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Ota Petrina - Super Robot CD (album) cover

SUPER ROBOT

Ota Petrina

 

Symphonic Prog

3.92 | 41 ratings

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GruvanDahlman
Prog Reviewer
4 stars I have had an obsession, sort of, since my teens and that is the fascination for space and space travel in the old Eastern block. Ever since I saw the movie Solaris (1972) in the grip of teenage pompousness, I have been hooked. Sci-fi seems to have grown as strong, if not stronger, over there as in the rest of the World. Pink Floyd had their space-groove going on, Hawkwind as well. And that's all fine but the music of Eastern Europe was booming, at least it would seem so. One of THE premier albums with a sci-fi theme is Solaris Marsbeli kronikak, which is a beautiful album revolving around a sci-fi theme and spacey prog. Others may be Niemens Ode to Venus or the polish Exodus output. One of the great albums in this genre is Ota Petrinas Super Robot.

The music on Super Robot is quite gentle and spacious. I get the feel of floating, only occasionally but in an extremely tasteful way, being awaken by sudden outbursts of hard rock(ish) elements. The music resembles the night time sky, really. Imagine looking up at the sky at night when the stars are out and the moon is hidden. Super Robot is the perfect companion to such an event.

The songs are all gentle but there are exceptions, like "Computer III" which is a very forceful, monotonous (in a good way) track which breaks off the tapestry in a really cool way. The best track, for me, is the title track though. Just the title, "Super Robot", says it all. I do not understand anything of the lyrics except for Super and Robot but I can make up fantasies about the lyrical content, envisioning the intro to Bladerunner and the future for mankind as it is, however gloomy, portayed in future visions of the world. The track holds great keyboards, vocals and spacy guitar. It all blends together nicely, creating a tapestry of spacious, emotive soundscapes. I'll tell you, it is majestic and soothing in a marvellous way.

Comparisons can be made to David Gilmours guitar playing and some elements of Floyd but the album retains it's own identity and purpose. Petrinas vocals are frail, sometimes bordering on breaking up. It is, however, not a problem. His voice is, rather, a nice complement to the soft and gentle music. Worth mentioning, the flute which sometimes soar through the music brings almost a medieval touch to the whole thing. That makes the album span over decades, centuries almost, but Always heading for the future with it's sci-fi robots and travels through dimensions.

Czechoslovakia is the country which, besides Poland, seems to have had the most flourishing prog scene of the Eastern block. They can boast, for instance, such a tremendous band as Modry Efekt (or Blue Effect), who were able to produce in a Life span of only 10 years, or there about, a string of ever progressing and flawless albums. Ota Petrinas remaining output, which seems to be rather manageable to get acquainted with, I cannot say much about. The album Super Robot, however, has become a favorite of mine and one I do come back to ever so often. If you're into spacious prog with sci-fi themes, I'd recommend this one to you. A great little album, well Worth discovering.

GruvanDahlman | 4/5 |

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