REQUIEM FOR A DREAM

We might as well say it straight away: KARNATAKA begins its new opus very strongly with the eleven and a half minutes of "All Around the World" (10/10), a sublime symphonic ballad which will captivate and knock you over from the first listen. Undoubtedly Ian JONES, who has the bad habit of changing his playing companions on each trip, has drawn the very right card with the new keyboardist Rob WILSHER, known to be the holder of the position at MULTI STORY and to be a talented session man in the studio as on stage (MAGNUM and Steve HARRIS BRITISH LION) but there is a revelation on this album'

KARNATAKA presents us with a new vocalist SERTARI of Cypriot origin (I had a little trouble at first) who had little to do with progressive music before joining the Welsh group, her service records are as long as a day with bread...and range from BLACK EYED PEAS to electro pop via LED ZEPPELIN!

Let's move on to "Sacrifice" (7/10) which is the piece that I like the least out of all the eighty minutes of this "Requiem", it is certainly not bad but not at the level of the rest of the work, perhaps too commercial? only the imaginative and haunting piano which supports the piece until its end brings something more here. "Look to the East" (8/10) seems to be dedicated to the war in UKRAINE which drags on without hope that the hostilities will stop anytime soon or to the Middle Eastern crisis which has lasted too long, the Arabist motifs throughout the title can justify this second option, the inventive guitar of Luke MACHIN lending itself perfectly, small criticism a title too sung (even if well sung).

We thought with the opening track that it would be difficult to reach the summits again, well the almost twelve minutes of "Forgiven" prove us the opposite, electrified by the singing of SERTARI and carried by a melodic framework worthy of the most intense moments of symphonic progressive, augmented by Gregorian chant! (10/10), let's add for good measure the six strings of the scratching machine which is absolutely lyrical... Everything is possible with KARNATAKA.

The sweet and calm "The Night's Dance" (8/10) brings us back down somewhat but remains at a level that many groups are not capable of reaching, the orchestrations of Ian JONES are impeccable here. In the ballad register comes "Say Goodbye Tomorrow" (9/10), as much pop as progressive but which can be listened to with disconcerting ease, a "candy", keyboards in abundance to die for, Luke again at the top of the poster, nirvana in terms of emotion. What can I say that hasn't already been said with the following piece "Don't Forget My Name" (9/10) in the same register as the previous one, the only criticism that we can make of these two pieces, they are sung a lot (but remarkably) What Else? Nothing!

We still have the peplum, with the title song "Requiem for a Dream" and its twenty-five minutes, you will find everything that Ian JONES is capable of in terms of compositions and arrangements, the ULTIMATE piece even if the term can seem exaggerated to you (11/10). The best part of this piece is obviously the "Uillean Pipes" of guest star Troy DONOCKLEY who leaves his mark on everything he touches, you just have to appreciate the Celtic side that the pipes give to this Requiem, another facet of KARNATAKA. To this, we must also add the incredible performance of Luke, the man who delivers six-string solos faster than his shadow and you will have covered the question in music. If perfection exists, it's here, let's leave the final words to SERTARI at 7:20 p.m. she whispers "Are You Dreaming ?"

Original review is on profilprog