THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE MYSTERY

The Compassionizer quartet is back with another difficult to categorize studio album--their fourth since 2019. The two multi-instrumentalists, founders Serghei Liubcenco and Ivan Rozmainsky (ROZ VITALIS) are again joined by two clarinetists, founding member Leonid Perevalov and three-album veteran AndRey Stefinoff.

1. "To Abound and To Suffer Need (5:16) the clarinet chamber parts are exquisite. The surf rock motif is annoying. Luckily, there is far more avant garde chamber music here than rock crap. Still, I wish there were more beefy, dynamic parts to hook my teeth into. (9/10)

2. "Avenge Not Yourselves" (4:11) I love how the spinet gives the music a Gothic Film Noire/PRESENT-type of feel. The unstable wammy-bar guitar chords and notes as well. Excellent keyboard strings and deep organ work with the multiple tracks of clarinets. Nice--but, again, where's the beef? (8.875/10)

3. "To Direct Your Hearts into the Love" (5:04) synth washes and electric guitar arpeggi give the clarinets, percussion, spinet, and wordless vocals here a nice rich expansion of space to counter the centralized and single-note melodies that the others can weave. Why do the female vocalists go uncredited? Why does the song get weaker, looser, and unstructured during the final 90 seconds? (9/10)

4. "I Feel Shine of the Day" (4:05) the band is clearly trying to offer the listener some insights into the sounds, melodies, and structures of their regional ethnic folk traditions. Ivan Rozmainsky's synth flute with Serghei Liubcenco's multiple stringed and percussion instruments works well--though, as my wife just commented, it sounds very much as if I'm listening to the musical soundtrack to a video presentation of some rural farm or village scene from their bucolic day-to-day goings-on. (8.75/10)

5. "For Them Who Shall Be Heirs of Salvation" (5:01) nice village processional music that conveys perfectly the inherent looseness and "smallness" of such an occasion. Nice use of the interwoven trumpets in the second half--quite funereal and reverent. (8.875/10)

6. "For the Invisible Things" (4:21) opening exactly where the previous song ended, solo trumpet fills the spacious skies before Serghei's metal percussives and Ivan's spinet join in. Drums and unusual stringed acoustic instruments join, but then, after a slight pause, the rhythm section turns the music into almost an Arabian night rumba. A thinness of sound occupies the third minute while we wait to see the next dynamic shift or presentation--which finally arrives at 3:02. The soundscape and effect here are strikingly similar to those of a Ben Morley MICE ON STILTS song--even something by NORTH SEA RADIO ORCHESTRA might do. A top three song for me. (9.25/10)

7. "The Fellowship of the Mystery" (21:44) another opening that seems to run straight off of the finish of the previous song. The delicate folk-like chamber weave turns KATE BUSH-like power-aggressive in the second half of the seventh minute, which continues with some inventive bass play and electric guitar riffing in the ninth minute. The dynamics soften in the next minute, revealing the bass clarinet as the lead instrument while the spinet and other tuned percussives provide the delicate faerie-like tapestry around it. Another burst of power chamber rock in the middle of the 11th minute disrupts an otherwise-bucolic faerie dance, leaving in its wake a forest of metallic percussion with kalimba and synth noises blended in with Serghei's other percussion sounds. Electric guitar and clarinet play off of each other over added sustained organ chords and the rest of the jungle march motif in the 14th and 15th minutes. In the 17th minute there is a rest next to a waterfall in which the trumpeter entertains the hikers while they refresh themselves. Then, in the 18th minute the band proceed on their way once again--this time with trumpeter and clarinetists taking turns at the point position. The path soon widens a bit, leaving room for more than one lead instrument to solo at the same time, but then the view of the broad expanse of savannah as they emerge from tropical jungle around the river canyon leaves every one a bit awed and humbled. The spinet and metallic clangs seem to celebrate the adventurers' achievement until it is finally time to lay their heads down for a good night's rest. The song epic is satisfactory despite the fact that the journey it takes one on never gets more exciting than faerie sprites and the occasional appearance of a jungle fauna that might require a small burst adrenaline response as one does in a state of trailblazing vigilance. There's nothing wrong or weak here, just nothing very new or exciting: The soundtrack to a rather mundane and uneventful nature hike through safari or jungle like territories. (36/40)

Total Time 49:42

I hear a lot of what sounds like AFTER CRYING chamber work here--which I really like--yet I also hear a lot of music that sounds very rooted and unashamedly representative of Russian rural folk tradition. I like both of these. The songs are often a bit too simplistic or too romantic for a prog rock album--even Prog Folk--yet we've often talked about the creation of a Prog Chamber classification around here. Maybe this album will be the final impetus necessary for such an event!

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition of Chamber Prog to any music lover's collection--especially if you enjoy cinematic folk-oriented instrumental music. Though I do not consider this a masterpiece of progressive rock music, I do greatly respect and admire those musicians who champion their own heritages of musical tradition. This is probably my favorite Compassionizer album due to its wonderful consistency.