ONE MAN'S GRIEF

I don't always just rely on my own reconnaissance and investigative tools but when I do need support (which is always), I head straight for that mythically wonderful place called Lazland to see if our binary spider senses are still on warp 9 when it comes to new discoveries. He whispered into my ear that Deposed King is a stunning new revelation from the land of my ancestors, a place where music still holds a firm grasp on the national psyche as Budapest in particular can boast of having a great cultural nightlife scene. Steve Hackett seems to visit, regularly hooking up with Djabe, a progressive jazz outfit of the highest pedigree. Comprised of a sterling duo of Daniel Kriffel and Dominique Kiraly, with a few guests to add colour and shade to their rather eclectic sound, combining progressive rock with jazz, electronics, space and hints of ethnic Hungarian pathos. Most of the album is instrumental and has a unique sound that is enchanting, captivating, melancholic and atmospheric. It is also quite profound, as the contrasts and intricacies are loaded with reflective genius. The gorgeous cover art certainly sets the mood the album chooses to follow, displaying a sense of mysterious magic and unbridled fantasy.

The seductive "First Light" sheds that ray of imminent sonic pleasure, with a modern electronic approach, both dreamy and mechanical that sets the stage for the rather intense "Caves", a world where within seconds the listener is embalmed in a whirlwind of sound, acerbic guitar slivers dropping like icy stalactites, while brooding piano and acoustic guitar contrasts act like stalagmites, echoing vampire synths careening off the mineral walls. As the initially soothing "Endless Hours" weaves through the earphones, medicating the mind with its warm whisper, you kind of get the feeling this is going to be an absolutely whopping experience. The contrasts are truly fascinating, sprightly, and alluring as the vocals give the whole arrangement immense personality. The electronic section is mesmerizing and hypnotic, as the pings meet the pongs with a dance-like passion, until the gentle piano sets the sun. Absolutely genius.

Keeping the mood constantly creative, the medieval tinge of "Path of Forlorn" exudes a sense of historic adventure, as if recalling the Mongol invasions of the Hungarian kingdom that began in 1241, showing off guitars, keyboards and especially a boisterous bass guitar riff that sounds eerily like a close relative of the classic "In-a gadda-davida" from Iron Butterfly. Well, that just had me galloping like a Hun on his trusted horse. Suddenly and completely unpredictably, the arrangement veers into this ultra cool lounge jazz mood , with brushed cymbals and a muted trumpet. Where is my jaw, I lost my jaw, help me?.???

Time for some meditation after such a rampage, the serene 9 minute "Half Light" swerves towards sonic experimentation, setting up a simple electronic platform first, on which the research for contemplative beauty can expand into a wholly modern approach. Every note is encrusted with passionate determination, as the underlying resonant feel remains intense while the music surges in a gentle and seductive realm. Again, this sure-handed mastery of contrasts is a rare commodity, especially for a debut release. My breath has been abducted. Delicately expressive at first, "Fading Shadows" lays down a clanging and shimmering groove with stunning guitar phrasings, a softly melancholic voice pleading for eternity as the finality of it all appears at the gates of the unknown. The anguished guitar flurry by Frigyes Samuel Racz scours the universe, desperate for an answer, any kind of resolution would soothe the fear.

A brief electro intervention on "Sirens of the Sun" features scintillating work on the synths, keys and drums, a preparation for the final two tracks that conclude this magical album. The oppressive, doom-laden and distorted "Ceasing to Exist" offers 9 minutes of unchained wrath, energetically blasting from one extreme contrast to another, only to slip back into despondence and fury. The metallic dual guitars crushingly blast through, uninhibited, only to be met with forlorn waves of majestic synths, creating a sonic landscape where beauty and beast seem to meet, as if fencing for a victory. The ornate piano motif is sadness incarnate, the infernal riff reverberating like some doomsday warning shattering the peace, as the voice ultimately conveys surrender. Powerful melancholy at its finest (Hungarians are kind of good at this).

This world class album needs, no begs, to be finalized by some sort of aural panacea, as I found myself gulping and almost in tears at the indecipherable beauty of this masterpiece, as everything about it is sheer genius. "Last Light" should be just the end of this chapter of "One Man's Grief" with an eagerly awaited re-illumination in the near future. Lazland's last line in his sterling review needs to be repeated here: "Music as philosophy. Intelligent, questing, and demanding to be heard".

5 Toppled Monarchs

Originally written for theprogmind.com

9/10

Sometimes, it is hard to believe I've been doing this for 10 years now. So when a new band drops me a link to their debut album with the words "long time follower" included, it feels strange. That has actually started happening quite a bit, and while I don't always like the music therein, I always listen to it. Deposed King sent me a message like that recently; it was concerning their debut album One Man's Grief. Now this music, this music I like. The album released on January 12th.

Deposed King hails from Budapest, Hungary. The band is a duo of Daniel Kriffel and Dominique Király. One thing they mentioned in their message was that they strive to create whole new worlds and never to repeat themselves. I find this funny, actually, because the influences they cited tend to do that from album to album (never repeat themselves) but they have managed to do that right here in a single work.

The band has clear influences. I don't normally like to mention that sort of thing, but it is obvious that they enjoy Steven Wilson and Mariusz Duda in all their incarnations. They mentioned this, too, as well as Olafur Arnalds. The band therefore plays modern progressive rock with deep electronic trappings. All the influences in the world don't mean anything, though, unless you can compose and play well, and these two certainly do that.

I am floored time and again by how good the writing is here. The album is about half instrumental and half includes vocals. They take us through all sorts of tones and musical ideas, never reprising the same idea again. They tease color, life, and vibrancy out of each idea, too, in ways that are profoundly attractive. Your ears will immediately take to the luscious keys, muscular guitars, and gravy vocals. I find it ironic that at least half of the album is instrumental since the vocals are indeed so damn good.

The band offers songs that can feel playful, bluesy, somber, cinematic, ambient, or dark; many times, these tones come through in a single song. There's even a moment of harsh vox on one track. The band clearly isn't afraid to try a wide variety of ideas, and their skill on guitar, bass, and keys really delivers the extra punch all of this needs. I'd even say their programmed drums are done with excellence.

The album has nine tracks, and I love them all. "First Light" and "Last Light" open and close the album respectively, and they are both cinematic tracks with a certain purity and peace within them. The album is definitely emotional, but it begins and ends with hope, I think. "First Light" has such a metro and storytelling vibe to it; I think that's why I was instantly drawn to this record; "Last Light" is mostly piano and texture, and it is truly gorgeous. You can certainly here a classical influence there.

In between are seven excellent tracks. "Caves" feels like a post-rock tune at first, but it transitions into an ambient void of echoes and shadow. "Endless Hours" introduces vocals to the album, and it has a lush chorus and Porcupine Tree style that gives way to a spiraling electronic rhythm that is seriously addictive. "Path of Forlorn" continues this fantastic run with some vocals, yes, but the majority of the song is a rising wave of edge and crescendo. I think the ambient shuffle in the second half is brilliant.

Four more tracks remain. "Half Light" is a whirling electronic masterpiece that fades back and forth between darkness and piercing light: I absolutely love it. "Fading Shadows" is a casual rocker with a searing guitar solo that sets it apart from the rest. "Sirens of the Sun" is an electronic piece that is beautiful and tonally charming, and it leads right into one of the best songs on the album, "Ceasing to Exist". This piece is the heaviest on the album and also the longest; it explores some very deep emotions and places, getting rather raw and monstrous in moments. I love the contrasts and the heavy riffs, yet it sort of reminds me of Lunatic Soul overall. I'm not sure why.

Look, if you love progressive rock, I just don't see how you can go wrong with this debut. Deposed King has a high quality, hypnotic work on their hands, one that exudes passion and careful self-editing. This is the sort of album a veteran band might produce, it's that good. I hope you'll check it out.

A band I would have never discovered were it not for the glowing reviews of a couple of my peers on ProgArchives. (Thanks Thomas and Steve!) It's the band's debut; they're from Hungary!

1. "First Light" (2:06) great atmospheric opener--setting the album's mood for the listener extraordinarily well. (4.75/5)

2. "Caves" (6:10) opens sounding like LUNATIC SOUL before morphing into RIVERSIDE (no stretch of the imagination) and then becoming Post Rock for a couple of minutes with high density Math Rock chord progression followed by more delicate,, spacious, floating/brooding instrumental interplay. I love the slow rise of the heavily-treated programmed drums during the fifth minute, but then everything cuts out and we're left with contemplative guitar arpeggi interspersed with electronic percussives. Great song. (9.5/10)

3. "Endless Hours" (6:14) spacey PINK FLOYD-like ambience over which heavily-reverbed vocal (on multi-tracks) sings amplifying the Dark Side of the Moon feel and effect. I'm reminded of Poland's AMAROK and Norway's GIANT SKY. The slow path down the ANATHEMA-like discofied second half is surprising and quite clever--and it works! (9.5/10)

4. "Path of Forlorn" (7:46) this one opens with a folk-troubadour/Pagan folk feel to it--even as it moves into the singing portion (for the opening two-and-a-half minutes). The next section feels more psychedelic bordering on stoner rock but by the time the sixth minute rolls around it's transitioned to full on metronomic Kosmische Musik, but then at 5:53 it quite suddenly switches to laid-back late-nite lounge jazz with all acoustic-sounding instruments (over the lush synth washes)--all reverbed to the max. These guys are so creative and adventurous. I love it! (14/15)

5. "Half-Light" (8:59) Buddha Lounge electronic chill opens this one--even into the second minute--while the sedate guitars lurk in the background, dripping full with potential energy--seemingly ready to leap out into the fore with whatever compulsion they're feeling on a moment's notice. Vocal sample appears briefly at 2:47 (sounding a bit like a chill Barak Obama) and then again a few times in the fourth minute, but, surprisingly, the otherwise-instrumental song stays modern chill, start to finish. Hugo Selles (the man behind PSYCHIC EQUALIZER) should collaborate with these guys! Very enjoyable ride! Even those very cinematic final three minutes. (18.25/20)

6. "Fading Shadows" (7:10) more atmospheric prog on the mellower, more melodic side: again, with the piano play, I'm reminded of more recent ANATHEMA and PSYCHIIC EQUALIZER; it's not really NeoProg yet contains elements that are familiar, almost retro (such as the electric guitar strumming). In truth, these young men are doing an excellent job of creating their own original music. The mellifluous mood is familiar, comforting, relaxing, but the means to creating these feelings is totally unique. The vocals (in English) are accented but gentle and very easy to understand--as well as being quite melodic-- practically like another atmospheric instrument added to the weave. (They remind me a bit of Chilean band AISLES.) Nice guitar solo in the sixth minute--kind of Steven Wilson-like: understated yet totally on the mark--but then it really gets cooking in the seventh minute. I love how the repeated vocals never feel the need to strain or scream to get their message across. (13.75/15)

7. "Sirens of the Sun" (2:49) more cinematic, on-the-verge-of-being-electronic, prog. I'm rather amazed at how real the drums sound. Very cool how it all slows down in the second half, leaving you ascending toward the sun--like rising in a hot air balloon--or rescuing an otherwise-edited scene from Interstellar. (9/10)

8. "Ceasing to Exist" (9:24) opens like a NO-MAN song: very simple chord progression repeating over and over with Daniel's treated-voice singing Tim Bowmess-like over the top. I love the thick bass and wailing guitars in the instrumental second motif. Then growls! Wow, I did not see that coming! Gentler music and then heavier prog to come, before a bluesy psychedelic motif sets up after the four-minute mark. Things settle down again in the sixth minute before giving way to solo upright piano and tuned percussion to bridge us over to a brief calm flute passage before all Hell breaks loose again with some heavily distorted electric guitar chords patterned over bass and drum counterpoints. Then, in the ninth minute, the heavy motif just stops and the void is slowly filled with spacey synth washes and gently soloing heavily reverbed electric guitar slowly soloing. Kind of scattered and disjointed but, given the song's title, I think I get it. (18/20)

9. "Last Light" (5:11) more ambient-like mood music created to match the title. I guess in Daniel and Dominique's ontological view, life after death is quite peaceful and, shall I say it: beautiful (if still emotion-filled). Again: very modern-ANATHEMA-like. (9/10)

Total Time: 53:49

Despite its 21st Century Dark Side of the Moon (post-pandemic) vibe and sound palette, there is quite a bit of 21st Century ANATHEMA here, as well as STEVEN WILSON. A story/concept/arc that I really enjoy and appreciate. Better this than some doom metal death-screaming thrash crap.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of atmospheric progressive rock music. I can see that this album may not be exciting or dextrous enough for many prog lovers, but it will satisfy all those seeking the balm that albums like Dark Side of the Moon and more recent ANATHEMA albums have give us.

From Budapest, Hungary, DEPOSED KING is the duo of Daniel Kriffel and Dominique Király who together have released their debut album ONE MAN'S GRIEF in 2023. Characterized by an eclectic progressive rock meets electronic sound with influences directly lifted from the Steven Wilson playbook with obvious references to post-rock acts like Bark Psychosis and other mellow proggers such as Lunatic Soul, Blackfield and Riverside, all of whom are notable for crafting spaced out rock compositions with thick ambient atmospheric accompaniments.

Upon first listen ONE MAN'S GRIEF threatens to deliver an entire album of post-rock with the first two instrumental tracks "First Light" and "Caves" churning about for a good while (over 8 minutes in total) just to get warmed up before morphing into the Lunatic Soul / RIverside style on "Endless Hours" except DEPOSED KING imbues its music with heavy layers of ambient production which gives the album more of a space rock feel for the most part but the strangest thing about this album is that once you settle in on a certain style the duo shifts gears and takes you somewhere else entirely.

In its near 56-minute wake with a total of 9 tracks DEPOSED KING takes us through the world of post-rock, psychedelic ambient rock, progressive folk, subtle jazz influences, some heavier prog moments as well as some pure classical musical influences. "Path of Forlorn" follows and while starting off with folk flavors meanders around in true electric prog form finding many twists and turns that add up to the album's second longest track just shy of 8 minutes. "Half-Light" follows with a similar trajectory of slinking chord progressions, post-rock like cyclical loops that find echoey synthesized reverb decorating the backdrop.

"Fading Shadows" is a mopey number and sounds exactly what Steven Wilson would release on one of his solo albums, a subdued style of ambient prog with plenty of time to meander from the completely mellow build ups to heftier guitar work that crescendoes into soloing. "Sirens Of The Sun" provides a piano driven short mood building piece that cedes into the album's longest track, the 9 1/2 minute "Ceasing To Exist" which is not only the longest but the heaviest with a stronger emphasis on heavy guitar work. The track excels at slinking around and changing things up sufficiently but with a clear ringer for a Steven Wilson vocal clone the track ends up sounding too much like a reworked Porcupine Tree track. "Last Light" closes the album with a sleepy lullaby type instrumental which ends as nonchalantly as the album begins.

With many influences from the mellower space rock side of prog with similarities to Steven Wilson, Blackfield, Riverside, non-metal Opeth, Lunatic Soul, OSI, mellower Anathema and perhaps even The Pineapple Thief, DEPOSED KING more than anyone sounds like yet another Porcupine Tree worship band and for my personal tastes have little tolerance for. While Porcupine Tree is one of my favorite bands of all time, i don't find these followers very convincing in its stylistic approach.

The simplicity of the music at times doesn't offer a lot of variations to distance themselves from the original source. The ambient atmospheres are brilliantly composed as is the album itself but unfortunately my sensitive ears can detect exactly which phase of Steven Wilson's career ideas were borrowed. Another thing that totally bugs me about this album is the canned use of drum machine programming. Yes, some of us can tell the difference between a real drummer and machines. It adds a sterility that i just can't shake. Good album but nothing more.