FROM.UZ

Just over a decade ago I discovered a band called From.uz who, perhaps unsurprisingly given their name, hail from Uzbekistan. They had just released an album called Quartus Artifactus, which I imagine is probably Latin for fourth artefact. Regardless, this was the fourth release from the band, and perhaps the best introduction to them I could have had as it gathered up tracks from the previous three albums and reimagined them. Certainly most of the tracks chosen for Quartus Artifactus I would probably agree to be their "greatest hits", and definitely they led me to investigate and inevitably purchase the band's three previous releases. Unfortunately, it appeared that, as I so often seem to manage to do, I discovered the band as they had already come to an end. Released in the same year as Quartus Artifactus was a single titled No More? and it did seem to be the case that there was no more? Until now! Somewhere between then and now, From.uz have lost the punctuation in their name, but their new album shows the band name in the familiar font, and now fashioned more simply as Fromuz. The new album - the first in a decade - is titled The Asymmetric Rules.

Fromuz have always been an eclectic band that have shown themselves willing to change things up for each new release, so I really was completely unsure what to expect from a new album, and even more so when it was so long since I had last heard anything from them. Their debut album was a live album where their sound might probably be best described as jazz-fusion - though more because it was as close as anything came to being the dominant style, rather than because it easily fitted that label. The following album, Overlook, would probably not be described as jazz fusion, but whatever it is, it is probably still my favourite release from Fromuz. However, The Asymmetric Rules definitely comes close to toppling it. This is a phenomenal come-back album, and quite possibly the best thing Fromuz have released yet. The first time I heard it, I was almost wrong-footed by the first song, which is surely the most conventional the band has ever sounded (for about two minutes) - but I really should have known better.

Like every album so far, Fromuz present for our entertainment an incredibly eclectic mix of styles, that seem to draw influences from all eras and genres. It is music without any firm sense of time, and that stops it from falling into the trap so many so-called retro prog bands encounter, where the music sounds dated, uninspired or unoriginal. The music of Fromuz draws from pop, rock, soul, funk, jazz, blues and classical. As well as feeling like music without any firm sense of time, it feels like it has no firm sense of place either, drawing inspiration and sounds from varying regions. All of this adds up to a combination that should sound like a complete mess (and quite possibly might for some listeners), but despite the stylistic leaps and jumps, never feels jarring or forced. I absolutely love the completely different directions Fromuz take in their compositions, often completely contrary to where I expect them to go. With Fromuz, I expect the unexpected, and to be delightfully surprised on my first listen to any release from them - but there was one aspect of this new album that was more surprising to me than any other.

While Fromuz began as an almost wholly instrumental band, No More suggested that vocals could play a stronger part in the band's composition, and The Asymmetric Rules shows this to be true. I definitely wasn't expecting there to be so many vocals on this album, and once I realised that was the case, I definitely wasn't expecting to enjoy them as much as I do. Generally speaking, when a (mostly) instrumental band introduces vocals, I find it detracts and distracts from what attracted me to the band in the first place. But the vocals on The Asymmetric Rules are great, and I actually can't imagine the album without them. Quite cleverly, the vocals also provide the asymmetry of the album, as the first lines of Round and Round are reflected in the final lines of No End. But rather than bookending the album with a nice sense of symmetry, there is still one final song to come. Wings of the Fast Lane is the longest track on the album, and has five distinct named passages, one of which is the title of the album. Of course, in what is surely a deliberate case of irony, Wings has greater compositional symmetry than the album it concludes.

Like previous Fromuz albums, the main tracks are all lengthy, but The Asymmetric Rules does have more shorter tracks than I am used to, or was expecting. The album is basically structured as five main pieces, and five shorter contextual pieces. The track listing shows this, too, as only the main tracks are numbered, and these are shown in larger type than the shorter tracks. This might lead some to think of them as filler, but I wouldn't be without them, and they are a huge improvement (to my mind) on the "similar" (but completely different) shorter tracks of Seventh Story. They also, depending on which songs you "attach" them to, provide either symmetry or asymmetry to the album. In my head, I think of Overture to No End as being one act or suite, with R-and-G Time being an interlude between that and the second act or suite, the epic Wings of the Fast Lane. But however you take it, this is an absolutely stellar return from Fromuz, and I sincerely hope it is not another ten years before I get to hear the next album.

[Post-script - it is only upon copying and pasting my TPA review here, that I see that I have missed a FromUz release from 2013, which I shall now have to seek out and listen to.]

Majestic "Overture", worthy of a film soundtrack, dantesque, ogling on the Bald Mountain; there is creative madness at the DREAM THEATER in there as on their piece of 'Six Degrees', eponymous piece in fact bringing "Round and Round" with the introduction of a vocal space, certainly rough, reminding me of that of Sylvain des KARCIUS. The break is twirling, technical, aggressive, jazzy-metal-prog! Long and dreamlike in line with Vitaly's tortured guitar of a dark KING CRIMSON; there is emotion, notes drawn upwards, the singular disharmonic voice can make you think of grunge metal, staggering until the grating end. "Air Dance, Part 1" for the 1st of three interludes and a crystalline guitar arpeggio launching "Universe" which lands on a voice-over from a station platform or airport in times of dictatorship; a violent riff, a jerky voice, we are far from the first drafts of the group, they have made their revolution by withdrawing ''De Fro and Muz''. A stronger variation at the start, a melodic rhythmic break in the middle eyeing the zappaesque follies. "Air Dance, Part 2" atmospheric arpeggio as an ear cleaner after this disconcerting violent title and "Darling" arises on brass in the background, martial air, taking; the rhythm reminds me of the work of 80's prog metal bands such as ALICE IN CHAINS before their progressive fusion was finally recognized; the 1st break on the rousing, dithyrambic hard, merging BOF of the 'Blues Brothers'. At 7 minutes the riff starts on a crescendo at 540 volts sustained.

"Air Dance, Part 3" and the 3rd in the same line, which dares to exceed the minute. "No End" crazy is this title, mixing, linking symphonic influences from the Balkans from the start, I'm thinking of WOBBLER, KARFAGEN and more muscular with a festive air that BLACKMORE'S NIGHT could have created itself, daring to let go to Once. The jazzy-bossa nova trend can recall AL DI MEOLA or SANTANA for a while, ZAPPA again; it evolves attention to 6 minutes it sweeps hard, you will understand on reading. Electronic premises also appear as an opening to one of the most beautiful guitar solos of this beginning of the year. One of the three singers or the three at the same time have modulated their voice to blend it into the notes, beware this title is very good! "R-and-G Time" continues with a country piano typed saloon bar which will go out of tune, detune briefly avant-garde and colorful; then comes the piece "Wings of the Fast Lane" in 5 parts with an aerial intro on melting guitar; well I say it loud and clear, ZAPPA fans should come here to take a look, the unclassifiable title where I find the air of inspector gadget! The sound becomes progressive bluesy with a typical slide guitar and one could imagine the first emotions of the ZZ TOP; this guitar becomes redundant; sudden break for the last quarter which leaves with a nervous riff on the FROMUZ sound now and a singular touch with final ambient electronics, just enough to confuse even more.

FROMUZ is back in force, interludes combining the titles together, a voice to change the sound signature, insane breaks, colorful atmospheres, an album that raises questions with a remarkable opening musically speaking denoting with the rest. I find there the madness of a MOTORPSYCHO mixing different styles in the good sense of the term, I find above all a clean sound with modern progressive tendencies and that at the beginning of the decade is something important enough to be reported.

FROM.UZ was formed in 2004 by Andrew Mara-Novik (bass), Vitaly Popeloff (guitars), Albert Khalmurzayev (keyboards) and Vladimir Badirov (drums) whose fascination with classic prog acts such as King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes, Jethro Tull as well as classic rock, jazz and classical music, helped them decide to form their own band where they began to play live and honed their chops. These guys were serious about their prog and in no time learned how to throw all their influences into a blender and create their own sound. Having gained enough confidence in the 2005 concert that took place in the Youth Theatre of Uzbekistan the band participated in several similar events and quickly caught the attention of the entire region.

By 2006 the band had already caught the attention of 10T Records who signed them up and instead of recording a studio album, the band decided to release its debut as a live concert at the same Youth Theatre. In February 2007 the album AUDIO DIPLOMACY was released as a combo pack that included a CD and an accompanying DVD. Both contain the exact same audio only one has visuals and one does not! The band got it right the first time around with a masterful display of prog chops and creative delivery and although this is a live recording, it's impossible to determine as such since there are no audience sounds and the production is extremely professionally recorded not to mention these guys really know how to craft extended proggy jams that are just bursting with tons of creative mojo flowing from every jittery time signature change. The members occasionally exhibit extraordinary virtuosity in soloing.

Despite the same tracks on both CD and DVD, the DVD is about 12 minutes longer. The CD itself clocks in around the 75 minute mark and although i usually dislike lengthy sprawling prog albums that rely on jamming and improv for its modus operendi, i have to say that i do not get bored with AUDIO DIPLOMACY because nothing and i mean nothing outstays its welcome. In general the tracks provide nice proggy hooks, you know the kind that offer distinct catchy hooks but then progified by adding an ever changing rotisserie of time signature shifts, tempo changes, variations in dynamics and reprises of key elements that keep things from drifting into the great musical void. This is by no means an easy listening experience as you must be able to latch on to the overarching framing of the album but it's also rather loosy-goosy in how things unfold. The music can totally rock out or drift into placid moments of progressive electronica.

The track "Intro" which is over six minutes long starts things off with a series of electronic antics and clever creative interpolations before the guitar oriented prog kicks off the main sounds of the album. Hovering somewhere between Pink Floyd inspired space rock and heavier King Crimson prog of the "Red" era, FROM.UZ also incorporates jazzy segments, funk bass grooves, wild and unhinged electronic outbursts that can be startling as well as elements of classical music moments. There are also moments such as in the middle of "From FROMUZ" where the band just get really weird and delves into extremely experimental motifs as well as pure jazz bop. This is a band i've heard about for years but never explored but upon experiencing this amazingly well performed live debut i am extremely impressed with the band's ability to play at this level in a live setting so the studio albums must be spectacular! Highly recommended for those who love highly complex prog that changes things up often without resorting to extreme genre shifts in the vein of Mr Bungle or Estradasphere.

On Seventh Story the band features two musicians who play on keyboards. The seven tracks can be divided into two sections. Three shorter ones that sound pretty atmospheric with acoustic guitar and vocals (like the opener Perfect Place and the final song Perfect Love) and wonderful classical orchestrations and Grand piano (like Bell Of The Earth). And four longer compositions that I would like to analyse piece by piece.

First the long Parallels (20 minutes) in which a lot of tension and dynamics (evoking a sound between Rush and King Crimson) featuring powerful electric guitar and spectacular synthesizer sounds.

Then the alternating Desert Circle (16 minutes): from soaring keyboards with howling guitar runs to a swinging rhythm with jazzy piano and acoustic guitar.

Next my highlight entitled Taken (18 minutes) with excellent work on keyboards (from tender piano to sensational synthesizer flights) and a heavy and blistering guitar solo, the climates shift from compelling bombastic to a tight rhythm with propulsive rock.

And finally the track Influence Of Time (close to 12 minutes) that again evokes Rush (to be more specific: YYZ) with strong shifting moods and great saxophone and wah-wah guitar.

I am delighted about my first musical encounter with Fromuz, an interesting band to discover, FROM UZbekistan.

FromUz is a band that have managed to intrigue me with all the material they have released to date, and "Sodom and Gomorrah" is no exception there. While the songs, or parts if you like, all are fairly short in length, there's still plenty of developments alongside minor and major shifts in intensity and expression to wrap your head around. The emphasis is symphonic progressive rock, flavored with careful dramatic and soundtrack oriented effects, with a select few Pink Floyd oriented passages perhaps underlining the slight emphasis on atmosphere on this production. And an album well worth lending your ear to if that sounds like a compelling blend.

With ''Overlook'' Fromuz move stylistically to another level, the one that includes only long, epic compositions with plenty of different movements.The album consists of five tracks with a length around 70 minutes, the shortest piece clocking at 11 minutes.Soundwise Fromuz haven't changed many things.Their music is a heavier edition of Progressive Fusion with orchestral and jazzy textures, quite complex, fascinating and technically efficient, featuring endless tempo changes, dense interplays and bombastic grooves.They borrow the improvisation of Jazz, the power of Heavy Rock and the virtuosity of Progressive Rock to offer an all instrumental amalgam full of changing climates and various soundscapes.Instrumentally the basic elements are Popeloff's jazzy solos and angular riffs, the highly technical rhythm section of Mara-Novik and Badirov and the modern keyboard lines of Albert Khalmurzayev with both flashy and more symphonic waves.The music is extremely tight with a nice balance between excessive soloing and structures themes, always dynamic and often furious.A few melodies and smoother passages breeze some fresh air among the complicated lines and the result is an often amazing and pretty solid work in the vein of LIQUID TENSION EXPERIMENT, DEREK SHERINIAN or 7 FOR 4.

Glad to see extremely technical musicians deliver nice, listenable material, because very often these kind of albums have let me down.''Overlook'' is not among them.It's solid and energetic Heavy Fusion with plenty of interesting ideas and impressive breaks.Strongly recommended...3.5 stars.

Favorite songs: the incredibly powerful, "The Blindness, Wife's Prayer" (5:07) (10/10); the awesomely mood-setting opener, "Intro" (3:12) (10/10); the gorgeous yet eerily tense, "Prologue (3:24) (9/10); the surprisingly electro-poppy (like ABC or The Blow Monkeys), "City" (2:06) (9/10); the AETHER-like, "Lot" (4:54) (9/10); the appropriately busy and theatric, "The Orgy" (4:17) (8/10); the mesmerizing trip-hoppy, "Black Feast II" (3:42) (8/10); the appropriately dramatic, "The Escape" (2:04) (8/10), and; the finale, "To The Flames" (3:41) (8/10).

This is a 4.5 star album that I'm rating up for the fact that it's melodies stay with me after I'm done listening and for the fact that it gets better with each listen. Bravo, UZ! Bravo, Al K! Another addition to the pantheon of great albums from 2013!

This is an all-instrumental extravaganza of the very highest order, there have been some very good ones lately (Carpe Nota, Progenesi, Edwin-Durant, The Inner Road, Mantric Muse etc') but these guys just smoke! Guitarist Vitaly Popeloff is masterful and inventive, showing considerable talent on both acoustic and electric instruments, liberally showering the arrangements with tight and bright solos with a huge palette of styles from Gilmourian flourish to more fusion/jazz-rock artists as well as some Satriani/Vai flurries. Bassist Andrey Mara-Novik bustles along forcefully, having a solid low end being ultra-important in an all- instrumental presentation. Drummer Badirov is well known and respected for fronting his own musical collective and he bashes with inspired determination and technical prowess, which this kind of music desperately requires. Albert is helped by second keyboardist Yevgeny Popelov, which gives the music such diverse colorations, a living breathing entity that is always compelling and thoroughly breathtaking, with searing melodies that I have been humming ever since'.

'Prologue' has eerie intonations, as if the devil himself was busy humming his anger in the next room, the bass, keys and guitars in metronomic unison, playing together in some Sinai sandstorm playground, stinging guitar and syncopated drums offer up some serious emotions. Totally brilliant! This exoticism is then morphed into an ultra-modern sheen on 'City', using current beat stylistics and a synthesizer melody that beckons the heavens, with a sensational guitar alliance. You swear you have heard this before, an eclectic mix of jazz, lounge, club and rock, all mixed together.

A Supertramp-ish harmonica introduces 'Lot',( according to the Bible, Abraham's nephew ) the connection quickly veering into Floydian territories with a Gilmourian flourish that will make David proud, easily as juicy as any PF piece, full of restrained gusto and evocative flair. The floating synth work combines perfectly with the strict rhythm. But it's the magical return of the original refrain heard on the opener that really stabs at the heart. This piece in particular has me mesmerized and constantly whirling in my brain. Before things get to comfortable, 'The Capture' kicks it into overdrive, a hard-rocking, bruising musical monolith that throbs fiercely, raspy guitars vying with searing leads (what a darn melody again) and torrents of keyboard adventure. The bass and drums veer into heavy jazz-rock territory, a raging quintet of insane musicians at their finest.

Forever challenging the listener to new horizons, the church organ gets to take a bow in 'Black Feast I', creating another distinct reference to ancient times but with a modern rock framework that is vibrant, fresh and totally exhilarating! Just enough to get ready for another highlight piece, the low-end propelled space rock anthem, appropriately named 'The Orgy', where the mood gets sensual and perverse as expressed by the lewd bass , the lascivious guitar screwing the horny keyboard onslaught hard and fast, just like she likes it! This piece should be x-rated, it's so suggestive and pernicious! Whew! Now before you get all puritan on me, the story of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha involves perversion and impenitent sin and their fall occurring with a proverbial manifestation of God's wrath. Nowhere is this best expressed by the sheer brutality of 'Folly Mob', where mechanical panting, an insistent synth alarm and an uncanny resemblance to classic Blue Oyster Cult meeting Magma- styled choir work , complete with a Buck Dharma like solo man the barricades! Blood on the rooftops, secured by a stellar Oriental synth segment straight out of the Mongol Invasions and then finished off by a crystalline acoustic guitar and harmonica lullaby! Absolutely irresistible!

'The Blindness' comes with thunderclaps amid the dense storm of unforeseen doom, huge bursts of synthesized squalls appear on the horizon, pushed along by electric guitar winds and tectonic drums. For whom the bells toll, the cowering voices appear as a sub- plot amid the lurid organ layers, more choir work. On the imperial 'Black Wedding' a thumping bass-synth announces a splendorous new melody, sounding much like a cimbalom (treated guitar and synth effects), the epic and the modern collide in total harmony, creating a surreal sensation of attending some dark union, malevolent and austere. Howling choirs appear to initiate another go through, the bass this time more insistent and the clanging melody heightened by the repetition. Third time magic and the now familiar melody is now firmly entrenched in one's mind!

'Black Feast II' is the return engagement of the previous part 1, another tic-tac metronome of kismet and anguish, deeply beautiful yet disquieting and scary. The rash, almost Frippian guitar rumbles forward with colleagues firmly in tow, a Larks Tongue in deep Aspic reminder, that segues into the menacing 'Procession', a highly interesting hodge-podge of sampled sonics , as if surfing a radio dial, with saxified insanity, some R'n B effects, Brufordian thumps and a section that is straight out of the classic Crimson King catalogue. This in turn segues into Elvis samples and more horror movie sonic scenarios in 'The Escape' where the main theme is repeated once again, a theme for the ages that will give you goosebumps. This chaotic arrangement leads straight into the final catastrophe, aptly titled 'To The Flames', whereby the sinning cities are destined to obliteration, desperately screaming souls all instantly incinerated! Judgement day had arrived!

The whole thing just sparkles from beginning to end, no weak moment, no turgid second to distract the listener. Just pure, unadulterated enjoyment, a perfect definition of what a progressive rock album should be! Easily the biggest unexpected surprise of 2013, a iconic piece of symphonic prog I intend to venerate for a very, very long time. At least until the next doomsday event arrives in our neighbourhood! In my current top 5 for 2013, easily!

5 Pillars of Salt

This fourth artifact from the Uzbekistan act Fromuz takes the band full circle to some extent, as this production is made with the same approach as most of their other releases are: a live recording supplemented with a DVD documenting the concert itself. One might even suspect them of doing the same as a band like the Canadian act Rush, who have used live albums to mark the end of each of their musical eras. Be that as it may be, for fans in particular the alternative, semi-acoustic arrangements used on this album will be the most important reason to purchase and explore this triple package. Most songs work fairly well explored in this context, and some are revitalized and arguably better than the original ones. Like the three albums previously released by this band, "Quartus Artifactus" is a high-quality release, and one easily recommended to existing fans and newcomers alike, the latter in particular if they would like to explore an eclectic, hard to define band, operating within a fusion/symphonic/folk framework on this occasion.