Member:
ffroyd
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by ffroyd)
Date:
4/26/2007
Format:
CD (Album)
The Unicorn Digital label out of Quebec, Canada has been amassing quite an array of newer talent on their label recently. Not only do they have several excellent Canadian artists, they also boast an amazing roster of international talent as well. One of their latest acquisitions comes from the mountainous northwestern region of Russia. The Gourishankar has been together since 2002 and has previously released two independent albums. Being on the Unicorn label should definitely get this band some notoriety worldwide.
The group consists of keyboardist Doran Usher, guitarist Nomy Agranson, vocalist Vlad MJ Whiner and drummer Cat Heady. There are a few guests on the album as well including Vladimir Rastorguev who plays violin and viola and Dmitry Ulyashev on saxes and flutes. Alla Izverskaya is credited with backing vocals but I believe she also contributes a few lead vocals in spots because there is a female singer occasionally.
The Gourishankar plays a really intricate style of high-energy modern prog similar to many of the bands playing today. I guess I would compare them to something like The Flower Kings or maybe Dream Theater because they have quite a few metallic sections. They throw quite a few different styles into the mix, it’s almost as if every other bar features some new territory. Ok, so it’s a festering pustule of steaming pomposity but I can’t help it, I really dig this one.
Most of the eight songs on the album are quite lengthy, except for “Taste a Cake” which is a piano solo. This gives the band plenty of room to explore and they do that quite well. One of my favorite parts to the music is the keyboards. There are quite a few spacey synth parts and it sounds like there is a nice techno/electronica influence in the music. This doesn’t diminish the progressive rock aspect though, if anything the diversity enhances the music. While the vocals aren’t my favorite part of the music, they are certainly in now way inferior. The lyrics have a slight spiritual slant, but they are not really religious. Although the band is Russian the lyrics are in English and delivered very convincingly, on most of the album. There isn’t a bad track on this disc but I do have a few that I really like. The sixth song, appropriately titled “Syx” has some really nice symphonic elements as does the final track, the epic of the album “Marvelous Choice.”
This is probably not an album that I would have found on my own (even if I was looking) but I feel it’s an absolutely stunning example of modern progressive rock. If you’re looking for some new dynamic music that also extraordinarily diverse, I would definitely say look out for this one. Definitely one of the best Russian prog albums I’ve ever heard. Keep an eye on this band!
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