Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation - the official Krobak appreciation thread

In the beginning he had a Split

I am lucky to know Igor (Sidorenko) and to have received a copy of his first release, the split with Krikston, Structura Tortura. Igor was kind enough to offer this split to me and in return I promised to write a review of it.

Reminiscing of the atmosphere found in GYBE’s albums (as well as in others like Mono and Larua) the music travels from the quiet, low-profile and serene to higher planes of the guitar climaxes.

The (very) slow build up in Amnesia is well done; it’s not devoid of melody, meaning it is not just a structural approach of letting the guitar and percussions create a slowly developing rhythm and pattern. The melody starts in this part, creating the core already there (it is not always the case, like I hear in other post-rock bands). The string (synth) backup gives a nice soothing touch to the tune (reminds me of a soundtrack a-la Clint Mansell). However I feel there could have been more delivered in this track; more development, introducing another musical idea or theme, add a contrasting instrument or sound to the synth and guitar or have them play together. Of the three tracks, this is my favourite one.

The Diary Of The Missed one starts with an interesting effect of a guitar followed by two over layers of guitars, with again a GYBEian or even EITSian sound. It’s sounds like a short jam and at first I wasn’t sure where this will lead. And indeed it changes style/sound (but keeps the main idea and atmosphere. Nicely done and keeps the flow. However, here it comes to what I hear as a more derivative sound in the climax. This is where I think Igor will need to change, bring other ideas, creative and more original to create his own sound. That is, if he intends on separating himself from the “herd”. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not bad at all. In fact it’s pretty good and I enjoy listening to it; but in order to establish a musical identity (if one is indeed wanted), then going on one’s own musical journey and experimentation is required to achieve that goal. Around the 8 minute in the track comes a part which illustrates some of what I mean; the introduction of the piano and other sounds on the synth and the effects on the background is a good start to get there. The quick change a minute and a half later is a technique he could also use more to attain that objective. However, in general I think this particular track is lacking a connecting thread (unless such proposition was not intended to begin with); I like the way it jumps from idea to idea, but at times it feels like a bunch of ideas, was condensed into one track. And these different ingredients don’t necessarily go with each other hand in hand (though mostly they do, but at times it feels like one idea had simply run its course and another unrelated one was brought in to replace it).

The Fried Bull’s Waltz has a promising abstract intro made up of a loud raw guitar riffing away in intervals. The sudden adding of percussion is done well. The effects with the guitar are a good addition and create a slightly eerie atmosphere, somewhat spacey in nature but this is counteracted by the rawness of the guitar (which sounds slightly skewed). This long episode/intro is a promising one, I find and can be the basis for many different interpretations and build ups. However it lingers too long and remains undeveloped. I think he missed a good opportunity here to do many interesting things with this basic pattern. Playing with effects to give a psychedelic trip is a good idea, but I just feel this could have been done otherwise, or rather been developed in various directions. However I do like the eerie (even creepy) and psychedelic mood he develops with the guitar and its effects.

This music deserves a full lineup of musicians performing it; it will sound sublime. However, kudos for Igor for pulling it off himself and making it sound this good.

Based on this release, I think Igor will do great in his future musical career.

Structura Tortura

2007