MIND OVER DEPTH

Cosmograf is a Neo-Prog project from multi-instrumentalist Robin Armstrong from England. Armstrong plays most of the instruments on his albums, but often recruits guests to help out on occasion. He has released 7 full length albums under the Cosmograf moniker since 2009. The 7th album is called "Mind Over Depth" which was released in April of 2019 and it features guests Colin Edwin (Porcupine Tree) playing bass on the first 2 tracks, and also Kyle Fenton on drums and backing vocals. The music on the album centers around using the power of the mind to help us rise above our status in life. There are 5 long tracks that have a total runtime of over 45 minutes.

"A Million Choices" opens the album with the longest track at over 11 minutes. It fades in slowly with processed spoken vocals and a mysterious sounding atmosphere made by various synths and keys. It slowly builds with a cinematic feel until heavy power chords from guitars and drums kick in after 2 minutes. The guitar takes the melodic spotlight and bring in vocals. Vocals continue until after 5 minutes after which the guitars continue with a heavy prog sound not unlike Porcupine Tree's later sound. Later sung vocals and the same spoken vocal style from the beginning trade back and forth while the guitars thump along and eventually take over with a solo. Just before the 10 minute mark, things calm down and become atmospheric with symphonic sounding synths and wordless vocals and the volume builds again to finish off with another guitar solo.

"Godspeed" starts pensively with keys and vocals before a slower beat starts and pushes things forward. This 9 minute track again has that PT style and, as expected, heavy guitars and rhythm soon take over, but keeping things at a moderately slow tempo. Robin's vocals are more unique however, and can become quite solid at times while other times can be somewhat vulnerable sounding. An echo effect is used on his vocals as later as the track continues. There are also some nice harmonies on the choruses. Things get suddenly darker before the 6 minute mark, and guitars and bass churn out a solid and ominous sound. Vocals also continue during this time and play a more important part than on the first track.

"The Smoke and the Flame" is a more standard sounding song which starts with a guitar/synth introduction with a straightforward sound and theme, then calms before the vocals start. The singing is backed by sustained synth notes and a somewhat softer rhythm section, the chorus being a bit more intense, but still seeming to hold back a bit. Again calm returns with a Gilmour style guitar and spoken words in the background. When the 2nd verse comes in, the same pattern repeats. After 5 minutes, a heavy and excellent guitar driven section comes in after which the chorus repeats and the track soon ends.

"Sharks" goes back to a heavy, dark sound starting with strong guitars, then calming, staying dark and ominous when the vocals start. Alternating heavy and soft sections continue, things remain dark, synths give things a symphonic feel and the track remains dynamic and changing, alternating from a Neo sound to a more Heavy Prog sound, but always retaining that mysterious and dark texture. There is a layered vocal "slide" downward in there that is pretty effective in the overall sinister feel of the track. This is a great track with some effective dynamics throughout.

The last track is "Goodbye to All Illusions". It fades in with a bubbling synth loop and atmospheric guitar in the background. There are some mysterious sounding spoken vocals that retain the dark sound of the preceding track. Soon, a deep synth pushes towards a sudden increase in intensity as more guitar comes in and churns along supporting another guitar playing a theme. At 4 minutes, things calm again and some nice keyboards take over, changing the texture to a more plush sound and an electronic drum beat comes in while falsetto vocals come in, and then the heavy guitar comes back in to support the singing. The track returns the mysterious style as it comes to a close.

This is the first album I have heard from Cosmograf, but apparently this album is more guitar driven than the previous albums by the project. I do know that it does have that Heavy Prog sound that seems to be similar to Porcupine Tree's later music, but there are times when a more Neo Prog sound does come in. There are some very strong tracks here that I consider the highlights, those being the first two tracks and "Sharks". The other two tracks are a bit weaker, but not terrible by any means, just not as interesting. Overall, this is a good effort and a decent album, and those that love the Heavy Prog sound will love this, but some Neo-Prog fans might find it a little too guitar heavy. There isn't anything really groundbreaking here, but there is still some really great and strong music which mostly stays on the dark side as far as texture goes. Anyway, it's an effort that is well done, and manages to make a 4 star level.

Cosmograf is the project of multi-instrumentalist Robin Armstrong and his 2019 effort 'Mind Over Depth' should definitely be taken into consideration for listeners of progressive metal, alternative prog metal and neo-prog. I haven't listened to earlier efforts of this artist, but after this acquaintance Cosmograf has my attention, especially because of the earlier albums that are said to be closer to the neo-prog genre I often like.

This album mostly sounds to me like a Porcupine Tree album with an emphasis on broad symphonic landscapes and a lot of those absent-mindedness (or deeply spiritual if you will) vocals. The electric guitars riffs sound heavy and modern, though in a small production like this one will never get that mind-blowing 'oomph' or punch. Some of the darker riffs are really solid and have strong contribution to the post-apocalyptic feel of the music - especially in the second halve of the album. The pallet of modern electronic keyboard sounds is well chosen and recorded properly, giving the album a nice broad sound. Whereas Cosmograf doesn't use the keyboards for lead sounds they don't add much to the humanity of the music - for which individuality of performance is needed. Some of the themes, like the opening of 'A Million Choice' cast that sense of imminence - which I like. Some of the modern electronic sounds remind me a bit of Galahad, though the impact is different here.

Where the album doesn't succeed in arriving at where it clearly aims to get to is with the vocals of Armstrong. His voice often sounds like being on the brink of breaking down - forcing himself to sing precisely what this genre its rules prescribe; long wailing 'out there' lines in a high register. Most of the opening song is made a bit uneasy to listen to because of this. Its a pity, because his voice actually ain't that bad and way more personal when he sings shorter old-David-Bowie-like bursts (like on the verses of my favorite 'Sharks'). I also feel like he wants to imitate Marillion's Steve Hogarth on a song like 'Godspeed' of which his talents fall short. Mixing his voice down a bit and relieving himself from epical vocal duties would have helped here. I myself - for instance - like how a vocalist like Metamorphosis' Jean-Pierre Schenk deals with his limitations.

That said, I must say I imagine this album to be quite attractive to a lot of progressive rock listeners! I do dig the darker atmospheres cast on tracks like 'The Smoke and the Flame' and 'Sharks'. Furthermore, there's some nicety to metal infused neo-prog, whereas that magical dystopian vibe really resonates with the heavier guitars. I only wished the whole of the album would have sounded more like its (for me) stronger second halve.

Cosmograf, the project masterminded by British multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and producer Robin Armstrong. He has been very busy in the last decade, releasing six studio albums under this moniker. The sound of Cosmograf is rooted in 70s progressive and hard rock with Armstrong's own twist which gives this band a very intriguing personality.

'Mind Over Depth', the latest addition in his catalogue, is absolutely bombastic. It is an album that is shocking in the most positive of ways, intertwining within itself a blend of heavy prog, heavy metal, and electronica, thus deviating this record from the Neo-prog label. This is much more of a Heavy prog album, if we have to speak in sub-genres.

A concept album exploring the dark places in which the human mind can go, with quite moving, very introspective and introverted lyrics. But maybe I should quote Armstrong himself who explains the album thusly: 'Everything going on in our minds ' every thought, feeling, sensation, everything we are aware of ' is in fact happening only in our private internal worlds. Our reality is defined by the attention we give to these thoughts and the negative ones can inevitably lead to us feeling out of our depth''.

The strong lyrical content, of course, complements the incredible music here. It would not be wrong to draw comparisons with Porcupine Tree, with all the crushing riffs topped by passages of electronica, melodic and catchy choruses, and adventurous song build-ups. Another superlative to this album is its length ' Armstrong managed to keep it quite tight, containing five songs within 45 minutes of music. This results in very convincing compositions, giving a strong feel that there are no wasted notes.

Overall, this is an excellent album that grew quickly on me when I first heard it. Cosmograf is certainly one of the more interesting modern British progressive rock acts and this powerful album is the very proof.