OTROCI BOGOV

SFILTROM is one of the few modern progressive groups from Slovenia and "Otroci bogov" is their debut album. Their style is modern symphonic rock sometimes bordering on neo- prog. Don't expect any cheap MARILLION cloning - SFILTROM sound unique. The melancholic mood reminds me only of LANDBERK sometimes. I'm going to describe some standout tracks."Caroben vecer" is an atmospheric piece with spacey synth of Marko Klemencic and nice vocal melody sung by Breda Bozic. Jaka Jarc delivers some tasty melodic bass soloing here. I also like the drumming of Robert Rebolj ranging from tribal 7/8 to more laid-back rhythms. Prominent is also interesting electric guitar-playing of Bostjan Narat especially in the song's intro. Every musician is an essential part of the band's sound. "In memoriam" is another good song. "V znamenju zmaja" is a strange Eastern tinged piece. The guitarist shines in this song. The drumming is also great here. There are a lot of strange mood and rhythm changes. Near the end one can hear also a funny vocal intermezzo. "Kratke sanje v rdecem" is a short classically influenced piece with baroque feel and instrumentation. It serves as the intro to next track "Bajkalsko jezero". This is an energetic song written by the keyboardist. "Barve" is a chanson with walking bass, piano and jazzy guitar. "Opus 1 and 2" is a two part piece letting the musicians to stretch out. Only short vocal parts here. "Gozdovi" has a memorable vocal melody. This song also had a very sucessful video. Last track "Otroci bogov" has a strong tribal ritual feel similar to Amon Düül but with modern sound. Especially the ending sounds psychedelic. A very diverse album to say the least. Recommended together with their even better eponymous second album!