THE DOOR TO A PARALLEL WORLD

ETERNAL WANDERERS are lead by Kanevsky sisters (vox, keys - guitar). Most Proggers usually tend to ignore female-fronted bands for some reasons ('they won't be better than RENAISSANCE / CURVED AIR / MAGENTA / etc', or 'they're poppy/song-oriented', or whatever). Let's leave these issues to physicians and turn to music. There's a rumour that early EW demos were more electronic-sided, with programmed drums, sounding like a mixture of ELP and OZRIC TENTACLES. I wouldn't have been there reviewing this stuff then! :)

Don't know about the past, but now EW sound like a cross between MAGENTA and MOSTLY AUTUMN with huge classic-era PINK FLOYD influence. 7 long tracks, some are fully instrumental (like 12-min long epic), some are more vocal driven, but each has its own colouring and manner. EW aren't trying to sound too epic or pretentious, instead, their sound is mostly intimate and sincere. A word should be said about both Elena and Tatyana musicianship skills; some sexists think girls can't play well. Should I say THESE girls can prove that they DO play well?

In conclusion, I must admit that now I listen to Russian Prog without any sign of prejudice or disbelief. 2007 was amazing for Russian Prog: just look how THE GOURISHANKAR and APPLE PIE ripped PA's ratings! :) With 2008 that has already brought some stunning releases from the camp (ACTUAL MUSIC QUARTET is what I plan to grab next) I believe Russian and Post-Soviet Prog/Experimental scene will bloom even more. Thank you for the music, ETERNAL WANDERERS, and good luck!

A rare case of a band led by female musicians.The driving force behind Eternal Wanderers is the female sister-duo of Yelena Kanevskaya (vocals, keyboards) and Tatiana Kanevskaya (guitar, vocals, percussion).Based in Moscow,they released a demo in 1998,participated in several competitions with success and wrote tracks for three prog complilations between 2001 and 2005.By 2006 Eternal Wanderers became eventually a regular band with Dmitry Shtatnov joining on bass and Sergey Alyamkin on drums.In 2008 they debuted with ''The Door to a Parallel World'' on MALS Records.

Still the general sound remains under the supervision of the Kanevskaya sisters and their work on guitars and keyboards.The vocals are quite expressive and deeply atmospheric,yet they still needed some improvement due to the limited color range.The music though is of first class,like a cross between the demanding Neo/Symphonic Prog of COLLAGE and the Psychedelic/Space Rock of PINK FLOYD.The guitar work is actually great with nice melodic solos,a few pretty complex breaks throughout and superb riffing.The keyboard work can be spacey with those floating synths,often symphonic and sometimes even a bit virtuosic.There is plenty of space for music development and changing climates with long instrumental work,though the tracks follow a generally slow tempo.Beautiful dreamy atmospheres are created through the style with often a grandiose approach with dynamic effort mainly due to the guitars,but also to the orchestral keyboard arrangements.

The experience of the female duo after ten years of performing and composing is clearly taped on this debut.Without any flamboyant mistakes,the album is trully delightful and atmospheric with still some improvement on voices and changing tempos.Strongy recommended for fans of Space/Symphonic/Neo Prog...3.5 stars.

I was having an email conversation with Andy Didorenko (Lost World Band) one day, and told him that I had recently heard 'The Mystery of the Cosmic Sorrow' by Eternal Wanderers, and how impressed I had been with it. Shortly afterwards I opened my inbox to find an email from singer and keyboard player Elena Kanevskaya as he had kindly passed on my details to her. We had some conversations, and not long afterwards she sent me their first albums to see what I thought. This their debut was released in 2008, with Elena joined by her sister Tatyana, her husband Dmitry Shtatnov (bass, also in Quorum) and Sergey Nikonrov on drums (with Sergey Alyamkin providing drums on one song). I have been fortunate enough to hear quite a lot of Russian progressive rock music this year, many of which bring in influences from their homeland, but that is not the case with these guys as they are looking far more to the West, although I am not surprised to find the mighty Polish band Collage mentioned in some reviews.

Much is often made of the fact that the although the rhythm section is male, both the keyboard player/singer and guitarist are female, and that they are sisters. But it never matters the gender/race/sexual orientation/age of anyone in a band, it should always be about the music, and right from the beginning one can only be impressed by this. Sergey provides complex drums patterns, while Dmitry uses many different styles to produce not only the notes but also different inflections. Tatyana sometimes riffs in a good old-fashioned neo prog style, although there are others where she provides a melodic lead, while Elena sometimes uses modern sounds and at others looks back to The Nice and Keith Emerson. She has a wonderful voice, but the band are also comfortable as an instrumental unit which sometimes means long passages with no vocals.

The use of a recorder and jew's harp at the beginning of 'Too Close To Heavens' is another example of how they can mix and match styles, as this leads into some delicate bass while Elena has some reverb placed on her voice and is very much to the fore. This ballad is quite reminiscent of Camel, and shows understanding of the power of restraint and the requirement for space within music to allow the layers to flow and breath. This is quite a superb album, and one I have enjoyed immensely.