DE PROFUNDIS

This is not my favorite After Crying album. It is one of the first I ever heard, and at the time the majesty of its chamber and choral vocals; orchestral arrangements; and really even the meaty heft of the packaging marked this as something special. But then I discovered the band’s back catalog and quickly learned that this offering pales in comparison to ‘Overground Music’ and especially ‘Megalázottak és Megszomorítottak’. Its still an outstanding album, just not up to the very high standard set by the first two records these guys put out.

A few adjustments from the ‘Overground Music’ debut are clearly apparent and welcome. The heavy-tongued vocals have been toned down a bit and lead vocalist Tamas Gorgenyi even manages to sound melodic on occasion. There is also an expanded emphasis on accompanying vocals from other band members, as well as female and choral backing. Someone has clearly explained to the band that this was their most obvious weakness on the first few albums. Another direction they could have gone was toward more instrumental music and moved away from vocals altogether, but this works as well.

The other change is with the guitar, played by Torma Ferenc. The guitar was introduced in the band’s third album and plays a more prominent role here. The result is that the music tends to sounds a bit less like a chamber recital and more like something that was done in a recording studio and not a concert hall. That’s okay I guess, but there’s something about the first couple albums that makes me imagine dusty backstage halls and a heavy red curtain and polished brass handrails as the audience moves quietly to their pre-assigned seats for the performance. That’s kind of lost here, and After Crying become more of an experimental/post-rock sounding band that just happens to have some serious musical credentials and high quality chops. It’s a nuance, but an important one for me.

A few tracks stand out from the pack. “Stalker” features guitar prominently and is one of (if not the) heaviest works the band has done to-date. “Stonehenge” features an almost orgasmic angular and captivating cello solo that is unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else in progressive music – a definite must-hear if you are interested in this band at all.

“Esküszegõk” is a really interesting arrangement because it has the basic type of repetitive progression pattern that so many post-rock and math bands have made their careers on; but the buildup to the climax is so subtle and complex that it takes a number of replays before you realize that is what’s going on. This may in fact be the strongest track on the album from a purely musical standpoint.

Then among the various short vignettes that are beautiful but not particularly memorable, comes the title track. I have to say that I was a little disappointed hearing this one. Granted, the bar for these guys is extremely high because they are capable of such great music. But this composition relies too heavily on vocals in the beginning and ends up sounding more like something Andrew Lloyd Webber would have written. In the middle the vocals disappear, but the featured flute does do enough to hold the passage for the strings. I wonder if the flute could have played behind the strings instead of being showcased, and the whole "Jecisti me in profund..." would have been a lot stronger. I’m not a musician, but this seems like an idea that would have been worth exploring. And the vocals come back at the end but they’re in Hungarian so the power the closing could have had is lessened somewhat for many listeners.

I love this band, and haven’t heard anything from them yet that isn’t as good as or better than just about any other progressive music being made today. But this isn’t as strong as some of their other albums, and as such probably only merits three stars. If these guys were most bands this would be their pinnacle. But After Crying are not most bands. Well recommended, but if you can only buy one After Crying album don’t make it this one.

peace