DOT

Well, I ve already have a 5 star review for "Whos the Boss" under my sleeve and considering Karmakanic is one of my favourite and first prog bands I ve heard, I have the obligation to write something about their last and incredible "Dot". "God The Universe And Everything Else No One Really Cares About" is a total masterpiece song, would only give 5 star to the album because of that suite but I feel I need to talk about the full 50 minute experience. Saying that "Whos the boss" is more of a perfect album from start to finish, in comparison to "Dot" that falls a bit under that line. It starts perfect, nothing bad to say about the first half of the album. The album starts to decline a bit with "Steer by the stars", sort of ballad a bit unecessary in my opinion. I know there should be a ballad altough we talking bout prog albums; But I feel that "Higher Ground" kind of fulfill that space in this case. I would rather "Travelling Minds" making it to a 9 or 10 minute mark song. And finally, the second and slower paced part of the long suite to close the album, which I admit is really difficult to mantain the intensity of such bold and deep statement from beginning to end. Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars feels legit for "Dot".

This time, Jonas Reingold added plenty of musicians to help him make this album, a concept about the evolution of the universe. We are in the usual style of symphonic prog rock that doesn't shy away from the Jazz and the heavy prog which gives to the music both vintage and modern sound. It starts really in a big fashion with the epic "God The Universe and...." 24 minutes of pure symphonic prog going into different moods with crunchy guitars, delicate piano and that Jonas tasty fretless bass. The vocals are beautiful with a lot of vocalists contributing. "Higher ground" starts innocently but take a rather heavy twist in the middle to end peacefully with those vocals harmonies. "Steer By the Stars" is the most standard rock song of the album, nothing groundbreaking, a little breather nothing more. "Travelling Minds" starts with some piano and bass, a smooth intro that gets a little more intense for a short time in the Yes accessible style. The second part of God The Universe and..." brings back the more heavy stuff of the beginning of the album with that Flower Kings influence nothing surprising here. Not a perfect album, but enough good music to satisfy the Karmakanik fans. 4 stars

Review originally published in www.therocktologist.com

A nice album!

After six years, Karmakanic returned with a new album in which mastermind Jonas Reingold recruited several talented musicians who put their grain of sand in a six-track record whose sound has the evident symphonic flavor, but that also adds some heavy passages, space atmospheres and even jazzy nuances. The album features 6 tracks, 4 of them are short, one a bit long and the other quite long but amazing.

It starts with "Dot", which is just a one-minute introduction with some computer-spacey sounds that lead to "God The Universe And Everything Else No One Really Cares About Part. 1" which is a magnificent 24-minute epic that let us know how challenging Reingold and co. are regarding composition and performance. The song is wonderful, with different passages and changes in mood and tempo. In some moments it can be smooth, in others explosive and deep, with even some lyrics that are easy to remember and sing. The use of piano and keyboards is prominent, as you can imagine, it produces that symphonic prog sound that Karmakanic uses to share. The bass lines are as usual wonderful, guitars can be soft and delicate, wonderfully accompanied by a flute that appears here and there. The song flows, there are not forced passages, in fact, every minute sounds so pure and has different things to add, so it is a rich track with delicious acoustic guitars and even some nice female voices at half the song. The form it constantly morphs is exquisite, so the 24 minutes pass so fast no matter if you are listening to heavy or soft moments.

"Higher Ground" has a catchy start with nice vocals and a friendly soft sound that in moments becomes a bit heavier, but only for a brief moment because it returns to its soft form. Actually, it could be a nice kind of prog-ballad with those keyboards that produce its symphonic spirit. In the last part the song becomes much different, more experimental and with some heavy hints that make it better, in my opinion. "Steer by the Stars" has a true catchy sound that might take you to the rockin' 80's. The song is nice but to be honest seems to be weak in comparison to the rest of the album., but at the same time it could be a cool radio hit.

"Traveling Minds" starts again with a tender and soft sound that is being developed with the pass of the minutes. The nuances created by keyboards are great as well as the feeling of Goran Edman with his voice. The album finishes with "God The Universe And Everything Else No One Really Cares About Part. 2", which since the first seconds provides a feeling of nostalgia and goodbye. As I mentioned, it is a very nice album, but I must say that I felt it a bit uneven, I mean, the long epic is extraordinary but the rest of the tracks are just ok. But well, I am happy and eagerly aiming to see Karmakanic on stage next Progtoberfest at Chicago.

Symphonic Prog with a new Jazz Fusion twist, thats the kind of prog I like! Karmakanic, the Tomas and Roine project that continued with the remainder of the supergroup's member. So what does the latest addition of this incredible (now former) supergroup offer on this fifty minute album? One interlude, one Suppers Ready length epic, one 10 minute long piece and 3 five minute long tracks. This album shows some of both Nils Erikson and Lalle Larsson's best keyboard work, some incredible production, and some really well written tracks. Does this album have everything a modern symphonic prog album has to offer?

Dot, One minute of weird sounds, cool atmosphere, a quirky way to open an album. 5/5

God, the Universe and Everything Else No One Really Cares About: Part 1, The masterful epic found on DOT. Excellent vocal work, loads of solos, great transition pieces from slow, too fast work, too jazz fusion, and finally to symphonic prog to the likes of Foxtrot. With the additional personnel found on this album add more texture to all the songs in a positive way, including this very epic. So what do I think? Its packed with amazing songwriting, great sound structure, big production, and of course intense playing. I have absolutely no problem with this epic in the slightest, it is extremely well written, and with careful and excellent production. 20/20

Higher Ground, a very Spocks Beard-esc track with a symphonic test. Is this as good as the 24 minute epic leading off this track? No but its definitely worth listening to, just a fun 10 minute track with a Spocks Beard like twist with the, of course, symphonic progressive sound. 8/10

Steer by the Stars, another Beatles track with the symphonic twist, less prog but more psychedelia. A very good track, catchy and soft, well written yet again. 4.5/5

Traveling Minds, this tracks sounds like something that came right out of The Rainmaker by The Flower Kings. Still great but feels like this is song was just written without any new identity. 4/5

God, the Universe and Everything Else No One Really Cares About: Part 2, the second part of the great masterpiece of an epic, the second piece of the puzzle, this end of this wonderful album. I feel this song closes both the epic and album perfectly. 5/5

Total Grade: 46.5/50 Percentage: 93%

Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music.