ACHROMATA

High quality classically-influenced jazzy Post Rock from Russia!

1. "Grauer Wald" (5:17) great insistent keys and rhythm section behind lead violin. Burst at 2:35 into full force but then takes a long time to do anything more dramatic. (I kept waiting for the violin or somebody to really take off, but it never happened.) (9/10)

2. "Filis Aureis" (4:26) my least favorite song on the album, just too dull and repetitive. (8/10)

3. "Marea" (5:16) opens like a very familiar Post Rock song from either GOD IS AN ASTRONAUT or MONO. Building, the drumming gets a little annoying, before a break at 2:30 allows a neat little "hammered dulcimer" section to unfold. Slowly drums, piano, guitar, and violin join in and build to a MONO-like crescendo at the end. (9.5/10)

4. "Himmelbarn" (7:10) again opening with riffs familiar from other Post Rock songs (EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY come to mind), the song soon shifts gears into a more jazz-classically challenging section before everything quiets down at 2:07 into a peaceful mellow reset and start over. The soundscape begins to expand in the fourth minute as violin joins the guitars, drums and bass. Then, at 4:07, another shift into that higher octane rapido section recurs with heavy guitars power-strumming away while the violin tries to stay afloat above the turbulence. (9/10)

5. "Melanocardia" (6:33) too repetitive, getting stuck in one gear for about two minutes in the middle with absolutely nothing new happening but fast driving chord striking, and then the follow up is rather anticlimactic. (7.5/10)

6. "Sapatha" (5:39) drums and keys are the key to the success of this one. (9.5/10)

7. "Apogeion" (6:22) agains drums, piano, and bass make this such a solid foundation upon which to build and soar. (9.5/10)

8. "Eosfyllon" (5:44) starts slow and quiet before ramping up into a wonderfully melodic and varied song. (9/10)

4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of progressive rock music.

This album is a tour de force of symphonic violin melodies atop a post-rock foundation. Calm, melodic intros of violin yield to big, brooding, triumphant post-rock guitar finishes. It has the grandeur of a heroic, cinematic epic. I could imagine making a movie just so I could use this album as the sound track. My only issue with the album is that after several tracks, they all begin to sound alike, at least, to my ears. I would have enjoyed more variation in composition. I was thoroughly engaged at the beginning, but bored by the end. Nevertheless, a very good post-rock album that would be an excellent addition to any prog rock music collection. Four stars.