THE MYSTERY OF THE COSMIC SORROW

Pleasant synth-founded prog with a spacey sci-fi kind of feel and message to it. I find myself reminded of PINK FLOYD and TANGERINE DREAM at it's spaciest as well as ALAN PARSONS PROJECT and LISA GERRARD and MARTHA AND THE MUFFINS/M + M (because of the similarities of voice of Elena Kanevskaya to M + M singer Martha JOHNSON and Ms. GERRARD [though not quite as strong]). But, then, I also hear 80s techno pop/disco (e.g., the "Funky Town" themes in 2. the title song) and too many Neo Prog cliches in many of the sounds and riffs used.

The music is competently crafted and performed yet something is seriously lacking in the sound engineering department as mixes, levels, effects, and the blending of the instruments and voices are very inconsistent and variable--even within individual songs. Plus, this being a concept album, the musical styles and instrumental sounds should, I think, have more continuity from song to song. The drums are very, very well performed and recorded, whereas some of the computer keyboards and synths feel outdated or not of top quality (or not filtered/treated adequately in the engineering department). At the same time I love the ambition, dreams and drive these musicians have and only look forward to the growth and improvements that they will doubtlessly show in the future. I do believe that the band's affinity for leading edge science and science fiction is serving them well and that deriving their inspiration from such should be continued. At 90 minutes in length, this is an amazingly ambitious project (which is one of the reasons it has taken me so long to review despite my having the music in my possession for over four months now.) With no offense directed at any single member of the band, I have to admit that I find that Disc 2 presents quite an improved and more seemlessly engineered set of songs/music.

CD1

1. "Message From Space" (3:50) opens the album with a lot of promise. (8.5/10)

2. "The Mystery Of The Cosmic Sorrow" (8:30) (7.5/10)

3. "Methane Rain" (8:18) (8.5/10)

4. "Gamma Waves" (5:30) (8.5/10)

5. "Born To Suffer" (10:09) full of cliches and poor sound choices. (7/10)

6. "Silent World" (8:50) (8/10)

7. "Valley Of Oblivion" (6:03) (8.5/10)

CD2

1. "Following A Neutrino's Flight" (9:29) a modern classic of Berlin School electronica. (10/10)

2. "The End Of The Satellite Age" (23:26) a masterfully conceived and rendered soundtrack score! The computer- produced 'orchestration' is realized to perfection! Amazing! Kudos, Dmitry! (and Tatyana). Even the wild and quirky middle section is fitting and interesting. I am glad, however, for the return to more of a MIKE OLDFIELD territory for the final five minutes. Brilliant song! (10/10) I. "Hard Times II. "The Great Dance III. "It Went The Wrong Way IV. "Brand New Program V. "Falling Down

3. "Space" (6:02) a fairly nice bluesy, Kate Bush-like tune with some great melodies, bass and sax play. (9/10)

An excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially the second disc.