OF THINGS THAT NEVER WERE

Every once in a while there comes a new band that manages to sweep me off my feet so easily, sometimes with an exceptional high level of playing, sometimes with a new and fascinating sound and sometimes with an out of the box kind of ideas. The Worm Ouroboros have simply done that with pure musical talent and a wise intellectual six sense, man this album is just down right beautiful and contains a few soaring moments that makes my heart skip a beat. It's one of those albums where it doesn't matter what the band is playing it just feels right and good, and it makes me even more amazed that I know it's their first album. It seems these young fellas have cracked the code and found the secret combination between simple melodies and tasty instrumental interplay. They have some kind of naive simplicity and modesty to their playing and arrangements that honestly not a lot of bands have.

But this is only part of the deal here. The Worm Ouroboros are a new band coming from Minsk Belarus, but they were playing since 2006 so they are not so new in playing together. One thing is for sure these guys have absorbed a lot of influences from the 70's prog scene, I think you'll be happy to find out there's a massive influence from the Canterbury scene/Prog Folk and symphonic prog, where I'm most reminded of Caravan, Camel and the playfulness of Moving Gelatine Plates. There's also some psychedelic overtones, nothing's too trippy but it is still there hovering above. Funk or should I say groove is another style that found its way into the mix, these guys can definitely swing when they need to. This meal wouldn't be perfect without a desert so this time the band is serving Zehul! Now I sure didn't see this coming! For those of you who doesn't like the classic Zehul shouldn't have any trouble with this, since it is still melodic and quite grooving. I can't say this album heavily rocks, it's not the point here, but I sure do love when they get that itch! As part of their intricate arrangements, they do feel the need of a rocking outburst every now and then, which gives another dimention to this wonderful band.

The album is centered around the quality interplay and song writing of Sergey Gvozdyukevich (vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitars, flute) and Vladimir Sobolevsky (electric and acoustic guitars). They are backed by the fantastic Alexey Zapolsky (bass) and Eugene Zarkhin (drums). The final touch of Vitaly Appow (reeds) completes the picture and adding a lot of depth to the arrangements, complementing everyone's playing.

There isn't any prog from the weird zone (at least for those of you who knows weird bands), Worm is focusing on beautiful melodies using a rich sound, nothing's sacchrine, not at all. There isn't any unique instrumentation, we've heard all of that already but for some reason it doesn't sound like your ordinary and plain 'ol flute, acoustic guitar and keys thing. The level of songwriting and simplicity takes those few notes to a higher level, it just works! the connection and interplay between the musicians is fabulous, I can easily put them into the 'I stunned you with 4 notes' club.

"L'Impasse Sainte Bérégonne" starts this journey with a weird and disturbing atmosphere. A huge bass and flute leads the way as it gets more intense and breaks with an excellent guitar solo, check out that fierce flute towards the end, that would make Ian Anderson think "why didn't I think of that?". The next "Shelieth" is totally different and shows what a brilliant musician Sergey Gvozdyukevich is, using all kinds of warm delicate keyboard sounds, he's very eclectic in his playing and in his sound choices, so this one sounds very diverse and refreshing, accompanied by a restrained but effective guitar playing. Man that melody in the closing part is simply gorgeous!!! and is weaved into the song so cleverly.

The band are including here a few short Folky instrumental interludes between the main songs, needless to say that every one of them is stunning in its own special way. I have to say this time it doesn't sound detached at all, on the contrary, it only adds to the overall feel of the album. My favourite one is "The Magi" with of course a beautiful acoustic guitar and flute, but what impresses me most here is the heavily accented vocals, so melodic, I love how he sings this one. "The Pear-Shaped Man" and my special favourite "Pirates in Pingaree" shows their outstanding song writing ideas. It doesn't matter where the song is heading they can easily turn you over with an amazing simple melody that would make you wanna weep in joyous happiness (Pirates in Pingaree).

"Soleil Noir" is calmer and focusing on vocals but it sure does gets much more intense towards the end, fabulous. "The Curfew" is the main surprise here although it is quite different harbouring pure Zehul elements it doesn't sound too far off at all but still keeping the line of the album, it only goes to show how brilliant and sophisticated this band really is. The deep bass and dark zehulic vocals lead the way here sounding like Weidorje, but not too long when they suddenly go funky! Oh yeah! "Return To The Cold Sea Of Nothing" is the final 10 minute epic, continuing the high level of playing by all members.

This is absolutely one of the most thrilling and promising modern albums I've come to hear, I think you'll find it a very easy and captivating listen. Definitely deserves the fifth star, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONE!

As I already mentioned before in a couple of reviews, AltrOck/Fading is one of the most interesting labels that has appeared during the last decade. Every time I get their new releases I'm sure that they'll be high quality albums, even if they're not my favorite kind of Prog!

This time I have a review for an unusual band called The Worm Ouroboros that may sound Italian at a first glimpse but in fact they come from Belarus! Their first album, Of Things That Never Were (2013) was released in September last year and it had been recorded in a span of 3 years previous of the release. The band is formed by Sergey Gvozdyukevich (vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar, bass and flutes), Vladimir Sobolevsky (electric and acoustic guitars), Alexey Zapolsky (bass), Eugene Zarkhin (drums) and Vitaly Appow (reeds).

Of Things That Never Were (2013) follows a Canterbury school, so you can expect numerous vintage sounds, a Jazz Rock touch and some craziness like in the opening track 'L'Impasse Sainte Bérégonne'. 'Shelieth', the second track is completely Caravan in various ways. Also, despite being an instrumental album (90% of the time), all tracks (also the name of the band) are inspired by books and in the beautiful booklet you'll have a chance to see a lot of great pictures adorned with fragments of those books.

Through the acoustic colors of 'Ladybird On A Moebius Strip', the Jazz-Thriller (with great vocals) of 'The Pear- Shaped Man' and the pastoral scenery of 'Dawn Angel' we ended up in love with Of Things That Never Were (2013). Quite incredible how good the album is for a debut!

The second half of the album begins with 'Pirates In Pingaree' and as the name suggests you can easily imagine pirates coming in a big ship to overtake some piece of land or another ship. That's the magic of music! By the time of 'The Magi' you can see a pattern on the album: one full song followed by a short and acoustic piece.

'Soleil Noir' is basically a beautiful lullaby that strikes the heart with some Genesis sound. 'The Curfew' is a weird one (in a good way) with some really strange melodies. And while 'Return To The Cold Sea Of Nothing' is the longest track on Of Things That Never Were (2013) with 9'50 minutes, it is also one of the most interesting on the album. A big part of why it is so interesting is because of the keyboards and bass, not forgetting the wonderful flutes. Hard to say, because the whole album is good, but it's probably my favorite one on the album. Finishing beautifully we have the acoustic poetry of 'Hope'.

There's little to say about Of Things That Never Were (2013) really. The only thing that comes to my mind to sum it all up is: Absolutely brilliant!! What more can I say? Just go and buy it already!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

Hailing from Belorussia, THE WORM OUROBOROS is a recent constellation based out of Minsk. "Of Things That Never Were" is their debut album, and was released in 2013, following a three-year long creative cycle, through the Italian Fading label, a subdivison of noted avant-garde label Altrock Records.

Those who generally find pleasure in bands honing in on retro-oriented progressive rock should find a lot to enjoy on this initial production by The Worm Ouroboros. The core foundation appears to be music in the Canterbury tradition, liberally flavored with typical English symphonic progressive rock of the '70 in general with pointers to bands like Camel and Genesis in particular, but at times with a dark, unnerving undercurrent rather than the more typical whimsical tendencies you expect from a band taking on this musical tradition. A fine album and a fine band, and besides those with an affection for Canterbury-inspired music I'd guess that fans of similar bands like German band Argos should find this CD to be an intriguing experience.

It was Sagi's recommendation that moved me to pick this album up last year. The cover art is really nice including the pictures in the liner notes, and it's pretty cool that the lyrics for the most part are done by famous people as in Ray Bradbury, Albert Einstein, H.P. Lovecraft and many more. And considering this band is from Belarus I was surprised that the liner notes were all in English. We get four short tracks that are mostly acoustic and I can take or leave them but I will be keeping those seven longer tracks for sure. A Canterbury vibe runs throughout this album especially with the distorted keys and under-stated vocals at times, but the big surprise for me was that strong Zeuhl flavour on two songs that is very impressive. Lots of electric piano and flute on this record and the bass is very upfront along with some stunning guitar passages.

"L'Impasse Sainte Beregonne" opens with electric piano, flute and huge bass lines as drums and more start to help out. There's a Zeuhlish vibe here as well that is really impressive. The guitar replaces the flute 2 1/2 minutes in but the flute is back a minute later. An excellent opening number. "Shelieth" features picked guitar and electric piano early on but it turns fuller after a minute. Distorted keyboards help out along with the guitar. Intricate sounds come and go including some spacey synths, then some synths arrive that are high pitched and rather annoying. I really enjoy that main theme that returns with electric piano and picked guitar. "Ladybird On A Moebius Strip" is a short instrumental with guitar melodies and flute leading the way. "The Pear-Shaped Man" is different. A vocal track that mixes GONG and PHIDEAUX if that makes any sense. Theatrical vocals here at times and the song is quite catchy. Love the instrumental break, especially the Canterbury-like keyboards before 3 minutes. "Dawn Angel" is a short acoustic guitar piece.

"Pirates In Pingaree" is such a bright and enjoyable song, especially the tone of the keyboards. The guitar kicks in before 2 1/2 minutes as the sound becomes more powerful. A beautiful section before 4 minutes then flute and picked guitar take over. It's darker after 5 minutes then back to that flute led passage, guitar is back late. "The Magi" is a short folky piece with vocals part way through. "Soleil Noir" sounds like an extension of the previous song. Reserved vocals and a mellow sound here before it turns dark and powerful after 4 minutes. This sounds so good when that nasty guitar kicks in. "The Curfew" opens with electric piano, bass and more that creates a dark and atmospheric sound. When it kicks in at 2 1/2 minutes we're talking Zeuhl all the way. Even the vocals are Zeuhl-101. I really dig the electric piano/bass section 5 minutes in. "Return To The Cold Sea Of Nothing" opens with organ, bass and drums and man this has a feel-good sound to it. Flute joins in as well then vocals follow and they bring GONG to mind. I like the ending too. "Hope" is a short acoustic guitar and flute piece.

Easily 4 stars and I like how familiar this sounds yet at the same time this is different. Can't wait to hear what they come up with on their next record.

Another Belarus band supported by the AltrOck Productions umbrella (though, officially released under the AltrOck subsidiary, Fading Records), here releasing their debut album.

1. "L'Impasse Sainte Bérégonne" (4:26) pompous and jagged, this is a prog song with avant-jazz leanings. (8.75/10)

2. "Shelieth" (8:28) coming across like a Canterbury style song--though more in the SETNA style--here is a song that soothes in an old 1970s smooth jazz-rock fusion kind of way. Jazz electric guitar takes the lead over the first three minutes before relinquishing it to a spacey synth in the fourth and a nose-flute-like synth in the fifth. Despite the overall Canterbury feel that the underlying Fender Rhodes gives this, there are instances in which I'm reminded of other bands like Focus and Styx and Camel--this latter especially in the searing "Rhyader"-like guitar solo of the seventh minute. Nice song! (18.75/20)

3. "Ladybird on a Moebius Strip" (1:47) electrified acoustic guitar being picked while flutes play over the top. Very pretty. Again, kind of CAMEL-esque. (4.5/5)

4. "The Pear-Shaped Man" (5:16) pensive foundation to this before accented English voice enters and sings about the pear-shaped man. A cross between Camel and Focus that entertains but will not get many rotations into my playlists despite its nice instrumental third minute. (8.5/10)

5. "Dawn Angel" (2:03) acoustic guitar and electrified acoustic guitar weave a nice little English-sounding folk tune with their interlaced picking. Nice though nothing extraordinary. (4.25/5)

6. "Pirates in Pingaree" (7:43) more instrumental symphonic music sounding very much like CAMEL and FOCUS--sounds and shifting motifs quite like both bands. There's even a little JTULL and KCRIMSON in there. (13/15)

7. "The Magi" (1:43) electrified acoustic guitar and flute weaving a little English folk tune together. At 0:45 Sergey Gvozdyukevich enters singing in a bit of a Ian Anderson or Scottish folk singer's lilting voice. Again, I am surprised to be hearing English. (4.25/5)

8. "Soleil Noir" (6:10) gentle four chord progression within which dirty Fender, electrified acoustic guitar, maletted toms and simple bass support Sergey's Gentle Phil Collins-like voice in a very "One for the Vine"-like performance. For the first four minutes, the music is disappointingly simple--again, not unlike the music of half of Wind and Wuthering--but then it gets harsh as Sergey and Co. try a kind of "The Knife"-like breakout of aggression. It kind of works. Still, nice performance by Sergey. (8.5/10)

9. "The Curfew" (7:42) ominous muscal base over which Sergey enters singing in some low Native American-sounding chants. Interesting! This is theatric in a kind of PETER HAMMILL kind of way. At 2:28 there is a shift into a more full-band structure to support Sergey's continued attempts to channel his dead Siberian ancestors. Too bad the music is so simple, otherwise this could be interesting. inNot even the LAtimer/Akkerman lead guitar melody and solo in the fifth minute can save this one (the foundational music established and maintained by the rhythm section is too disco-corny). Okay Hammond solo in the sixth and seventh minutes, nothing special. (13/15)

10. "Return to the Cold Sea of Nothing" (9:50) nice late-1960s bluesy psych rock sound established in the first minute that includes Wurlitzer organ and reed winds. Sergey enters singing in a theatric kind of voice reminiscent of classic prog artists like Eroc! (Grobschnitt), Doroccus (Babylon), Geoff Mann (Twelfth Night), Fish, Dave Cousins, Frank Bournemann, Greg Lake, Ian Anderson, and Peter Gabriel. The music has quite an early GENTLE GIANT feel to it due to the strong presence of the various reeds. (18/20)

11. "Hope" (2:22) another folk song with nice acoustic guitar and flute interplay. Very pretty. (4.5/5)

Total Time 57:30

Boy! AltrOck sure knows how to pick 'em! And the production is always of the very highest quality, which helps. The musicians here are quite proficient performing these fairly sophisticated songs--many of which are quite melodic and engaging.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of retro sounding symphonic progressive rock music that would be a welcome addition to any prog lover's

Not to be confused with the USA-ian atmospheric sludge band of the same name, THE WORM OUROBOROS (this one has a "THE") named themselves after the heroic high fantasy novel by Erick Rücker Eddison which came out in 1922. This wriggling band squirmed its way out of the off-the-beaten path of Minsk, Belarus but has created quite the stir for all things 70s zeitgeist reincarnated into the 21st century in the eclectic progressive rock lover's world with their debut release OF THINGS THAT NEVER WERE as if they are longing for a mix of their favorite classics that never materialized in the golden age of prog. Well, if it didn't happen then make it happen they did and with grace and utmost respect for all influences on the check off list.

This band is primarily led by the multi-instrumentalist Sergey Gvozdyukevich who handles keys, acoustic guitar, bass, flutes and vocal duties. He is joined by four other musicians including Vladimir Sobolevsky on electric and acoustic guitars, Alexey Zapolsky on bass, Eugene Zarkhin on drums and Vitaly Appow on reeds. The mixture of styles ranges from straight on heavy progressive rock to Canterbury jazz and zeuhl. The mixture of styles and influences is the biggest draw on this album as well as its weakest link. At a near hour playing length OF THINGS THAT NEVER WERE certainly does deliver the prog addict the proper dosage of prog hits at any given moment but unfortunately in the end fails to mix and meld all these disparate styles into the perfect concoction in the cauldron of creativity. Still though. THE WORM OUROBOROS have unleashed a highly enjoyable progressive rock album unto the world and since this is only the debut gives me great confidence that even better things are to come.

The album begins with the reed heavy "L'Impasse Sainte Bérégonee" which floods the listener with a plethora of arenas of the prog past including the plentiful Italian scene with its melodic cloud nine productions of Crimsonian guitar riffs mixed with subdued wind instrumentation choppily parading down time sig alley with pleasant melodies just bursting at the seams to get out. As "Shelieth" continues the progfest, it becomes more obvious that THE WORM OUROBOROS has a thing for classic prog that pay attention to the details of the classic kingdom that came before. The keys imitate mellotrons of the past, the guitars evoke the jazz-fusion greats of the past all the while mixing and melding slow sensual passages with more upbeat but never frenetic eclectic prog workouts.

While most tracks are instrumental some such as "The Pear-Shaped Man" offer a sensible sense of humor in the form of fairly decent vocal additions to a nicely executed time sig frenzy that incorporates acoustic and electric guitars with a keyboard extravaganza egged on by a bass and drum pubococcygeus exercise. While most of this album is based in a mellow and beautiful mix of guitar work that reminds me of King Crimson, quirkiness renowned in the Canturbury scene of the 70s and a nice healthy dose of symphonic prog elements, there are standout tracks that deviate from the norm such as "The Curfew" which are clearly Magma fueled and incorporate all the zeuhl elements which includes the all the wonderful rhythmic Kobaian feelings complete with that signature bass line and even some too-close-for-comfort Zander vocal workouts.

As for time immemorial mimicry, many acts come and go only pathetically attempting to evoke those far away places in the fantasy world of the 70s with only marginal results. THE WORM OUROBOROS succeeds big time in creating a modern day creation that easily could have been embedded in say the world of 1975 and no one would have thought otherwise. The album may evoke a sense of nostalgia but certainly fits well into the modern world as well. The production is a perfect mix of warm and inviting tones and timbres that create a complementary commendation of all the greats. This is a brilliant debut by this squirmy band from Minsk but still needs a little more time to coalesce into something outstandingly original IMHO. While more than competent at taking disparate prog elements and sewing them together in pleasing ways, they unfortunately fail to create a seamless album that suspends all imagination allowing the listener to detach from the experience. Not perfect but a damn good listening experience nonetheless.