FLIGHT 09

— First review of this album —

On Saturday 24th July 2021, Igor Savitch died from COVID, only a week after being admitted to the hospital feeling only slightly ill. For 35 years Igor led his band Flight 09 through tours at home and abroad, starting out when Uzbekistan was still a part of the Soviet Union back in 1986. They built a reputation as being the top progressive rock band in the country, and I had been fortunate enough to hear four of their albums prior to their latest and must confess I always thought of them as a solid outfit as opposed to inspirational. However, on 2018's 'Drift', Savitch had relinquished lead vocals on a few songs to Tatyana Serikbeyeva, which had been a major change given he was the songwriter and Flight 09 had always been his band. It went some way to mitigating a major weakness of Flight 09, and I did wonder at the time what it would mean for future recordings.

2020's '10515' answers that cleanly, as although I cannot confirm it is still Tatanya as I do not have a physical copy of this release to hand, we now have a female lead singer performing in clear unaccented English. She has an edge to her vocals, which are just what is needed for the solid underlying neo-prog, although the band at times move into more straightforward rock, making this quite a varied album indeed. Musically the band has also taken a huge leap forward, definitely not what one would expect from a band who had been going for more than 30 years at this point. Previously there were times when it felt a little disjointed and amateurish it much be said, but by having a powerful frontwoman allowed Savitch to up his songwriting and create a much stronger platform for her to pit against. There is still the impression of a band who needed to make a step change into the next level, but at the same time there is no doubt this is easily the best album I have heard from them.

They have produced an album which is enjoyable, with songs such as "Candle In The Dark" being a wonderful rock ballad. Flight 09 used to be intriguing as they were the only band I knew from Uzbekistan, but with this album they have created something which is worth seeking out for more than just a novelty value. With the main songwriter and guitarist having sadly passed away, I would not be surprised if this is the final album from Flight 09, but if that is the case then they leave us with something which is both strong and really enjoyable.

Uzbekistan band FLIGHT 09 have a history that goes back to 1986, and are veterans of their local music scene. Six of their albums have been made available to a western audience. The most recent of these is called "Drifft", and was initially released in 2016 through Uzbekistan label Iosis.

As with the previous album by Flight 09, I experience the band as off 2016 to be something of a hit and miss band, where the strongest assets are the guitar and keyboard combinations as well as the keyboards in general, with some songs being of a high quality and others not managing to impress on a consistent basis. This most recent album is also a step up in the production department, so while I do not find this latest one to be any better as a whole, the details that are improved should make this album one with a stronger potential reach as far as the buying audience is concerned. If a band that combine melodic rock with neo-progressive rock tendencies appeals to you, it may be worth lending this album an ear at some point, especially if you are a dedicated fan of this specific combination of genres.

Uzbekistan band FLIGHT 09 have been a going concern since 1986, and are among the real veterans of the Uzbek rock music scene. To my knowledge they have released 6 albums so far, although they may have more albums that hasn't been made available in western hemispheres as well. "The Age of Innocence" dates back to 2014, and was released through Uzbekistan label Iosis.

How much of an audience this band will have outside of Uzbekistan based on their music alone I cannot tell. That they orient their material towards melodic rock should give them a broader general reach, but if the material on this album is strong enough to make a strong impression is something I'm really unsure about. There are some fine moments and striking details to enjoy though, and this album merits a check by the curious for those reasons.

Although this particular CD was released in 2018, I believe the album itself was probably released earlier, as all songs are copyright 2013, and given there is also another new release by Flight 09 on the same label with songs copyright 2016 I think it is likely they are both reissues. But it is hard to find information on this band, who hail from Tashkent in Uzbekistan, and have now been operating in one form or another for more than 30 years. I have previously reviewed their two albums prior to this one, 'Human Nature' and 'Signs of the Water', both of which had the band as a trio as did the two albums prior to that, so there has been some significant change as the band has expanded to a quintet. Founders Igor Savich (guitars, vocals, keyboards, bass) and Constantine Savich (bass) are of course still there, but there is a new drummer in Shamil Nadjaf-Zade, as well as keyboard player Sergey Shapovalov and an additional singer in Tatyana Serikbeyeva. However, while Tatyana does take lead vocals at times, such as on the upbeat "Every Night", for the most part she doesn't seem to be very involved at all.

Although the lyrics are in English, it is obvious that Igor isn't a native speaker, which does give it a certain feeling. In addition, the production feels really quite basic, and there are times when some of the sounds are quite jarring and jagged as opposed to smooth and harmonious. This is particularly true on "Under A Black Sun", where the snare drum is way too high in the mix and threatens to take over the song, which annoyingly fades out as opposed to ends, who does that anymore? Musically this is neo prog for the most part, although there are times when it does become rock with progressive overtones. It is a solid album, as opposed to indispensable, but it is interesting to see the group expand the line-up which must make it much easier for them to gig, as previously Igor had to provide keyboards and guitar at the same time. The album feels as if it came out in the Nineties, and on cassette as opposed to CD, and is very much for fans of that era.

'Drifft' has also just been released by Iosis, but the copyright on all these songs are marked as being from 2016, so is obviously a newer recording than 'The Age of Innocence', which had a copyright of 2013. The line-up has stayed the same between the two albums, and as soon as it is put on the player one is surprised as opening number "One Step From You" features Tatyana Serikbeyeva on lead vocals, as opposed to Igor Savich. Given that Flight 09 have always been his band, this is quite a statement in itself. Working through the album there is no doubt that she has been involved a great deal more, with lead vocals on other songs plus a lot more in the way of harmonies. Musically this album is even deeper into the neo prog area than the previous one, but what lets it down this time is a seeming lack of pace. There are some strong songs on here, but they just feel too slow, and the urge is there to grab the drummer and shake some more speed into him. Not lots, but it feels like the band are dragging or dawdling as opposed to taking matters firmly under their own control.

Flight 09 are rightly seen as one of the leaders of the progressive scene in their native Uzbekistan, but unless there are some changes in their approach, I can't see them making much of an impact outside their own country. Of the two recent releases (I still don't know if they are re-issues of already available albums), this is the stronger with lots of solid riffing combining with strident keyboard lines, but given this is their sixth album possibly we should be expecting more by now?

Hailing from Uzbekistan, FLIGHT 09 has been around in one form or another for almost 30 years, formed all the way back in 1986. Over the years they have released a good number of albums too, although the greater majority of them aren't that well known from what I can tell. "Signs of the Water" is Flight 09's tenth full length production, unless I've read their history wrong, and was released through the Russian label MALS Records in 2014.

As much as I'd like to throw praise at Flight 09's latest CD, this isn't a case where that is possible. Their material alternates between compelling blends of neo progressive rock and hard rock on one hand, with an emphasis on the latter, and a nice enough take on progressive metal on the other. The songs are good, but not great however, and with a fairly weak production and what I'll have to describe as heavily accented vocals, the detrimental aspects of this album does outweigh the positive ones rather extensively. There is an audience for this album just as most others of course, I'd suggest fans of sophisticated hard rock to be the core audience for this production, where individual tastes in production quality and perceptions on accented vocals will decide whether or not "Signs of the Water" will be regarded as an enjoyable production.

Back in 2005 this trio were being heralded as the top progressive band in Uzbekistan with three albums under their belts, but for some reason it has taken them nine years to come back with their next one. There has been a slight line-up change in that they have a new drummer in Vlad Nemtinov, but Igor Savich (guitars, vocals, keyboards) and Constantine Savich (bass) are still there. Musically they following a similar path to before, with solid neo-prog with keyboards not as much to the fore as in many prog acts. But, they are definitely more than just a rock band with keyboards as they follow quite a technical path. I notice that they are down as "prog-related" on PA, but I could see them fitting better in "Heavy Prog" or "Neo", but does the label really matter?

This is solid as opposed to exciting, although there are some instances (such as the bridge on "November Snow") when they show real class. The overall feeling is that while this won't set the world alight, at least they are back in the game and it will be interesting to see if they follow this up with another quite quickly or if there will be another waiting game. www.mals.ru

Flight 09 started as long ago as 1983 and are the oldest and possibly best known progressive band in Uzbekistan. Their first two international releases, "Rifflection" and "Forbidden Lullabies" were released through the American Neurosis label and this is their third, on the Russian Mals label. This is very solid neo-prog, with all lyrics in English, with the sound of the band very much built around the guitar and singing of Igor Savitch (who also plays keyboards within the three man line-up, which may explain why they are a smaller part of the overall band). This is punchy music, but the band are also prepared to slow it down and play acoustically to create a more sombre and relaxed mood when they want to. The result is an album that contains a lot of depth and variety with "One Night Without You" being a wonderful IQ style belter. If this was a British band I am sure that we would be hearing a great deal more about them, and are well worth discovering. For more details on this and other interesting releases visit www.mals.ru (which is available in English).

Originally appeared in Feedback #88, June 2006