JOURNEY OF THE SHAMAN

A professional debut from this Turkish outfit including Pink Floyd and Eloy reminiscences. Which means 'Journey Of The Shaman' is provided with dominant psychedelic respectively spacey elements as well as some sidesteps to other styles like symphonic for example. So here we have a concept album consisting of three epics telling the story about a Shaman living in Central Asia. Not really from the experimental side of life ... anyhow, I really like the album's consistent atmosphere now after having several listening sessions. The songs bear a blend of relaxed and uptempo moments which are comprising many repetitive patterns, however entertaining nevertheless. They are even offering some trance feeling with a slight eastern touch here and there - all in all the result of elaborated arrangements in opposite to endless noodling.

Part 1 basically starts Eloy oriented in a more relaxed manner, Mert Göçay's guitar though is often (not always) heavier edged, dominant in any case due to some overdubs handling diverse variations. He also cares for the vocals which are more of a recitative here. Decent synths coupled with acoustic guitar are reminding of Pink Floyd in between, although this sounds rather unique all in all. The reason is the variety in tempo and ambience while listening to the different four sections, also including funky rhythms, samples, spacey synths and celestial church organ to name a few gimmicks.

Heavy riffing guitars and minimoog excursions open Part 2 but it soon changes to a melancholic touch due to acoustic guitar and fretless bass. A catchy melody dominates the middle part ... and then it might be section three, named 'Fight With The Evil Spirits', which sounds Camel influenced in some way, where they once again turn to some exciting uptempo rocking minutes. 'A Journey To Innerself', the emotional first section of Part 3, offers a nice trancy start which then evolves to a groovy behaviour step by step including sparkling e-piano, additionally decorated with Göçay's riffs and excellent organ input. The longest track and an exemplar where I imagine some jamming basics too.

'Journey Of The Shaman' is a well-thought-out progressive psych album ... a speciality concerning the conceptual approach I'm quite sure when you consider the common Turkish conditions .... inspired by the golden 70s prog era but also made of a modern approach ... the multi-varied guitar contributions and the tricky drum work are striking first and foremost ... I recommend to listen carefully! Solid three and a half stars for this affair.