THE WEIRDING

Beforehand of my review I would like to say that I love 70's music with its vintage sound, using of various analog synthesizers, Mellotron, Hammond organ, flutes, saxes, tube amps, analog effects, etc. From this time I especially like King Crimson, as well as the early Pink Floyd, and the lesser known bands like e.g. Spring, Fruupp or Gracious.

Why this long introduction? Precisely because these substances contain the music of current American band Astra. On their debut album "The Weirding" they took it thoroughly: instead of only inspiration by the giants of Prog Rock, they've used straightly a whole passages of known songs, only slightly changed. (And for that I am somewhat squeamish.) The result sounds at first listen quite acceptable, but at the second and umpteenth listening is beginning to creep a nagging feeling of déja-vu, which eventually grows into a feeling of bitterness.

So: opening track "The Rising Of The Black Sun" directly uses a modified riff from the song "Cirkus" by King Crimson, even including a similar instrumentation. Singing verses, on the other hand, strikingly reminiscent of Echoes by Pink Floyd. And as if that were not enough, this classic motif of Floyd's masterpiece is contained in the final track, "Beyond To Slight The Maze".

In contrast, the instrumental track with a quasi-mythical name "Ouroboros" reminds me the name itself of the album: it's just truly weirding! Around the fifth minute you wait, what begins to happen; around seventh minute the main ostinato begins bored, in the tenth will begin to boil your blood, and who listen to it last until the end, he can congratulate himself.

What can I say yet? That way probably doesn't lead the way. Let's just hope that their new album is diametrically better.

So far, only 2 stars, unfortunately.