IAKO BEI

Yes, again there are no guitars, just because there is no room for them in an outfit where the songs have been written using a vibrant and melodic bass. Such is its importance to the overall sound that there are times when bass, keyboards and saxophone are all playing the same melody so there is quite a hole in the music until one gets to the drums. This provides Iako Bei with a very distinct sound, and they take this to its limits in opener "Vortex Fragoris" where they throw all their influences into a 25-minute long classic where there is even a section of multi-tracks vocals where everyone involved appears to have somewhat lost their mind. There is no doubt that Roman has a very powerful vision of what he wants to achieve with his music and while it can be argued that their influences are as diverse as Seventies space prog, 80's pop/art rock, 90's alternative rock through to 2010's prog metal there is no doubt in my mind that System of a Down have had an important part to play, even though in reality they sound nothing like them at all.

Somehow this complex yet highly accessible, with lots of space within the music and the feeling that all the notes are there for a reason as opposed to just caressing egos, and oen can get inside this the first time it is played although it definitely rewards have proper attention to it and being played on headphones. Roman described their music as "a challenging but enjoyable sonic cocktail for either open-minded people tired of gazillion copy and paste artists or simply those who have heard way too much music in their lives and are looking for something fresh and exciting," and that is a great way of looking at it. I certainly hope we do not have to wait five years for the next one.

As I alluded to, the bass is incredibly important here, and although it is normally played without too many effects, there are times when we get a fretless and some effects. The bass is the centre of the arrangements, much more than just holding down a bottom end, although there are times when it does just that, as it is obviously where the songs start their life. Roman also has a nice vocal range, moving seamlessly into falsetto, and there are times when he is somewhat reminiscent of Serj Tankian. From the core the rest of the band find their place, with Tibor (who is now a member of famous Slovakian outfit Sexit - interestingly their singer and bassist Stefan Hundza was at the release of their second album) keeping it together with some nice fills but never over playing. Stevie moves between piano and keyboards, sometimes taking on more of a lead role but often letting Nikola ride over the top, showing yet again that a saxophone very much has a role in progressive rock.

Listening to the album I found myself thinking of a quote from Joe Elliot after the return of Rick Allen, who said people would firstly stare at Rick thinking how strange it was to have a one-armed drummer and soon forget that as he was such a great player. That is somewhat the same here, as one starts listening to this album realising there is no guitar and wondering why they would make that decision, before soon getting to the realisation that the reason there is no guitar is there is no place for it whatsoever, and it is not missed. Without that sound, the arrangements also have a great deal of space, and with Roman singing in English the result is a highly accessible and totally enjoyable release which seems to have passed many of us by.