ENTERING THE SPECTRA

This is a side project of Jonas Reigold the bass player for THE FLOWER KINGS. He wrote the songs and has help on this album from the whole THE FLOWER KINGS band including both drummers Salazar and Czorz. He also enlists the help of a second keyboard player and lead guitarist, as well as the former vocalist for Yngvie Malmsteen Goran Edman. The name KARMAKANIC apparently was taken from the name Karma Mechanic from the song "The Battle Of Epping Forest" by GENESIS. I found this recording a little frustrating mainly because there are three songs I like very much, but the rest really don't do much for me. My tastes I know, but this could easily have been a 4 star record if not higher for me.There is a bonus track "Losers Game" that was apparently only on the American released cds. I'm sure it was supposed to be a joke, I mean I was embarassed the first time I heard it because it sounds like one of those boy bands from the nineties, or whenever.

The first song "The Little Man" is really a spoken word intro explaining the concept of this album. "Entering The Spectra" is one of the best songs on here. A 12 minute ride that has FLOWER KINGS moments as well as a Prog-Metal intro. Nice. It does sound so amazing. It then gets psychedelic with processed vocals and birds singing. It gets jazzy 6 1/2 minutes in followed by some tasteful guitar then xylophone. So yeah, a mixed bag but it works so well. The drumming and bass playing really are outstanding on it. "The Spirit Remains The Same" like the previous track opens heavily then we get the contrast of vocals and a lighter sound. There is so much bottom end on this one with angular guitar 4 1/2 minutes in. Great track and a top 3. "Cyberdust From Mars" doesn't do a lot for me with the sampling in the intro and overall sound that follows.

"Space Race No.3" is better, I especially like the darker sections. "The Man In The Moon" misses the mark completely in my opinion. Very poppy and smooth. "One Whole Half" is the other top 3 song for me.This is an instrumental. Check out the guitar, bass and drums ! Bass solo before 2 minutes and background synths later are a nice touch. "Is This The End ?" opens very ballad-like with reserved vocals and piano. Not a fan. It does change 2 minutes in with lots of synths before a full sound 3 1/2 minutes in. "Cello Suite No.1 In G" is a short fretted bass solo by Jonas. "Welcome To Paradise" opens with spacey sounds before a bass solo. It turns into an uptempo tune with vocals. I like the dark section after 5 minutes with theatrical vocals. It becomes catchy and fun 8 minutes in to the end.

So yes this is a good record that at times is brilliant. Unfortunately there are way too many average moments.