ROZ VITALIS

I heard of Roz Vitalis before but never had the chance to listen to their music. This latest release is the first I get to hear and I was looking forward to this, since what I read mostly got me intrigued about them. Roz Vitalis began in 2001 in Saint-Petersburg and have since self-released 4 studio albums, two EP's and one live release. This is their fifth studio album. I got a promotional copy of this album, and am glad to have this opprtunity to explore this band's music and to be able to promote it here in PA and in other places online.

The back of the album cover says: "The goal of this concept album is to unmask and reveal the spiritual evil of the modern humanity's materialist vainglory". Well, I for one would have composed something entirely different, but that's what great about music, is that you can hear the sound of other people's thoughts, views and way of life. The album in general has a quirky, otherworldly sound to it, which is why I don't necessarily link the music with the said concept behind it, but their idea is as good and valid as any other.

A point of reference could be (early) Art Zoyd and at times even Univers Zero (and the composers who influenced those bands as well) but only as a general guiding idea of the style of music. In some tracks I even hear traces (stripped down and bare) of Industrial (Wakatte Kudasai and Annihilator Of mortal Hazard for instance) and Electronic music (for example, Autumn Of Hypocrisy) which might be more pronounced in their earlier releases. The music is keyboards based and lead with electronic drumming, and while there's a guitar in this particular album, it does not pronounce its presence too much. At other times, the music (like in the very beginning of Tragic Fate) can be a spacey drive which then strays away into the experimental and dynamic side which is the dominant aspect of the music here. At other times, there's a heavy dosage of electronic music which gives this perhaps a colder sound that fits what the concept of the album, for instance in Autumn Of Hypocrisy, in which it this particular sound represents well what I perceive to represent cynicism and insincerity like in the title. But in fact this "colder" sound gives a contradiction to other parts in which there's "warmer" parts. Other parts (Compassionizer) are more sinister sounding, giving a better idea of what they want us to realize during our listening to the album. It's also one place where the dark sound of Univers Zero might come to mind, but just as an impression, not due to a similar tune being played. In general, the sound that they deliver is rather gloomy and conjures up images of loneliness to me, but not as dark as those two bands mentioned above. This is in part due to the choice of instruments and their sound and to how the music is performed - the music guided by the keyboards which change sound from time to time in accordance with the mood Roz Vitalis want to create. The resulting sound is not as full and jam- packed as those other band's music is (a good example for such a "full" sounding album would be Yugen's Labirinto Dacqua, which I love by the way); it leaves some "empty space" for resonance and for us to absorb it more easily perhaps (if that makes any sense). The music roams around freely, and yet it has defined structure and theme, and moves forward and isn't experimental for the sake of experimentalism, but for the sake of creating something different. While there is a chance that the recording may annoy people who don't like the use of samplers to create the vast instrumentation presented here (there's only 3 musicians but it sounds like there's more), I personally find them to be well done, and that part of the charm of this album, is this exact characteristic. I think that there's a good variation of sounds and "instruments" represented to keep the listener interested and focused. For me, the music itself manages to overcome any issue that may come up from the fact I just mentioned (plus, I think it's done well and is not displeasing to my ears). I think they managed to create their own original sound, with some nods to their influences.

What I can say is that this album has made me want to listen to their other albums as well. It is intriguing, explorative, with a weird and somewhat gloomy atmosphere (like I love it) and what matters most to me, enjoyable and makes me want to listen to it again. Not mind blowing, or a must have album, but definitely an album I feel is worth my music listening time and one that I will come back to listen to. A journey album.

3.5 stars.

Did you ever happen to listen disc, which makes to remember King Crimson, Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Gentle Giant, Rush, Russian folklore and Russian sacred music, contemporary avantgarde (from Olivier Messiaen to Sofiya Gubaydulina), something from Soviet "prog" soundtracks for films (including animated ones) and Soviet prog-rock bands, but, nevertheless, is unlike all the above? It is such music which is rare and fascinating, fragile by its nature, but extremely influential on attentive, erudite and open-minded listener that is represented by musicians from Saint-Petersburg on "L'Ascensione". Appallingly figurative, beautiful and melodic art-progressive- avantgarde-space-rock by Roz Vitalis is so visual that have provoked associations with would-be documentary film as if shooting in the Russian Museum (which is one of the main museums of Saint-Petersburg and Russia in general). Camera suddenly moves from brightly painted futuristic avantgarde kaleidoscope to as if shining canvas by Nesterov, from them to the universal mysteries by Roerich, and, finally, to the icons by Rublyov, madness by Vrubel, and at once to the epoch of palace revolutions - time of courteous and cynical conventionalities, devilish collage of refinement, enlightenment and mannered trample of the all sacred. and once again to the twentieth century, which is industrial and rusted throughout. The central motive of all excursion are the icons as a symbol of conscience and repentance. We come back to them in the end. "L'Ascensione" is, perhaps, the most Russian in itself album by Roz Vitalis (in spite of the fact that afterwards the band turned more evidently to folklore). In this album all history of Russia is as though an archive including everything from ancient manuscripts to contemporary films. In the first place it is history of the Russian spirituality, which since the Time of Troubles tries to get on with Western values, the Russian revolt with its senseless ruthlessness to the all (and most of all to the authors of itself), and, finally, the profound repentance, return to God. After all, I would like to say that, possibly, there are reasons for blaming the band (practically one-man-project by Ivan Rozmainsky who if he would live in France, Belgium or Switzerland, would be able easily to drive own project to the level of Art Zoyd and Univers Zero in a sense of both recording quality and acknowledgement) for "small- budget electronicity" of sound, lack of live instruments, but, after letting of "Ascension" into heart, I am under charms of true, sensitive, profound, "non-fictitious" art, which is experienced and heartfelt. Figurativeness and openness, complete absence of vanity of vanities of the moment, that is too much customary for the most contemporary bands of all styles and kinds, makes this marvelous, lofty and sublime music perfectly disarming.

ROZ VITALIS is the band is lead by Ivan Rozmainsky, Nadezhda Regentova and Vladimir Polyakov and some guest musicians appeared on their albums. The band came from Saint-Petersburg like the band EGO EIMI.

The music move from the RIO music, but in a very classical concoction and especially the first song 'Nepsis' is RIO. Otherwise it's mostly a kind of a modern-electronic- chamber-rock-music with some world music (3), but far from the Jazz, there is no Jazz practically anywhere in this music even if the music is near sometime of band like UNIVERS ZERO and WAPASSOU, there is also plenty of dark elements, mystic elements, it's somewhere medieval and religious, monastery music, film music and progressive- rock elements are also inherent to the music.

A little wording about -post-progressive-music- If somebody can use the term -post- to describe this music, for myself I never heard nothing that I was able to called -post- (post-rock, post-modern, etc,) or (avant-garde music) not more than in politics, no revolution really has been done in most of the social spheres since a while, in the music everything is repetition, especially since the late 60's where most of the modern style of music was found, the lonely revolution that we can talk about are; a technological one, especially visible in the 80's, but in fact, in reality this revolution never end since maybe more than 100 years...., otherwise the previous revolution to this one was around the late 50's with the rock revolution and the birth of the big company and the international market. Already in 1969, in my own country :-), band like 'L'INFONIE' should be described as a -post-rock- band and their music was not very far from ROZ VITALIS in many time, but obviously the instrumentation was not the same....

ROZ VITALIS is mainly a modern-electronic-chamber-rock-music plenty of dark, mystic, medieval, monastic and religious elements, with film music and progressive-rock elements. Excellent recording.

This album contains both dissonant and ordinary-listener-friendly elements. On the one hand, the two opening tracks are very dark (but the first one is more listenable due to clarinets solos). The title track and the last track are the most progressive ones. Such tracks are not for those who prefer mainly ARENA-like music. On the other hand, "Ah Ty, Nochenka" is based on the Russian traditional music. "Heartcrying" reminds requiem-like music (and is based on a few chords). "Charitas" is a song with female voices in German. These three tracks (and also "Gentle Spring Of Spring") may be relevant for lovers of CAMEL, GRYPHON or WHITE WILLOW. In short, this album is for both King Crimson-oriented people and those who prefer instrumental prog with wind instruments (if such listeners are not against computer drums).

This is the fifth album from the Russian musical project Roz Vitalis. It is catagorized as RIO/Avant Garde, well, that sounds almost as an understement, what an adventurous but weird progressive music this is! To me the music sounds melodic but very experimental: most of the songs contains interplay between instruments like flute, organ and accordeon or bombastic keyboards and thin female vocals or church organ and Peruvian flute or marimba, percussion and organ or saxophone and organ. The sound of the church organ is often used but I cannot say that this band comes close to the sound from ELP or Trace of Le Orme, it's way too experimental, too fragmentic for me. The final track "Be Aware Of Strangers" (at about 12 minutes) is the most alternating composition featuring many shifting moods and instruments like the Peruvian flute, marimba, organ and female choir. The only progrock band that comes to my mind is the more cacophonic King Crimson ("Islands"-era) or perhaps is Roz Vitalis the avant-garde answer to Mike Odlfield ... ?

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