ENINE

This one is very easy to review and can be summarized as "a fine example of a Camel-esque job". If you're in a hurry and that's enough to decide if it's worth listening, just feel free to skip the rest of the review.

Besides that, I'd add that the entire album is instrumental, and the camel references would be closer to Moonmadness and Snowgoose. The worst track is 'Waiting for...'. The best one is the 16min 'Nosferatu', with some "monstruous" vocalizations, changes of rythyms, and alternation between passionate and gloomy moods. Flute is very inspired, and it's evident that all members contributed for the composition.

If it wasn't for this track my score would be 3.3 stars. But instead of that, I give them a 3.7.

Currently we all empathically experience that. The Ghost Of Nature is apparent, is getting in touch with us, also seeking revenge in one way or another. ENINE's new album 'Spiritus Natura' comes as a hybrid of Psychedelic and Art Rock. A splendid prog workout, compositions and flow are outstanding. And, while they are hailing from the spacious Russian Federation, this is also deeply rooted in native ethno fields. That means garnered with some Shamanic throat singing for example, and other offbeat goodies (for me at least). This altogether delivers a rather unique atmosphere. Vladimir Mikhaylov (guitars) and Ilya Frolov (keyboards) are pulling the strings, when it comes to this band, for what I can see. The current line up is consisting of an eight-piece unit though, where you can determine a conspicious focus on diverse percussion instruments furthermore.

Also some illustrious guest musicians are involved, examplarily to note Vespero's Alexander Kuzovlev, or the many-sided Ivan Rozmainsky, as well as avantgarde jazz rock guitarist Ángel Ontalva, who is always feeling comfortable when having the possibility to collaborate with psychedelic space rock oriented bands. Just following the short intro, Kanda (Power Of Being) comes as a compositional highlight for sure. Proper groove, very nice guitar appearance, some solos inclusively, symphonic organ respectively spacey keyboards. Then gliding into Enine (Shaman's Dream) we are entering the album's centerpiece. What a superb mood! Some Pink Floyd reminiscences are to discover on Ayvel (The Curse of the Water Spirit) later on. But then again Vladimir Nikonov also introduces his Jew's Harp.

Including remarkable throat singing Between Two Worlds (Light And Shadow) turns out to be another album highlight. And the Lost Seabird starts off with melancholic mourning, but eventually turns into a happier and hopeful mood, accompanied by exceptional ethereal female singing. 'Spiritus Natura' certainly is a thing in its own right. Released on the Chilenian Mylodon Records label this is a very good album, a proper step forward from an artistical point of view. The only weak point, too bad, occasionally I wished the drum kit contributions were provided with more inspiration. A minor issue however, hence, after all, this still is an excellent addition to your well sorted prog music collection.

Today the "trademark release" of Enine is the debut studio full-length album "The Great Silent", released in 2018 by the Moscow label ArtBeat Music. But about two and a half years have passed since the release of this beautiful disc! During this time, the collective has released several singles that "marked" the movement of the ensemble towards world music. Now the musicians began to call their style "shaman prog", and this is no coincidence. "Moonmadness" is a "special case". This single released early this Autumn. The style is different from the "path" that the band has followed in recent years. Perhaps that is why, according to the press release, this single will not be included in the ensemble's upcoming second studio full-length album. In "Moonmadness" world music elements are almost absent, and the space rock/symphonic prog guitar and keyboard interplays dominate. Musical events in the composition change many times, an ending is unexpected, and the feeling of anxiety and mystery remains all the time. Bass, keys (mainly with organ sounding), or electric guitar come to the fore from time to time. Listening to "Moonmadness" is like making a trip to the secret branches of the Cosmos, either in your own soul, or somewhere else. After multiple "listens" this track grows on me. I can add that the composition is almost perfectly recorded and mixed. The single reveals new facets of the talents of Enine's musicians. Highly recommended!

"Live in Saint Petersburg" is the first official release of Enine, lasting about 35 minutes and recorded last October at the Sound Museum (ex-ESG-21). There are six compositions on the album, which are prog-rock accompaniment to silent movie fragments. The music is almost completely instrumental, except for the throat singing of Vladimir Kosygin in one of the compositions, in "Nosferatu part 1". Personally, I liked the first track "Workers" the most. Stylistically, what Enine does is reminiscent of Camel, Genesis and Pink Floyd, although in the latest release of the album, "Waiting," the musicians deliberately quote "Child in Time" by Deep Purple and "La Villa Strangiato" by Rush; however, they do it delicately and appropriately. The use of the throat singing mentioned above, as well as the jew's harp with which "Nosferatu part 3" begins, and the tambourine, give the music an ethnic "flair". It turns out a unique mixture of Neoprog and World Music. However, it is better not to think about stylistic definitions, but to listen to the beauty and power of music.

The title of this release - "The Great Silent" - is due to the fact that the music on the disc is a kind of soundtrack to the cult silent movie films - "Nosferatu", "Frankenstein" and "Metropolis". Despite the fact that these films are considered "horror films," Enine's compositions can hardly be called gloomy or depressing. I feel the creativity of Camel of the classical period, the influence of Pink Floyd, Genesis and neoprog bands like Marillion. As a result, stylistically, this release is a mixture of symphoprog and neoprog. The album impresses with its detailed elaboration of almost every musical phrase, beautiful melodies, thoughtful arrangements, breathtaking compositional development, and a dreamy mood. It's hard to single out the best track, thanks to the exceptional integrity of this opus, but I would still risk it, calling "Workers" as the "highlight". This composition "captivates" to a large extent due to the extremely beautiful solo on the church organ a la Keith Emerson or Rick Wakeman in its middle, followed by an equally beautiful guitar part in the spirit of David Gilmour or Steve Rothery. However, everything else in this thing is also fine, for example, "conversations" of a flute with a guitar and keys. Well, and lovers of epics are unlikely to miss 16-minute work "Nosferatu (The Great Vampire)". 9/10