea of the type of music on offer here. And on this album, the soundscapes most often seems to be somewhere in between old Marillion and classic Dream Theatre. Sometimes you'll hear parts of songs that sounds distinctly like old Marillion, while at other times parts of songs will be eerily similar to Dream Theater as they sounded on "Images and Words". But most of the time the sound is somewhere in the middle of those opposites; but with a metallic edge to the songs being a common factor often enough for the music to be classified as prog metal. The keyboard is used to good effect, most times enhancing the moods in the soundscapes, at times being the leading instrument as well. The band plays well and sound good and tight, you get the impression that these guys are seasoned players; good at cooperating and making each other sound good. The vocals are of decent quality as well, the vocalist uses the voice he has very effectively and efficient...
www.prog4you.com/cd-reviews-01-07/Ricochet.htm

Hebrew review
www.metalist.co.il/AlbumReviewPrivate.asp?id=418