KARFAGEN / SUNCHILD / HOGGWASH: A MESSAGE OF PEACE TOUR

A Message of Peace Tour is the first live content from Antony Kalugin since The Breaking Free Tour from 2016. As with that previous live album, this is an exceptional live album that has an outstanding atmosphere conducive to what a live album should be. One element you can count on from Antony is his procurement of talented musicians. Joining him this time is Kostiantyn Shepelenko on drums, Vladyslav Karbovskyi on bass guitar, Mariya Panasenko on vocals along with Olga Rostovska and the impressive Anton Barsukov on guitar. The track list contains songs from all three of Antony's projects being Hoggwash, Sunchild and Karfagen. Most are from Sunchild which makes sense as they are more song orientated. One thing that does stand out is the tracks from Hoggwash which was created by Antony and Will Mackie. These two tracks are the longest on the album. Only two songs are repeated from the previous live album, 'Rain Drops' and 'Visionary Sights'. I have no issue with this as both are crowd pleasing songs. Speaking of crowd pleasing, 'Shall We Run?' has to join that chorus, proving that Antony's song writing can be as good in a commercial sense as he can compose complex prog music. A song that instantly grabs your attention and does not let go. I need to mention Mariya's singing here. There is such a wide range of music and it appears she handles it with ease. I would describe her as 'Delicate Power'. Her softness is eloquent and her strength is palpable. My favourite tracks are 'Grail and Time' and 'Father' both which come from the album 'Messages From Afar: The Division and Illusion of Time'. 'Grail and Time' being a majestic song and a showcase for Antony's passionate voice supported superbly by Mariya and Olga. 'Father' being Antony's celebration of his father and a wonderful sentiment to fatherhood. I do have one regret of this album: with the amount of new music Antony has recorded since the previous live album, this easily could have been a double album. As a prolific creator, how did he choose the songs he did for this concert? There is a lot to choose from, a true challenge alone. This is an exquisite and effervescent concert captured beautifully that also highlights the tragedy occurring in Ukraine right now. How can such terror be thrust upon people that have an extensive artistic flair as this is beyond me. Continue the Message of Peace.

Ukraine's Antony Kalugin has been extremely productive recently, especially under the moniker Karfagen. I find it rather worksome -- and frankly a bit frustrating too -- to try and keep track of all the new releases that are connected to earlier studio albums, and how exactly are they relating in content to those original works. But let's put that problem aside now, here we have a fantastic live album of a concert held in the Netherlands in September 2022, as part of "A Message of Peace Tour". Considering Kalugin's overwhelming release phase of the last few years, it's all for the better that this set consists of the earlier material by Hoggwash, Sunchild and Karfagen. The keyboard-playing composer Kalugin -- and his soft, tender voice -- is joined on vocals by Mariya Panasenko and Olha Rostovska. By the way, sonically they together often make me think of Roger Waters gigs featuring female backing vocalists, think of songs such as 'Each Small Candle'.

The first and the eighth track originate from the Hoggwash debut The Last Horizon (2007). Sunchild material gets the biggest share, with well chosen songs from e.g. The Invisible Line (2009), As Far As the Eye Can See (2011), Isolation (2012) and Synesthesia (2015).In general, Karfagen (and of course Kalugin's solo albums) are structurally more oriented to Symphonic Prog, compared to the suitably pop sensible Crossover Prog of Sunchild, and therefor the emphasis on Sunchild works brilliantly in this set. The excellently performed and recorded concert has plenty of emotional depth and great melodies. One really feels the atmosphere. If anything critical must be said, the overall performance is perhaps too clean, safe and polished for those listeners who wish live albums to sound more radically different from studio material, apart from applauses in between the pieces.

I'm not going through the 12-piece set in detail. There's not a single track I wouldn't enjoy. 'Father' is a shorter version of a piece from the Sunchild album Message from Afar: The Division and Illusion of Time (2018). The final song 'A Day Without Rain' originating from the Karfagen album Aleatorica (2013) resonates wonderfully with these times saddened by the ongoing war. Hope is always the thing we need to get by, and that idea comes through movingly in this song.

As the previous reviewer here said, there would be great AKP (Antony Kalugin Project) material to fill TWO full- length CD's for a live release -- although it naturally also depends on how lengthy the individual concerts have been and how much their sets have varied. Anyway, with over 77 minutes this set already equals a double LP, and it's surely enough to give a totally satisfying listening experiece. The beautiful design makes me round my 4½ stars upwards. Love and peace!