BIONIKA

"Bionika" is the 8th full?length album by Disen Gage, whose "trademark" is the 2008 release "... The Reverse May Be True" - one of the best discs of Russian progressive rock in its entire history. However, it is not worth comparing "Bionics" with the aforementioned disc or any other Disen Gage release - for example, the magnificent penultimate "The Big Adventure" (2019). The Moscow formation, led by guitarist Konstantin Mochalov, tries not to repeat itself, their albums are surprisingly diverse, and it is almost impossible to fit the band's music into some stylistic framework. The reviewed release has a pronounced improvisational "essence", but at the same time it bears little resemblance to such "jam-oriented" albums of the ensemble as "Libertage" (2006) and "Snapshots" (2016) ? there is much more ambient, as well as electronica and noise. The track "Free Prize" is generally closest to two "non?rockish" Disen Gage albums - "Hybrid State" (2017) and "Nature" (2018). A significant part of "Bionika" is a rather monotonous, rhythmic, atmospheric, instrumental (minus spoken words) music that is able to fascinate with the atmosphere and attention to sound delights. Personally, I was pleased and surprised by the work on the organ part in the final "Clap Your Hands". Although "Bionics" hooked less than the aforementioned "... The Reverse May Be True" and "The Big Adventure", I believe that this release is a creative success of Disen Gage; it can be recommended to all fans of experimental improvisational forms of progressive rock at the junction of "guitar" and "electronica". And you can be happy for Mochalov and his colleagues that they continue to move forward, despite all the existing obstacles and restrictions.