SECRETS OF ANGELS

Karnataka has been around for more than a while. As with other bands orbiting around the Celtic folk-influenced mellow prog aesthetic, this band has been doing their work at a steady pace - releasing very pleasant, if not very pretentious albums once in 3-4 years, getting the response of their small but quite loyal fan base...

... until now, I hope. I have to admit, Secrets Of Angels is a smash. Being familiar with Karnataka's music yet still having other favourites in this scene, I expected an atmospheric, mellow album with discreet folksy nuances - what we get here is much, much more than that. Of course, we still get most of Karnataka trademarks, like excellent vocals and a nice atmosphere, but boy, what an energy!

Ever since Road To Cairo kicks in, songs bombard us either with sheer energy, or in their calmer moments, with very beautiful vocal melodies that catch your breath anyway. Music is all very colourful, never succumbing to the snooze factor which hangs upon many such releases. Besides the opener, Poison Ivy, Forbidden Dreams and Fairytale Lies seem the brilliant highlights of this very strong selection of songs. They all utilise the same weaponry of killer melodies, but when things work so well, there's no need to change.

And at last, we have the title epic - this in all honesty, is one of the best new music pieces I've heard in recent years. Here's everything Karnataka is about - Celtic intro, haunting harp sequences, achingly beautiful, versatile singing melodies, brilliant performance... And it all is connected by elaborate composition skill that goes from mood to mood, dynamic to dynamic.

To put it short, this is an exceptional, near-perfect release from Karnataka. Very accessible (could even be used as toe-dipper into prog for Celtic music crowd), but very refined, flowing with creativity. 4,5 stars from me, rounded up to 5 and I think we have a very strong contender for the-best-album-of-the-year throne.

Not quite the seven year gap between albums this time - just the five... as I noted on my last review for KARNATAKA. Though in their defence the group had all moved on (as they had done previously!) but this time the phoenix has risen faster - perhaps they have learnt from the experience...

This is a good album; a very good one if the previous one were not taken into account, which was (imho) a far superior album, this one is too 'samey' and hasn't really progressed, as a result a sense of d'j' vu pervades.

Ian Jones and Enrico Pinna have managed to maintain the status quo and the shrewd addition of Hayley Griffiths cements this, as she has a very similar style to her predecessor, Lisa Fury. We even have the uilleann pipes making a return.

Whilst this all might sound overly negative, I do feel that after THE GATHERING LIGHT this group would struggle to surpass this epic. And I stand by this; but any group having gone through the transition that KARNATAKA has been through would inevitably struggle, but here they have done something that is close to being miraculous - the sound, the direction and the feel is identical - in fact was it really a lapse of five years?

I just hope this reincarnation remains stable and can make the natural progression to their next release...

However, like the predecessor, I will play this a number of times and hopefully it will grow on me.

Karnataka released a rather momentous album in 2010, the stunning 'The Gathering Light' that garnered rave critical and fan plaudits, and after a rather long hiatus (5 years) that saw them slightly alter once again their line-up with the departure of the sassy lead singer Lisa Fury, drummer Ian Harris and keyboardist Gonzalo Carrera, they are back with a fine effort indeed. New lead vocalist (and quite ravishing lady) Hayley Griffiths, French drummer Jimmy Pallagrosi and Turkish keyboard master Cagri Tozluoglu add to the tradition of sensational voice, booming percussion and sweeping ivories, keeping the Ian Jones-led Karnataka ship in fine form. Guitarist Enrico Pinna is also back to provide some blistering leads and never disappoints. Again, they opt for another extended epic (as with the preceding album title track 'The Gathering Light', which clocked in at 14 minutes+), the whopping 20 minute opus 'Secrets of Angels' seeks to stamp the proceedings with unmistakable prog-rock credentials.

Vivid pieces like the cinematographic opener 'Road to Cairo' set the mood from the get-go, introducing unpretentious, highly melodic nuggets that have all the elements to please, solid drums pushing and egging all the others forward, the melodies that infect you the very first time you perceive them, a bit like being smitten by love at first hearing, light yet resonatingly profound. From that moment on, each track seems to flow into the next, like riveting chapters in a racy romantic novel, further intoxicating the listener into a miraculous emotion- drenched fantasyland. After returning from Egypt, a delicate piano and orchestral drama on the emotionally heavier 'Because of You', slashed by a monster axe solo awaits the longing listener. A gorgeous love song. Contrast that with the slick 'Poison Ivy', a raging and tempestuous lullaby, led by a choked Griffiths vocal and diseased love lyrics. The swirling symphonics and choir elevate this to a palpitating level, tossing in a venomous verse, just to remind all of us that humans can veer from sweet to bitter in a nano-second. Both the insistent and persistent 'Forbidden Dreams' and its companion, the stormy 'Borderline' offer up instantaneous airs that do not meander in molasses-like slosh, quite the opposite really as the bombastic melodies, mammoth choruses and penetrating verses resonate with power and emphasis.

'Fairytale Lies' is a stunning little jewel, served by a classic melody, sung by a siren-like a voice that would make you feel 'reborn from the ashes' and underpinned by a Pinna solo (hihihi, as Kati would say!), a soulful Griffiths vocal that sears the skies. On a delicious track like 'Feels Like Home', the ingenuity of simplicity comes shining through, a soulful, honest internal reflection on the myriad little mosaic tiles that form our daily routine. The massive title track is deliberately kept at the end, a majestic and grandiose finale that leaves a huge impression of contentment. Brilliantly constructed with recurring Celtic themes (under the leadership of Troy Donockley) , seasoned with delicate pipes, whistles, harps and strings, and garnished with colossal orchestrations, titanic choral effects and opera-like vocals from Hayley , owner of a spectral voice that will raise the hair on your back. It's all there, folks, a heady mixture of expert playing, buzzing bass in tow, tectonic drum blasts, shimmering guitar phrasings and overpowering keyboard colorations that will leave one breathless and content. This is easily one of the finest epic pieces that one will enjoy in 2015.

As with the entire Karnataka catalog, this is not technical wizardry or complex multi-suited symphonies that many demanding progressive fans are constantly searching for but a delightful prog-folk that serves as a meticulous stargate into the prog world for the uninitiated. Accessible yet superbly orchestrated, the feminine style is ideal to woo the gentler sex, propelled by the sultry and passionate lead vocals and founded on compact melodies that will adhere to your soul forever. If you enjoy bands like Panic Room, Mostly Autumn, Harvest and a slew of similar female vocal fronted bands, Karnataka is definitely a pioneering band in this style. Team players they remain firmly, there is never a feeling of overt show-off tendencies that may be offensive, as every note is a slave to the spellbinding melody. Every song is a highlight, a lithesome pearl shining in the emerald waters of sound, gliding over well-beaten rocks like a vivid stream searching for some outlet to the faraway sea. Their best effort yet.

5 Clandestine cherubs

I hadn't bought a Karnataka album since 2003's Delicate Flame of Desire. It's Celtic infused prog folk was pleasant enough but left me a little underwhelmed. However on a recent Classic Rock magazine freebie Cd my attention was caught by the powerful Road To Cairo with its middle-eastern vibe, strong melodies and latest singer Hayley Griffiths crystal clear expressive tones.

Secrets Of Angels turns out to be a pretty good album but Road To Cairo is its best song. I'd question whether much of this music can be classed as prog, symphonic pop would seem a better description for the most part and there's certainly not much trace of the folk elements anymore. It's not complex music but all very slick and well played with a lush production. When I listen to Secrets Of Angels I could imagine a lot of this music sitting comfortably in a west end musical or in the soundtrack to a Walt Disney film like Frozen or Beauty And The Beast. Partly down to Hayley Griffiths classically trained background no doubt but sometimes the music gets a bit too sweet and twee for my tastes, especially the sugary ballad Fairytale Lies.

I did say Secrets Of Angels is a pretty good album though and it certainly does have its moments. Apart from the previously mentioned opener Road To Cairo, Poison Ivy and Borderline hit with a bit more punch. We're not talking metal here of course but the guitars do cut through the symphonic wall of sound a bit more. The album closes on a high with the 20 minute title track, which is a bit more along the lines of my pre-conceived expectations. It shifts from a Celtic flavoured opening into more bombastic orchestral flavoured parts and has plenty of dynamics with more instrumental interplay than the rest of the album put together, but still giving attention to some strong vocal melodies. At last I'm hearing some prog!

Overall then Secrets Of Angels is a pleasant listen with some strong melodies but unlikely to appeal to those who prefer their prog on the more adventurous side. A few more songs like Road To Cairo could have really raised the level considerably. As it stands a worthy 3 stars.

Formed back in the mid-Nineties, UK band Karnataka originally earned attention with their second album `The Storm', fronted by Rachel Jones who would later sing for The Reasoning. Not as complex as other female-fronted prog-related groups such as White Willow, as overtly `retro-prog' as Magenta sometimes were, nor as gutsy as Mostly Autumn could be, Karnataka always had a more streamlined, straightforward yet classy pop/rock/ballad sound with light progressive qualities. The group are now on their third singer and a reworked line-up, and although the exquisite Hayley Griffiths has been performing live with the group for a few years now (initially brought in to replace singer Lisa Fury from their fourth album `The Gathering Light' who jumped ship pretty much by the time that album was just released!), this is her official studio debut for the band. It's great to report that `Secrets of Angels' is their best work yet that should see the status of the band raise even higher on the strong results they deliver here.

While the previous CD started to liven things up a little, in comparison `Secret of Angels' is bold, confident and delivered with great power and conviction, and although still very much song based, Karnataka's music sounds more sophisticated than ever before. Symphonic synths and dramatic orchestration is plastered over much of the album that even brings hints of gothic touches, more muscular guitars never resort to lazy metal riffing, big soaring choruses are memorable without being obviously commercial, and Hayley's vocals thankfully stay on the right side of musical-theatre without ever becoming cringe- worthy.

`Road to Cairo' is a punchy opener with middle-eastern tinged orchestration, and `Because of You' is the sort of goth-lite hard rocker with a massive chorus that would have made Evanescence a fortune at the peak of their popularity, and it's just as likely to appeal to younger female listeners as well. `Poison Ivy' is breathless and bombastic, the tip-toing melancholic piano verses of `Forbidden Dreams' are lifted by a gutsy chorus, and the more up-tempo `Borderline' stomps with purpose. Two more ballads then pop up - `Fairytale Lies' is highlighted by Hayley's sumptuous multi-layered harmonies and delicate harp throughout, while the deeply romantic `Feels Like Home' should be destined to soundtrack weddings around the world, as well as appealing to devoted couples. Awwww, dat's love, baby!

But the band finally truly stretch their prog legs with the seven-part twenty-minute epic title-track, and after a run of verse- chorus structured pieces, the extra running time allows more longer instrumental sections and less straight-forward passages. It reintroduces some of the light Celtic touches from their earlier albums, and it's unsurprising to find Troy Donockley contributing Uilleann pipes and whistles. There's a strong folk element throughout the piece with powerful symphonic roars, ghostly and ethereal siren calls over harp and plaintive acoustic guitar, cinematic orchestration swells and heroic guitar solos rising in victory. Best of all, some moments not only have a haunting Loreena Mckennitt-like old-world storytelling quality, but some surprising Fish-era Marillion-style Neo Prog glistening synth diversions as well! `Secrets of Angels' is far and away the most enchanting, complex and lavish work from the band yet, a truly defining piece for the group, and they would be wise to attempt even more of these kind of grandiose journeys on further discs!

Despite the album having consistently strong material, the band should definitely play the `prog card' a little more. Many of the earlier songs push the five-six minute mark, yet those are crammed full of vocals the majority of the time, when a few extra choice keyboard/guitar solo breaks would break up the pieces a bit more. But Karnataka have delivered a superb album with plenty of crossover appeal, big melodies and great playing in `Secrets of Angels', and their fans should be more excited than ever at the promising future of the current incarnation of this talented group.

Four stars.

Review Nº 675

Karnataka is a Welsh progressive rock band formed in 1997 by Ian Jones, Jonathan Edwards and Rachel Jones. The project was augmented by Paul Davies and Gavin Griffiths. The name Karnataka was chosen from a suggestion by Ian. Karnataka is the name of an Indian province in which Ian stayed for some time in the mid of the 90's. Karnataka is strongly supported by the Classic Rock Society and released a total of 5 studio albums, till now, "Karnataka" in 1998, "The Storm" in 2000, "Delicate Flame Of Desire" in 2003, "The Gathering Light" in 2010 and "Secrets of Angels" in 2015.

It's always a pleasure to discover a band out of sheer curiosity and to find them exceeding all my expectations. Karnataka is one of those bands that I hope we'll be hearing always more about. Actually, Karnataka is one of those bands that despite has been some momentous line up changes throughout the band's history, Karnataka have always managed to keep an amazing uniformity and quality into their music. None of their albums are in reality weak works.

So, "Secrets Of Angels" is the fifth studio album of Karnataka that was released in 2015. The line up on "Secrets Of Angels" is Hayley Griffiths (lead vocals), Carloenrico Pinna (vocals, lead, rhythm and acoustic guitars), Çagri Tozluoglu (keyboards and programming), Ian Jones (vocals, bass, bass pedals, keyboards and programming) and Jimmy Pallagrosi (drums and percussion). "Secrets Of Angels" had also the participation of Troy Donockley (Uillean pipes and low whistle), Seána Davey (harp), Rachel Van Der Tang (cello), Clive Howard (viola) and Lynn Cook (violin).

"Secrets Of Angels" has eight tracks that runs for an hour and is comprised of seven average lengthy tracks and one 20 minute opus. With musical themes that harkens to its title, "Road To Cairo" picks up right where "The Gathering Light" left off stylistically, with a slight shift only to adjust to Hayley's vocal style. With a wicked time signature backed by an Arabic scale, the band begins a great musical journey. "Because Of You" opens as if it will be a gothic ballad with a lush piano intro, but soon delivers to a symphonic cacophony of bliss with huge power chords and a great vocal performance from the new vocalist Hayley Griffiths, making her first appearance. This is probably the most radio friendly track on the album. "Poison Ivy" is a song of pain and agony. Haley's voice gets really aggressive here. It's sung with conviction with the band in the background as a perfect complement. It has a typical sound with low symphonic keys and all the moves except for low riffing guitars. It has also an elaborate orchestration. "Forbidden Dreams" is a sprightly rocker with a hugely memorable chorus that it certainly will become as one of the sing along favourite for fans. It opens up with a haunting piano line and soon becomes enhanced with cymbals and light percussive elements. This is one of the most emotional tracks on the album both instrumentally and lyrically. "Borderline" is one of the darkest and heaviest tracks on the album that begins with a heavy dark and brooding intro before going to a straight away progressive hard rock composition. The solo lead vocal work is complemented by lush harmonies in the choruses. The great performances of guitar and keyboards further extend the song. "Fairytale Lies" begins with a vocal interlude that develops with rich instrumental arrangements, vast guitar excursions and lush harmonies. This is a glorious concoction with tumbling keys and a striking string arrangement, topped off by great lyrics and an astonishing vocal work. This is a master class track in mood and atmosphere. "Feels Like Home" is a pretty and touching ballad. The way that it develops is compelling. As the song goes on, more and more layers are added to the music and vocals. Beautiful vocal backing tracks overdubbed the song ending in a cascade of harmony vocals. This is possibly one of the best ballads the band has ever created. "Secrets Of Angels" with over 20 minutes long, closes the album as a return to Karnataka's folk roots with pipes, acoustic guitar, gentle singing and a Celtic feel. It returns to the band's sound on "The Storm". The sound develops into a robust arrangement drawing on the previous themes on the album. This epic is a great number that works perfectly well with the contributions of Troy Donockley of whistle, Uilleann pipe and the lovely Celtic harp. In reality, Karnataka have shown to be masters of longer pieces before.

Conclusion: "Secrets Of Angels" is a melodic and beautifully crafted symphonic album with a striking production and an excellent sound quality. It clearly demonstrates the significant development of the Karnataka's sound. "Secrets Of Angels" is a triumphant work of Karnataka. Wonderfully melodic and hugely dramatic without being in any way corny, varied in feel yet somehow effortlessly cohesive, beautifully recorded and mixed, and very sympathetically mastered. It's probably the best sounding album of the band. The material is very strong and managed to both tread new ground and sound like "classic" Karnataka at the same time, which isn't a simple thing to do. I think that "Secrets Of Angels" is a must have for all fans of the melodic and symphonic prog rock. So, I only can easily recommend "Secrets Of Angels".

Prog is my Ferrari. Jem Godfrey (Frost*)