RPWL – World Through My Eyes (Revisited / Remixed – Remastered) [2025] *HQ*

320_1 /// 320_2 /// HQ

It’s already been 20 years since the melodic progressive rock&pop / art rock formation RPWL from Freising in Bavaria set out to release their most successful and – in the opinion of many critics – their best album to date: ‘World Through My Eyes’, from 2005.
Not a concept album in the true sense of the word, but full of philosophical questions and wonderful approaches to life and various worldviews, many songs on this album have become classics of the band, especially ‘Roses’, which performed terrific in the studio version by Ray Wilson as a guest singer.
Celebrating the 20th Anniversary, now we have ”World Through My Eyes (Revisited)”, remixed and remastered.
There is a vitality that shines through every piece, even if the pieces themselves are mellow and understated. Sure, one could argue that RPWL have picked up the moody Floydian textures of the ’80s – never mind that RPWL started out as a Floyd cover band… singer Yogi Lang sounds ever more like David Gilmour than we think he has before.
However everything on this album is fresh, vibrant and alive. Pieces don’t out wear their welcome, even after several plays. And it is so fabulously produced. The 2025 remix allows one to hear every guitar note, every throb of the bass, every crash of the drums, every keyboard element and effect … And every song is memorable, not just lyrically, but musically, such as the searing guitar phrases that open the cheery “Start The Fire” (which seems to channel both Alan Parsons and 1987 Pink Floyd at the same time, taking it all into new directions).
If you like ’90s Marillion, ’80s / ’90s Gilmour-Pink Floyd, Alan Parsons Project, you need to hear ”World Through My Eyes (Revisited).

And, things aren’t all Floyd / P. Tree here, either, as I’d be hard pressed to describe “World Through My Eyes” that way… but then this piece traverses so many roads, that it’s hard to describe it as one thing – and yet it is very cohesive, flowing, and never loses it’s way.
You are riding on a journey with RPWL – and mainly Lang, since he wrote the lyrics – and get to, um, see the world through his eyes…
“Sleep” kicks things off and is anything sleepy, even if it is one of those that’s mostly understated. Well, one of the mellowest tracks is “Everything Was Not Enough,” which opens with a simple, but effective piano from Lang. It’s a song that builds slowly, adding strummed acoustic guitar, sparse drums and percussion, and well placed guitar accents. It one were going to construct a ballad that cut to the truth of things without any hint of sappiness, this is it, and all without following a typical ballad format.

”Start The Fire” is joyful, uptempo and melodic with some Alan Parsons in the feeling, and would be a great addition to classic rock radio.
Ray Wilson (Genesis, Stiltskin) guests on “Roses,” another excellent track. I’ve read that Lang felt that he couldn’t give this particular song what it needed vocally and so Wilson was recruited. Actually, I’d forgotten that it was Wilson singing until I was reminded of it recently. His voice, while different from Lang’s, fits in so perfectly with the mood of the album, that the transition is seamless.
This is another one of my favorite tracks, and not just because of Wilson’s presence. It’s just a really great, emotive track – shimmery guitars and keys set things off… And… once you think deeply about it, realizing it’s Wilson, you hear where Genesis were headed with Calling All Stations…

“3 Lights” is another acoustic guitar based piece, beautifully rendered. Fragile but not weak and you’ll find yourself reaching for your lighter (or a match) and swaying back and forth. Yes, it’s that kind of floaty, mellow, gentle, lilting piece. Nice use of harmony vocals, and a very tasty solo here from Kalle Wallner. Oh yes, I love this lead… he’s not just playing notes, he’s channeling some deep emotion – like Gilmour and Rothery, to name my two favorites of this kind of playing. See, as I said, vitality, life… it just radiates from this album.

“Sea-Nature” returns us to a rockier idiom, crying guitar and keyboard effects – spacey and groovy at the same time. Momentary lulls are rendered just to heighten the more explosive passages. See the colours of the album cover above? This how this song looks – neon pinks, yellows and green.
“Day On My Pillow” is bluesy, with classic use of organ… takes you back to 70s, in a way, as I thought of Ambrosia, though the piece itself doesn’t recall them. “Wasted Land” features some Eastern and percussive elements, but it’s a darker, heavier track than the numbers before.

Eighties childs / teens need to discover RPWL’s ”World Through My Eyes (Revisited)’. The musicianship is impeccable, the production and the sound is arguably some of the finest ever recorded by the band thus far, crisp, clean yet never sterile or antiseptic, a fond reminder of Alan Parsons work at his heyday.
I’d absolutely love to hear songs from this album played on the radio… given RPWL’s style and musicality, to say they have “crossover” appeal.
Highly Recommended

01 – Sleep (Revisited)
02 – Start The Fire (Revisited)
03 – Everything Was Not Enough (Revisited)
04 – Roses [featuring Ray Wilson] (Revisited)
05 – 3 Lights (Revisited)
06 – Sea-Nature (Revisited)
07 – Day On My Pillow (Revisited)
08 – World Through My Eyes (Revisited)
09 – Wasted Land (Revisited)
10 – Bound To Reach The End (Revisited)
11 – New Stars Are Born (Revisited)

Yogi Lang – vocals, keys
Stephan Ebner – bass
Kalle Wallner – guitar
Manfred Müller – drums

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