TRAUMPFAD

German band's Traumpfad' seeds were set sometime in mid-90's when drummer Andi Brandl, guitarist Marko Effenberger and bassist Jonny Faggetter came together and started regular rehearsals.They were joined by singer Anja Stadler and participated in contests, but Anja left them in 1998 to continue her music studies.It was the same year when the rest of the crew were joined by keyboardist Matthias Unterhuber.In 2003 Traumpfad recruited new vocalist Flo Huber and left the instrumental sound for good.The next year comes the private self-titled debut of the band.

To my ears Traumpfad sound a lot like a modern yet still refined version of the 70's Heavy Kraut Rock bands like BIRTH CONTROL, WIND or JANE with a very rich but also elaborate style.Singer Flo Huber sings in German, having a very expressive and theatrical voice.The music is characterized by the alternation between heavy groovy parts and more polished and delicate passages, where guitars, piano and organ play the dominant roles.There are some great psychedelic parts with hypnotic guitars and soft piano lines to be found as well, along with a few nice guitar solos/melodies , but Traumpfad will be mostly known for their energetic delivery on the Kraut-Rock tradition.The guitar riffs are mostly excellent, the keyboard and piano work is well-crafted but the album lacks the roughness of the 70's, having chosen a more sophisticated style, however the long tracks have plenty of instrumental madness to offer.A few short tracks towards the end of the album spoil a bit the band's overall image, some straight Rock, Blues and Funk elements tha appear here seem a bit out of the whole atmosphere.

Sophisticated, fresh and well-crafted Heavy Progressive Rock with strong Kraut references is what ''Traumpfad'' is all about and I bet most of prog listeners will not be dissapointed by this new German act.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.