Диапауза / DIAPAUSE

7 Ocean is a band from the former Soviet republic of Belarus. Forming in 1989, they released four albums before breaking up after the death of one of the founding members in 1994. Some years later they reformed, and released the first album with the new line-up in 2008. Since then they have released two more albums on download only, and have now returned with their latest 'Diapause', which can be downloaded from their site and has also now been released on physical CD by Mals. All the music and lyrics are provided by Alexander Eletsky (keyboards, vocals), who has been the driving force behind the band since their inception some 25 years ago. All lyrics are in Russian, but that just adds to the very Eastern European feel that this album has.

It is symphonic, but there are some elements and stylings that show where this music has originated from, especially with some of the traditional folk that is obviously a major influence. If someone had asked me to pick a country of origin without knowing, I would have guessed Poland, and as they share a boundary with Belarus I don't think I could have been accused of being too far away. One quite unusual part of this album is that there are a lot of keyboard sounds utilized that I would have associated far more with the eighties than the present day, and there are times when pop seems to be making it's way into the prog. There are many dreamy sections, and the result is something that in many ways is quite atmospheric and pleasant, while also being somewhat dated. Some of these songs could be used as background music in films, but I don't really view that as a positive in their case.

Belarussian band 7 OCEAN started out back in 1989, and in the next few years they recorded four albums worth of material until the band went into hiatus following the death of drummer Igor Mihasev. In 2004 the band was revived again however, and since then they have recorded another four full length albums, of which two are available as digital downloads from the band's website only, and two have been officially released. "Diapause" is the most recent of these, initially made available as a free digital download in 2013 and then subsequently released in physical format by the Russian label MALS Records.

Accessible, melodic progressive rock with plenty of keyboard textures and a distinct emphasis on melodies and harmonies is what 7 Ocean provides on their latest album "Diapause". The conceptual story explored is one that a Russian speaking audience will have to make up their minds about, but if that detail doesn't concern you overly much and you tend to enjoy classic symphonic progressive rock that has at least half a foot well placed inside a 70's context, this is a CD that should be worthwhile to spend some time with.