WORDLESS

INFRONT have sound of their own.They're talented and professional.Their music is emotional and filled with melodies.They play somewhere in between math-metal, post- rock, art-rock and fusion. Elements of EACH genre I named can be found in EVERY track of them. It all sounds very natural - I can hardly imagine them sitting on rehearsal with words like "OK, what odd signature we'll throw into this one?" Among their favourite bands some unpredictable names like WISHBONE ASH, IRON MAIDEN (duo guitars!) and QUEEN can be found - while musically they're closer to TOOL, INDUKTI (but less metallic), MOGWAI, EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY (but more focused) and some other bands that move Progressive Rock nowadays. I must admit INFRONT must take honorable place among them - this is an exceptional and even unique stuff you'll definetely enjoy. Highlights are "From where the Wind blows" with AWESOME duo- guitar break, "Autumn Velvet" in almost ANEKDOTEN's vein and 12-minute long closing "Chinese Butterfly" - an oriental piece indeed, ranging from Post-Rocky meandering to amazing mellow ballad-like tune. Extremely recommended and can be easily purchased - check their site for details.

This a Russian four piece band with additional guest musicians on keyboards, flute, trumpet and trombone. Last week I had the pleasure to meet the drummer and guest keyboard player when they were in Amsterdam too because of a short holiday. I was pleased with the very passionate way the drummer 'KS ' told about his appreciation for Bill Bruford.

Well, listening to Infront their debut CD I am not surprised that he mentioned Bill Bruford because KS his drumming has obvious hints: powerful, inventive and frequent use of the hi-hats. Infront their sound is often dynamic and propulsive featuring a fluent rhythm-section and great duo-guitar work, from mellow twanging chords (888 and RUNNN) and sensitive runs (Chinese Butterfly) to fiery soli (like biting wah-wah pedal in 888) and heavy riffs (RUNNN). The way Infront slows down the music at some moments creates a lot of tension with the in general fiery and violent sound, I love their dynamics! The three guest musicians deliver a tasteful contribution like the trumpet/trombone in Autumn Velvet (a kind of mellow 'salsa-King Crimson') and sparkling flute in the alternating, quite dreamy epic composition Chinese Butterfly. This Russian band doesn't make very accessible prog, in my opinion their sound has echoes from other King Crimson inspired band like Shylock (second album Ile De Fièvre) from France, Chilean formation Eksimio and Swedish top band Anekdoten (without Mellotron) because of the fiery guitar, the propulsive rhythm-section and the violent climates. Infront their music is focussed on awesome interplay and creating dynamic atmospheres.

If you are up to adventurous prog and you don't have a problem with the minimal contribution of keyboards, this is a band to discover, thanks for your recommendation Prog-jester!

Back in 2006 I never thought there were any Russian prog-bands, let alone top-class bands playing top- notch progressive rock from post-Soviet area. But in late 2007, eventually, I found out there is a certain band from Russia called Infront. Later on I got their highly acclaimed debut album directly from the band and really appreciated it. I found the album itself quite enjoyable. Just imagine an island where there is nothing else, but birds flying and singing, flowers blooming here and there, and where you are alone lying at the seaside and simply enjoying the sounds of water and cool evening breeze. These are exactly the very emotions when I am listening to the album. But let us throw all these sentiments and lyricism off and bring back to music.

Prog is such a versatile genre! I have always been thinking why it is absolutely easy to get into some stuff right away, but it’s difficult to drive into the other one even after countless spins. Well, it is, as a matter of fact, a rhetorical question. But Infront definitely have to do with the first so-called group. Wordless was accepted at once. The album is full of complex/proggy stuff, but this stuff is also very accessible and comprehensible.

Invisibly Join starts off the journey. Its intro reminds me of those of Riverside’s The Same River (from Out Of Myself album) – just like someone’s trying to tune in and we can hear some radiowaves. I really like the song’s first section, which reminds me of King Crimson a bit, where there is a kind of “solid conversation” between two guitars. At 3:25 there is an enjoyable turn with gentle guitar sounds, which then turns to quite a post-rock thing with typical guitar “scratching”. Some guitar sounds put an end to the track. All in all, a nice opener. Corridor begins with uncanny and mysterious sounds, at 1:00 we can hear guitars starting off the whole melody line. The song is very relaxed with quiet atmosphere, similar to Pink Floyd’s stuff, and at 3:11 my favourite moment appears; the whole song can be compared with Djam Karet’s experiments. From Where The Wind Blows is a bit different song by its structure and, in evidence, by mood. I can feel some jolly notes here. I’d like to particularly mention bass work during the whole track – it’s incredible!!! Song’s final is very cool. Then 888 follows. A weird title – an intricate song. One can notice some avant-garde or Crimson- influenced melodies, but as for me, this track is very similar to the current Djam Karet’s stuff again. I don’t know if the guys are keen on DK’s music, but they pretend to stew in the same juice together with these USA fellows. This is not a rip off indeed, just their music very much alike. Autumn Velvet is even darker than the previous song. The title speaks for itself – rainfall during intro, some awesome arrangements (including trumpets or something) throughout the song… Well, the atmosphere of the song is very autumnal; I can’t help smiling sadly while playing Autumn Velvet back. RUNNN is a great instrumental by all means. Till 1:30 it is a mellow part, being presented by some mysterious guitar sounds, part two is a pure rocker. It resembles heavier and more complex prog- experiments of Gordian Knot or something like that. Drums are just stunning here! kS, good for you ;-) Well, intro of Mensura Zoili reminds me of some RHCP typical funky “bass+drums” intros! :) Very neat! Then the whole thing is supplemented by a heavy guitar riff. At 0:45 there is a damned cool section: slap bass, funky flavour, psychedelic guitar part. There are some heavy riffs in the middle of the song, which are quite pleasant as well, and crazy drums draw the line at the end of it. Then we bump into the last track on the album – Chinese Butterfly. Intro, which consists of different sounds, is quite lengthy (about 3 minutes). But the rest of the song is uncommon and impressive. I can feel some oriental flavour/touch during the whole song. The flutes are amazing here, I recalled Jethro Tull at once. Very art-rockish. Just imagine a few Chinese playing Genesis and The Tangent simultaneously! The track is a brilliant album closer.

In conclusion I’d like to say that I really enjoyed the album immensely and regard these fellow- townsmen as a true young progheads, who keep up some nice experiments in the branches of prog- rock, post-rock and fusion. Their music is comparable to that of present day’s prog-leaders abroad, such as The Mars Volta, Ritual, RPWL (and many many others) and instrumental bands like Gordian Knot, Djam Karet, Russian Circles, Ozric Tentacles and Hydria Spacefolk. Well done, guys. Five stars. Highly recommended!

A pretty good debut album from this Russian outfit; and one pretty hard to categorize too.

Guitars are in the front, back and center on this production, that's an obvious place to start. At times highly complex and quirky guitar themes are played out constantly, from mellow passages exploring a single guitar motif to metal-tinged segments with drawn out hard chords; staccato, aggressive and distorted riff patterns, and quite a few variations in between those two extremes. Quite often we're served dual guitar layers - at times it even sounds like triple ones; harmonic or semi-harmonic motifs explored just as often as more dissonant affairs. There's extensive soloing going on too; but a characteristic trait of this band is that they keep those facets of the compositions atmospheric. Fast melodic guitar solo licks, drawn out notes or distorted screeching bursts; they're all firmply placed within the atmospheric realm with hardly any shredding in sight.

It's an adventurous creation this one, comparable to Robert Fripp's work in approach albeit not in sound or style - experimental, searching progressive rock incorporating many aspects from the world of hard rock and some from metal too boot. A good release that should appeal to quite a few instrumental prog aficionados.

"Wordless" is an ingenius title for an all-instrumental album isn't it. These four Russians have come up with a real gem here with their twin lead guitars, bass and drums. We have Oleg adding effects, keyboards and flute along with two other guests playing trumpet and trombone on one track. By the way I understand Oleg is now the fifth member of the band which I think was a great move.

We get a beat after a minute on "Invisibly Join" as relaxed guitar joins in then a full sound. Nice.This really sounds fantastic. Some brief angular guitar before 3 1/2 minutes then it settles before kicking back in after 4 minutes with a Post-Rock flavour.Too much ! "Corridor" opens with atmosphere as guitar, bass and drums come in around a minute. A full sound follows.This sounds incredible. More aggressive guitar after 4 minutes. "From Where The Wind Blows" features intricate sounds and the bass is prominant.The tempo picks up and check out the drumming. Only the wind is blowing after 6 1/2 minutes to end it. Cool.

"888" opens with guitar then it turns fuller quickly with guitar out front. "Autumn Velvet" is kind of jazzy with those guest horns. Guitar leads after 1 1/2 minutes then the horns return to lead before 4 minutes to end it. "Runnn" opens with some atmosphere then it kicks in hard at 1 1/2 minutes. Some great bass here. "Mensura Zoili" has a good heavy sound to it. Some angular guitar around 4 minutes. "Chinese Butterfly" opens with atmosphere galore. Bass before 3 minutes then the drums and intricate guitar join in. An Oriental flavour here. Electric guitar takes the lead around 5 minutes. Flute comes in when it settles. Back to the Oriental vibe 8 1/2 minutes in. Atmoshere like the intro is back 10 minutes in.

I like this album a lot, these guys play as a band and offer up some interesting pieces.