PASSAGE TO THE FOREST OF MYSTERIOUS

I find Anthony Kalugin's work, especially in Karfagen, to be really good retro prog. While I may not be the biggest Karfagen fan, when they release a new album, I'll indulge in what they have to offer. This went for last year's Land Of Green And Gold, and it goes for this year's releases of Birds, which is a instrumental re-interpretation of Birds Of Passage, and the band's big release of Passage To The Forest Of Mysterious. Now it may be recency bias, but, I find Passage To The Forest Of Mysterious to be an album worthy of being called a modern masterpiece.

I am honestly quite speechless when talking about this record as I am trying to review it right now, because really I feel like Anthony's craft is at a point where he has turned into a new league of his own. For starters, he has really made his compositions shine thoroughly, creating these big and vast lands of progressive rock magnitude that he has refined and practically perfected over the years. It is very clear in the bigger tracks like Mysterious Forest Part 1 and Birds Of Passage And The Enchanted Forest, but even in the smaller tracks like Kingfisher & Dragonflies Part 4 and To Those Who Dwell In Realms Of Day, we get these magnificent areas of exploration that I think are some really immaculate stuff all around.

Speaking of shorter songs, I feel like what really makes this album click for me is those smaller moments of greatness, stuff that makes these songs feel all the more special. For example, I love Mysterious Forest Part 3's ending with the moody and kinda smooth saxophone and guitar melody, which I think ends this album really amazingly, and that is only probably just a quarter in terms of that song. I just love those little things like that on here that make me feel like I really went on a journey.

The real stars here are definitely the bigger tracks of Mysterious Forest Part 1 and Birds Of Passage And The Enchanted Forest. Mysterious Forest Part 1 is a really great song to me, creating this giant but dense land of beautiful moments, showcasing Anthony's symphonically enriched prog rock really well in this grand spectrum, and one that I just love with my whole heart.

However, I honestly think Birds Of Passage And The Enchanted Forest might be one of the best prog epics Karfagen has put out, and definitely the best in terms of contenders of retro prog epics. For one, the music on it is so immaculate. I just love the reprisals from Birds Of Passage mixed within this grand and new frontier, going through moments that vary on sounds and styles of different prog genres, going through mostly symphonic prog textures and sounds, but also verging to neo prog, prog metal, folk, and jazzy moments that makes this song feel all the more epic as it spins around through these different soundscapes that the band clearly have a knack for. However, that is not the real reason why this song struck out to me. It is a lot different than that.

While I do not like to get into politics in my reviews, especially as grim as ones like this, I feel like it is worth talking about as it relates to the music and my listening experience. So, as you all might know, Ukraine was attacked by Russia last year and is still going through a ton of trouble, and many more countries are suffering similar situations, like Georgia. I have tons of sympathy for the Ukrainian people, even if I am not Ukrainian myself or live close by. With that, and since I knew Karfagen is a band from Ukraine, I had the thought of the conflict in my head while listening to it, and this song, and all the rest of the tracks on here, just made me realize how, even when they are attacked, and at war with a really big power like Russia, they can still make this joyous, and so celebratory music that hold so much weight in these dark times, and if I'm gonna be honest, this album on a few occasions nearly made me cry with just this fact alone. This goes back to the ending track of Mysterious Forest Part 3, and it's ending with those beautiful saxophones and guitars, that just gives me hope that things will be alright for those over across the pond. For that reason alone, I just couldn't help but fall in love with this album.

Passage To The Forest of Mysterious is an album that shines a bright hope in the face of these dark, dark times, and as it all stands, I feel like this is one such album I will revisit time and time again, even after (and hopefully soon) when the Ukraine conflict is resolved. This is an album that I think, no matter what your tastes are, should be listened to and supported. It is simply one that I think most deserves it, not only for its amazing music on display, but in general for these Ukrainians who need support in one of their darkest days. I have hope.

One of Antony Kalugin's three project releases from the first half of 2023, this one rises to the top due to the fullness of the walls of sound brought on by his collaborators.

1. "Kingfisher and Dragonflies (Part 4)" (3:01) solo acoustic steel string guitar opens this before New Age keyboard synth notes begin backing up the guitar's melodies. Bass and some sparse drumming join in before group vocalese enters to also replicate the guitar and synth's melody line. It sounds very JON ANDERSON/ANT PHILLIPS-like. (9/10)

2. "Mysterious Forest (Part 1) - World in a Grain of Sand" (14:03) nice mature bombastic prog that checks all the boxes but doesn't offer anything very memorable much less to knock your socks off. (26.5/30)

3. "Mysterious Forest (Part 2) - The Ominous Ride" (4:21) a jazzy, keyboard-dominated opening turns prog fusion at 0:40 as piano and rhythm section support a lead guitar solo. At 1:35 electric piano takes over as the pace shifts into fourth gear. Nice bass play and synth wash background support. At 2:30 a buzz saw-like synth enters and competes for the lead but is then supplanted by a pyrotechnically flashy 21st Century electric guitar solo. Very nice song! (9/10)

4. "To Those Who Dwell in Realms of Day" (2:18) more than an interlude or étude (4.375/5)

5. "Birds of Passage and the Enchanted Forest" (19:02) reworked from a previous album (2020's Birds of Passage)--an album that was released in January of 2020, just before the COVID pandemic swept across the planet. Birds has been one of Antony's more popular and well-received releases--partly due, no doubt, to the collaboration of his usual posse of excellent musicians. It is quite well-constructed and performed with Antony's usual great NeoProg sound, I just have trouble endorsing the re-publication of a previously released piece of music. (36/40)

6. "Through the Whispers of the Wind" (1:38) beautiful acoustic guitar with synth-orchestral support. WILLOWGLASS-like. (4.375/5)

7. "Mysterious Forest (Part 3) - World in a Grain of Sand Reprise" (4:15) multiple keyboard-generated tracks are delicately woven together for the spacious support for the male vocalist's singing. After the brief first verse, electric tuned percussion signals entry to the chorus which, again, sounds quite JON ANDERSON New Agey. The synth, jazz bass, and metronomic drum supported nylon string guitar and saxophone solos only seal this sentiment. (8.66667/10)

8. "Birds of Passage and the Enchanted Forest" (single version) (9:59) song #5 here rendered into a "single" version. (Who's ever heard of a ten-minute "single"? I mean, the whole purpose of a single is to deliver a version that is appropriate for radio play--and I can think of very few pop radio stations that will play a ten-minute song!) I can't rate this too low because it is still wonderful, but it's not new! And it's been released as an epic-length song on the same album--three songs before! (17.5/20)

Total Time 58:37

I do not like republished music of older songs despite the fact that they may be better than their original versions (and despite the fact that as an artist myself I know and appreciate the desire to revisit and rework/edit one's previous work)--it feels like a trick played upon the consumerist public. I mean, if the music were offered free for those who purchased the original material, then that would be a different matter, but, if the original material wasn't good (or failed to get critical acclaim or approval) then so be it; you should have sat on it longer the first time.

Still, there is Antony's usual excellent, lush sound engineering and production here and quite a nice, fully developed palette of collaborator's inputs throughout the album's songs.

B/four stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you're into a more New Agey sound palette for your retro-prog.