CRYING OF THE WHALES

A few days ago in the Forum we were talking about non original bands and while some members included most of the Symphonic new bands, I insisted that this particularity happened only in a couple of bands that almost cloned bands from the golden era, well ABARAX falls in this behavior on some songs.

The similarity and influence of PINK FLOYD is undeniable, some tracks as the opener are practically cloning, but this doesn't take a bit of merit to The Crying of the Whales all their lack of originality is compensated by their excellent musicianship, intelligent and sensitive lyrics plus undeniable technical skills.

The album starts with The Crying of the Whales, if I didn't knew this album is played by ABARAX, I could swear David Gilmour is in the guitar, but the similarities don't stop there, even when the vocals are absolutely unique and the massive use of Mellotron reminds me more of GENESIS, the spirit of PINK FLOYD is present all around, even the drumming is absolutely reminiscent of Nick Mason.

But the important issue is that the music is excellent and I can't enjoy more this initial eleven minutes of good Progressive Rock.

Tears of the Whales is much more dramatic than the previous track, the sad piano and nostalgic vocals could take tears from the eyes of most listeners, very good song even when extremely nostalgic.

Salty Sting is a very strange song,.with distorted vocals, sound effects weird chorals and fantastic organ that goes in crescendo until it morphs into a soft piano section with bird chirping and sounds of waves, honestly too New Agey for my taste.

The Journey begins with a synth and piano very sad intro, seems that due to the tragedy of the concept they have the desire to depress us, but it's still a nice song, this time with a strong Vangelis (New Age era) influence, and as in his case, don't expect dramatic variations, except for an electronic passage at the end, better than the previous one

Journey's End starts with whales crying and a tense subtle melody provided by a Gilmouresque guitar and organ, after this intro the again sad vocals enter ad begging for help, the chorus work is very nice and the PINK FLOYD oriented drums add the final touch to a beautiful ballad. The track ends with a strong guitar solo that sounds like taken from Wish you Were Here.

The tragic Whale Massacre starts with a very depressive violin intro and a very descriptive narration, the Neo Classical oriented chorus and organ add more dramatics to the already sad atmosphere, atmosphere enhanced by another slow Gilmour oriented guitar solo. Yes, every person with feelings suffers with the massacre of the whales, but we buy an album to enjoy it, not to feel guilty, and this is what ABARAX seem to pretend. The finale with organ and guitar is spectacular.

Part of Evolution begins with a distorted almost metallic guitar solo while an organ adds a baroque mood and sound effects add a special touch. I must be honest, by this point I'm totally depressed, this guys have talent, but require to be more versatile, we are not guilty of anything to be tortured with this extremely sad and repetitive music.

Natures Voice at last presents us a healthy change, even when the general atmosphere doesn't change too much, the music is far more vibrant, even though it's an AORIsh track, at least marks a change.

Point of No Return is a radical improvement, strong and full of energy, a bit of healthy pomp and a nice melody in the background, you can help a cause without taking the listener to suicide or simply take away the CD and never play it again.

All these Walls is a good song that practically summarizes everything we listened through the album , sad passages, vibrant sections,. good guitar and organ solos plus depressive vocals and leads us gently to the end with The Crying of the Whales Pt 2, more or less in the similar vein as the album opener but with less evident PPINK FLOYD references, a good closer.

Now, the album is pretty good despite it's flaws, which are lack of originality in certain passages, tracks that are too repetitive and excessive does of depression, in my case I collaborate with many animal protection groups and I'm part of the anti bullfight group, but music is my relax, not a vehicle to make me feel guilty and depressed, a little bit of energy wouldn't harm the whale's cause, by the contrary, would help it gaining more adepts.

Three stars for a good but repetitive and not so original album, due to the fact that there's no 2.5 stars option, because I believe that would be closer to my impression of the music.