TOWARDS THE MYSTERIUM

This eclectic sounding instrumental album merging classical, jazz and metal influences is the first release by The Fractured Dimension trio. Jimmy Pitts (piano & keyboards), Jerry Twyford (5,6 strong bass) and Alex Arellano (drums & percussion) created here an album that is a homage to composer Alexander Scriabin and named after his uncompleted final creation Mysterium (hence the name of this album). 17 rather short tracks make up this album, travelling from keyboards fronted tunes to guitar based tracks, ranging from jazzy interludes and metallic parts in a sound that brings to mind a chamber music setting all with progressive and intricate composing and playing. Some tracks seem more amorphic and abstract, frameless even, where an improvisation like spirit dwells. Others have a more solid anchor, and move forward with high energy. The album also boasts a certain atmosphere, which sounds a bit sterile and cold.

While the album presents good and entertaining ideas, playing and tunes, I feel it lacks a center that leads it onwards, a focus and coherence in the compositions themselves. While the abstract quality, the impressionist characteristics here are well done and do serve the music well, I feel it would have served to give them more orientation and "purpose" to help move the music forward. Even tracks like Fibonacci's Notebook or The Mathematics Of Divinity which has an appealing rhythm and groove and is dynamic and compelling seems to wander too much at times, "unsure" how to develop and could have been further expanded. Other shorter tracks (Strangeness for instance), which sound like ideas performed on spot, or maybe improvisations, are nice tunes and help to create a special mood but don't contribute too much in other terms to the album.

Despite all that, it is an album worth listening to, as it is not a bad album; it is just not as good as it could have been. And it could have been better as the ingredients are all here (musicianship, musical ideas and compositional skill), they just need to "cook" them differently, while preserving the basis and taking them further.