CD Info
2011
Mals Records / Russian Federation
9 Tracks
English Lyrics

You know, back in the day, way back, we had a classification for music called "experimental music". No one really knew what the hell that meant, no one really understood the designation, but, we were all so stoned no one really cared. So, you had Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, you had Yes, you had my all-time favorite Badger, the original symphonic Gothic. . , with male vocals which were pretty much the standard of the time. There was, of course, a harder direction; the New York / London drug scene; Lou Reed, The Velvet Underground and a bunch of others I was too fried to remember. Today we don’t get much of that; everything has a classification one way or another. And the message tends to go in a different direction, even the Gothic, good as the message is, tends to utilize a musical vehicle that is relatively consistent across most bands. So, when I heard the CD here it really took me back. This is a unique sound, certainly a formidable female vocal to be sure, but some serious risk taking with the overall musical direction. The band is from Israel, the label is Russian, go figure. But, what we have here is an intellectual interpretation of the current international musical direction, and one that keeps you thinking, as well as listening. You don’t get the beautiful Gothic we hear from the Netherlands, you don’t get the dark Gothic, the Death metal component we hear from Scandinavia, no Nightwish sounds. The closest I can come to this in a contemporary sense is maybe the Diablo Swing Orchestra from Sweden. But this goes in some even more interesting directions, and we have a classic that breaks in some new musical formats, things you may not have heard before. Frank Zappa would have been impressed.

There’s certainly a significant keyboard component, but that keyboard goes in directions you don’t necessarily expect. There are the other components, guitars, drums, all that, plus a significant male vocal, and it’s an interesting one. But it’s the musical structures that grab you and shake you, this is closer to jazz fusion in a lot of respects, there isn’t a consistent melody. We have a basic approach to each song, but the band plays with that approach and looks at alternatives to the basic structure as the song progresses. The CD consists of some 9 titles, but none of them are exactly short, most are in the 7 or 8 minute range, probably a mean of 7 plus. And they cover a lot of territory in each selection, it almost sounds like a different band at times. Our vocalist is Irene Sherr, our female vocalist that is. The male vocals are handled by Constantin Glantz, who appears to be the honcho here. He also does the keyboards and, what is affectionately called "sound effects". And there’s damn sure a lot of "sound effects". I guess I should also point out that there is a bit of a story that carries through the music, but, you’ll probably be so confused by the music that you’ll miss it. Gotta read the lyrics to catch it, but it’s there, I think.

One of the things you’ll notice with this work is that there is no common denominator. There is that jazz fusion thing, but there is also a theatrical feeling that carries through the work, one reviewer actually called this "Art Rock". Now that’s cool. But there are other directions, you’ll hear material that could be classified as progressive metal, but you’ll also hear Renaissance like melodies, folk rock, oriental sounds as well as the traditional heavy metal on occasion. Clearly, there are symphonic sounds, there are "futuristic" sounds that would interest Hugo Flores and Dream Theatre. And there is an element of madness, music from the rubber room at the funny farm, makes me feel right at home. Someone get my Thorazine. But, in the final analysis, there’s about an hour of music that will never bore you, it will keep your interest up, and keep you moving.

It’s difficult to really capture the flavor of the CD in a short review like this; there are just too many totally unique musical components to address each of them individually. Besides, I only have 3 beers left and it’s late, so I’ll just attempt to do a limited overview. And that overview would begin with the initial track The Land Derailed which introduces you to some of the musical components you can expect in your tour of this Israeli troop. You are immediately introduced to our featured vocalist and to the insanity that seems to drive this bus. Pay attention to the lyrics, they’re not to be ignored:

Down the sacred vails / The charming tales
Seventy virgins are waiting at your door / They’ll peck you like hawks
And bury with the hogs / And then you’re blessed for sure

See what I mean, and you get that male vocal as well, it’s not always like that but you get the general idea.

Another one I was particularly impressed with was 911. It’s clearly aimed at us Americans, and it doesn’t exactly pat us on the back. This is one of those that has a metal component but it’s the message that really said something to me. It appears to be a conversation between various "interested parties" relative to the 911 episode; The Angel, Uncle Sam, Mother Goose. . . . Having been involved, I don’t recall Mother Goose, but her comments were the most enlightening:

"Ding dong bell / the puss is in the well
I have a tale to tell / It’s gonna $ell like hell!
She turns her back / And then you attack
Bin are you ready?!"

Another interesting selection is The Last Night, a little more musically diverse selection, a little more metal in some parts, but you get the feel of that diverse approach to the music in general. You go from the symphonic to the heavy metal in a Miami minute, then back to that "experimental" direction that keeps you on your toes. Again the message has interesting potential, I’m not saying I have a complete understanding, but when you get a Monica saying:

"Lord, don’t let me surrender
Please let me swallow my pride
Or it seems to be daddy’s last night. . .

Hmmm, a shrink’s gotta lot to work with here. But we do get some solid vocals from our lovely vocalist, and some of the more classical musical structures to be found on the work.

One of the strong points, throughout the CD, is the relatively strong metal that occurs with irregular frequency. Gotta love those crushing guitars, even if they appear without warning at uneven times. And, this ability to surprise is one of the strong points of the CD, although it is overdone to some extent on the last track, Thin Ice Crawling – Outro. Here we get an interesting first 3 and a half minutes, followed by stone silence which concludes with more sound effects from that funny farm we mentioned earlier. Now, having worked that funny farm for much of my career, nothing surprises me, but I can appreciate that some might be tossed for a bit of a loop. And that may be one of the few negatives for the work, that and the band’s name which, in my humble opinion, might have been taken in different directions. Enemas just don’t produce a positive reaction in my reality, no matter how fine the connotation. But, other than those nitpicks, what we have here is a classic. Don’t miss it, you never know when the funny farm will have your name on the "Entrance" sheet, and you want to be ready. This one should help there.

9.5 / 10

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