DREAMS OF NEKTON

Up 'til now I had only heard one progressive band from Russia: AZAZELLO. With the release of DECADENCE's debut album there's two bands. AZAZELLO though are playing Prog Metal while DECADENCE is closer to traditional Progressive & Symphonic Rock. It's nice to hear that DECADENCE is equally good as AZAZELLO too. The lyrics and the female vocals are performed in the Russian language. The lyrics are translated into English in the CD-booklet, so you can understand what they're all about.

The compositions and the musicians are excellent: there's plenty of good melodies, professional arrangements, tempo & mood changes and extended instrumental passages. The music is a mix between A PIEDI NUDI, DREAM THEATER, KING CRIMSON, RUSH and YES. It's a rather varied album though and it's hard to point out any specific influences.

My only criticism would be that the production isn't very good, which makes it sounds like a low-budget project. But despite that, this is a recommended album if you want to experience what's going on in the world of Progressive Rock in Russia today.