WEIRD TALES

Epignosis' description of this album as avant-symphonic is actually a rather good one. For sure, it strays far from the normal bounds of Symphonic Prog, and from rock in general, with acoustic guitar being the only instrument here that could be considered a rock instrument.

The two words I would pick to describe this album, however, are "hauntingly beautiful". The compositions are all instrumental with the occasional wordless vocals which play the role of just another instrument. They have dark undertones, but they are counteracted by the delicacy and fragility of the music.

Woodwinds are definitely the dominant instrument on this album, which gives it a truly unique texture in the field of Symphonic prog, which is often dominated by keyboards and guitars - so be prepared for something a little bit different. Here the music is measured (not a lot of fast sections), dynamic (it never gets loud in the way rock does, but through clever uses of instruments and contrast it can sound very loud at some points), and atmospheric.

I've listened to a couple other Karda Estra albums, and so far this is my favorite by them, mostly because the darker tones to the music give it a bit more characteristic than the other ones I have heard.