ROZ VITALIS

Roz Vitalis have long been a band who continue to push boundaries, changing personnel here and there, mixing modern classical music with RIO tendencies and Russian inspiration to create progressive rock which is influenced by many at the bleeding edge yet never sounding like anyone else around. This line-up featured three lead musicians, all prepared to take on the main role, provide support when required, and in many ways, they work with the freedom of expression one normally associates with the Seventies as opposed to the modern day. Ivan uses "classic" prog sounds in his samples, Vladimir provides a much harder neo-prog approach to guitar, Vladislav is more direct than one might expect while Evgeny and Ruslan comes at the music from an ELP/Yes area, yet somehow the quintet combines to make perfect musical sense.

Ivan has been the only constant throughout their career, which has seen numerous studio and live albums, and I look forward to hearing the next chapter in this band. If one has not previously come across Roz Vitalis then this deliberately raw and passionate performance is a wonderful place to start.

Track 2, Annihilator of Moral Hazard, seems to bring a lighter humor to the proceedings, but that illusion is rapidly wiped out by more menacing instrumental improvisation with the keyboards occupying the central spot. And they keep going in track 3, Longsuffering, including great mellow passages of harpsichord.

Tracks 4 and 5 are, finally, some more breezy pieces, with melodic (Kayak-like, perhaps) electric piano mounting the main riff and motiv in the first one, and enchanting transverse flute bringing a pastoral air in the second. In track 6, Sorrow and Hope, a church-like organ brings a solemn (yet positive) mood to fruition, continued by piano and good electric guitar licks on a slightly jazzy rhythm section.

The closing track is the occasion for the electric guitarist to boast his style in a couple of great solos, all that wrapped up in nice renditions of Peace, the King Crimson brief theme.

There are plenty of excellent reasons to enjoy here, me thinks.

With no vocals present, it does take a lot for a fully instrumental band to capture the imagination and attention of an audience, but these guys have no problem with that whatsoever with music and arrangements that keep moving and changing. Yury has managed to find a home for himself within the pattern as well, adding nuances outside the drums, while AndRey and Vladislav have important roles to play as he comes in and out, either emphasising melodies or adding others of his own. Roz Vitalis are a band who often do not have a solid foundation, in that Ruslan may be staying tight to Evgeny/Phil at times, but at others he is off creating melodies of his own as the strands come together in some places and part in others. However, it is the close relationship between Ivan and Vladimir which allows them to stand out as they follow and bounce off each other. Songs like "Patience of Hope" contains some stunning interactions between all the players, moving rapidly, while others are far more thoughtful and restrained.

The depth within their sound is incredible, with so many different styles coming to bear, and the result is an album that in many ways is a wonderful introduction to this great Russian avant/RIO/prog act. Let us hope there are at least another twenty years ahead of them.

Here we have a musician who has been influenced not only by the keyboard players from the past, but from classical as well. He has then brought that together in this album where keyboards (including a nice harpsichord sound) are by far the dominant sound. Being more than 20 years old, one of the major issues is the lack of a real drummer and the sounds being deployed to fill that hole, while some of the keyboards themselves have sounds being deployed which lack real depth. In many ways it sounds like it is, an album where the artist is starting to find his way, and I know that if I had not seen the cover I would not have said it was Ivan, as since this release he has grown hugely as a composer and musician. This is an album I have enjoyed, but it does feel pretty much on one level and there is little to demonstrate what he would be delivering in the future. Mind you, the same is true for many bands, and if I compare Big Big Train's debut to their more recent works then again one would not imagine it was the same outfit. Consequently, this is one I have enjoyed playing and hearing, but not one to which I will be often returning.

Ivan utilises many different sounds, while it is not unusual for Vladislav to step away from proceedings, and this combines to ensure there is always plenty of space within the music. There is no feeling of compression or strain, rather that the musicians are allowing themselves and each other the room to fully express themselves. The music is incredibly melodic, yet complex as they allow themselves to bring in jazz and classical idioms while always progressing and challenging themselves while always taking the listener along for the journey. They have released a series of wonderful live albums over the years, and this is yet another which deserves recognition far outside their native city and country. If you already know the band then this is something you will enjoy, but for newcomers this is a wonderful introduction and a great way to discover one of the best bands to come out of Russia. Superb.

Compassionizer begins with the fading clang of a gong on "Tragic Fate". This song starts off spacy and ethereal with interesting, sparse percussion and soft string-like synth padding. Even in its sort of plastic percussion, this track, in its middle section is quite ear-catching. Certainly a cool intro. "Autumn of Hypocrisy", in comparison, starts off with an acoustic piano intro. The guitars here are very unusual, almost functioning as another percussion instrument. This song didn't have much to offer, though, unfortunately. Then, we have our title track, "Compassionizer", with sort of Western Saloon-style tack piano and our first taste of more noticeable guitar. Very unusual rhythms follow around minute 1. It's that sort of plastic drum sound that reminds me a tad of Zappa's synclavier music, though... far less exact. I'm not sure the human element is really adding anything interesting to this... cacophony. Thus far, not super impressed. I do know there must be something here, though... [I think I still feel this way. I think.] [I dunno, see below...]

This band's embrace of diametrically opposed loudness and softness is a bit odd. I'm not sure it does them any favors at this point in time. "Elusive Goodness" is a return to the open spaciness, this time featuring what sort of sounds like a Wurlitzer in its middle section. I was expecting, at the start, to have some hope here, but it was just kind of boring and wavering. It's with some of the beginning sounds of "Wakatte Kudasai" that I would like to recommend another artist to those who are fans of this album: Michael P. Dawson. I'm realizing now, too, that a huge issue I have with this is the harsh mix of this album. It's just too much. Those aforementioned loud sections, and there's plenty of that on "Wakatte", are just too damn loud and unruly. All I can say. The apparently human contributions to the very plastic everything is yet again a weakness to my ears on "Annihilator of Moral Hazard". Another least favorite...

"Dances of Lost Opportunities" is an optimistic sort of something, despite the name. Not a whole lot happens here though... Like, too little. Then we have "Disruption". It seems, like with this track, when more guitar is introduced, that is their strength. Some real interesting things come out of the music. Not a whole lot happened here, though. But at least it was better than the last two tracks before it... Finally, we have "Train of Parting", a return to more acoustic piano. The obtuse electro-instrumentation comes in pretty shortly after the introduction. It's very quirky. But I'm just not drawn in at all. Super noisy around minute 5. Nothing there for me in that...

To be clear, a True Rate of 1.75/5.00. I'm not done with them yet. Ok... I am done. If what listeners find to be the best material for the band is the best they have to offer, in the least, it's just not for me.

As is probably obvious from the title, 20 Years: Alive and Well celebrates the 20th anniversary of Roz Vitalis, which began as a studio project with electronic elements but has grown into an ever-changing chamber ensemble of talented musicians under the leadership of Ivan Rozmainsky. The band has increasingly become a live-focused act, and while there have been standalone singles released, their last full-length album (The Hidden Man of the Heart) was back in 2018. Between then and this latest live album, Roz Vitalis have thirteen releases, including five live albums ? each with a quite different quality. There are some bands where one or two live albums are enough, as there is simply not enough variation and innovation. Other bands I rarely listen to their studio albums, as they pale in comparison to their live albums, and too many is still not enough. Roz Vitalis is certainly one of those bands where I will never tire of hearing a new live album, such are the differences between them ? even when the setlists are similar. And when much of Roz Vitalis's vast catalogue of songs can only be heard on their live releases, I would simply be missing out if I didn't eagerly consume every new one as it is released. But, yes, this one is something special ? and if you've never listened to Roz Vitalis, it's a wonderful way to jump in and immerse yourself in the sometimes gentle, sometimes heavy, avant chamber prog of the band. The sound is often pastoral and almost folk- like, but there's a dark edge almost always lurking, and the band can transition from smooth and peaceful to sharp and angular with ease and to great effect.

The album begins with Daybreaking, one of the more recent Roz Vitalis compositions to be released (and, thus far, without a studio version), and one which quickly has become a favourite of many Roz Vitalis fans. It had its beginnings in an Ivan Rozmainsky piece, Too Late Awakening, which I think was first performed in 2017, and it is possible to track its changes over time, and various Roz Vitalis releases. While this is not my favourite rendition of Daybreaking, the more I hear it, the more I enjoy it. This is one of the pleasures of following the band, as older pieces can become something quite different and new. The most well-known example, albeit unlikely to be known by anyone not familiar with the band, would be Ascension Dream from the debut Roz Vitalis album, L'Ascensione, which has become more and more compact and concise over the years, but no less exhilarating. The first abbreviation of Ascension Dream a year after the release of L'Ascensione, on the Painsadist EP, and it's been evolving ever since. And given that while the band has always had avant leanings, the earliest Roz Vitalis compositions were far closer to progressive electronic music than the chamber prog they now play, it's really no wonder that the earlier compositions sound quite different when played live now.

Walking is another piece that will be familiar to followers of the many live releases of Roz Vitalis, but which has no studio recording as yet. It's a great wee number, and I really like it, but up next is one of the first of many treats that pop up on this album, Patience of Hope. As far as I'm aware (and I admit, I am too lazy to look back at the track listings of all the live releases in between), this title track to the 2012 Roz Vitalis album has appeared only once on subsequent live releases. It's really neat to hear some of these older compositions given a new lease of life, and this is certainly a very lively performance of the piece. The energetic and enthusiastic playing has me imagining the band all grinning wildly as they play this track. But even if Patience of Hope has not appeared on many Roz Vitalis live albums since the studio album of the same name, we can be assured it is not the first performance of it live, as the band have handily let us know in the track listing which of the pieces have their first appearance in a Roz Vitalis set. The following tracks, Recovery and For My Love They Are Adversaries are the two new ones, and it will be interesting to hear how they evolve over time ? as they surely will.

The first performance of Escaping From Myself appeared on last year's Confortate Gli Abbattuti Live, and is another energetic number. It's followed by another track from 2012's Patience of Hope album, but unlike the title track, this piece has appeared on many live releases since, and I'm absolutely fine with it having another appearance here, as Mother of All Rain is one of my favourite Roz Vitalis compositions, and it's easily one of my favourite tracks on this album. It has either an ugly beauty, or a beautiful ugliness, and I'm not sure which ? but whichever, I love it. It's followed by the aforementioned Ascension Dream, which is no doubt the favourite Roz Vitalis track of many, and for good reason. It's simply beautiful, and this is a wonderful performance of the piece. And then this is followed by another of my favourite Roz Vitalis numbers, Annihilator of Moral Hazard from 2007's Compassionizer album. This is my new favourite performance of the piece (previously being the extended version on 2019's Great Expectations Live), proving (just as with Ascension Dream) that it's not the size that counts, but how you use it, and an abbreviated version can be just as powerful and potent, and even sometimes more so. These three tracks, which comprise my favourite sequence on this album, all feature Philip Semenov ? the first official drummer for Roz Vitalis (from 2008 to 2018). This is another nice aspect of this release, as it features appearances of Roz Vitalis members of the past, and one brand new (AndRey Stefinoff).

After the title track of 2015's Lavoro D'Amore comes a run of four tracks from 2018's The Hidden Man of the Heart, broken only by a performance of Se Camminiamo Nella Luce (released last year as a stand-alone single, and the only studio release from Roz Vitalis in 2021, but previously appearing on a 2017 live release). Perhaps surprisingly, one of those four is not Psalm 6 ? one of the most well-known and well-loved Roz Vitalis compositions. Not that it is missed, as the four numbers that are played are exceptional. The Hidden Man of the Heart is often lauded as the greatest studio album from Roz Vitalis. If I'm being as objective as possible, even if it's probably not my favourite Roz Vitalis studio album, I can understand why. So, I imagine will new listeners after hearing these four tracks. They are amazing! The penultimate track is of the same vintage as The Hidden Man of the Heart, and received its live debut in concerts promoting that album; and the album ends appropriately with the closing number from Lavoro D'Amore, Ending. If you are new to Roz Vitalis, I can foresee only two outcomes, after listening to this twentieth anniversary concert: either you'll now be a fan, and want (no, need!) to listen to everything else the band has released, or you'll be bewildered as to how anyone could enjoy this odd music. If you've actually read this far, I hope it's the former. Here's to 20 more years!

The individual tracks might be a bit difficult to tell apart, but it never felt as if the album's point was really to focus on the individual experience of any individual song, with them instead flowing altogether in harmony to craft a single, much longer experience that doubles down on the atmospheric qualities of their music, all of which makes a decent bit of sense given the fact that this is yet another live album from them. While there might not be a ton I am able to say about this album, if there's only one Roz Vitalis album that you end up listening to, make it this one, as it feels like the best realised version of their sound so far, and is such a gorgeous take on their music in general, especially this version of Daybreaking. A must listen for fans of densely layered, yet beautiful music, as this still manages to strike that lovely balance of being so delicate and gorgeous while also having a seemingly endless amount of depth to it once you begin to dig that bit deeper.

This 20th anniversary concert held on November 27, 2021 sounds not like somewhat explosive musical energies against Covid19 pandemic or related lockdowns but more of calm, relaxed, delightful pleasure for playing on stage or in person, at least for me. Their instrumental management on stage is really skillful and enthusiastic as well, but - not sure why - we cannot feel any tense atmosphere around them via this gig. They say in the press release that many compositions here were reworked on the base of new sound and new treatment, but that is not the only reason why we feel so. One of my favourite songs "Passing Over" carries mysterious texture, avantgarde vibes, plus smooth, soft, elegant movements, all of which ensure the audience that they are trying to open the tomorrow door for getting to another brilliant world. Regardless of such an obstructive circumstance all over the world, this lively live album mentions they play vivaciously with expecting fabulous future and life.

The concert could be filled with fantastic delight and certain satisfaction,