KARFAGEN

Usually I wait to receive the physical copy before I write a review however this time I couldn't wait. I prefer to absorb the experience in my hands as well as my ears. Omni is the latest album by Karfagen not long after the solo effort of Antony Kalugin's 'Constellations'. As Antony mentions the meaning of Omni is "all" or "universal". He has "all' in this release hence a fitting title this is.

The album opens up with 'Overture', a thematic instrumental combining the rich keyboards of Antony, the fluid touch of Max Velychko on guitar and the class of Daniel Ilyin on electric violin. This leads straight into the next song 'Storyteller (Part 1)'.

'Storyteller is unashamedly inspired by the Canterbury scene and what better guest musician to have than Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Camel, Hatfield & The North) on bass guitar and vocals. The words of the song clearly is seen from the point of view of the audience eager to be lost in the worlds and words created by the Storyteller. Other talented guests include John Hackett on flute and Michel St. Pere (Mystery) on guitar all adding to the wonderment of the story.

'Whispers From the Past' begins straight away with Antony singing immediately followed by Gregorian type backing vocals. This is subsequently added with subtle strains of the violin. This is a meditative track between 'The Storyteller' and the next song in line 'The Spark'.

'The Spark' is an upbeat song sung by guest vocalist Per Malmberg from the Swedish prog band Salva. This tune has an AOR bent, a solid and rich song very much in the melodic rock style. This is song writing I wouldn't expect much on a Karfagen album. And this is no detriment. This strongly emphasises Antony's intention of being 'Universal'. Antony is reaching out in a slightly different paradigm.

'Masterplan' begins with strong synths and underlying piano with Antony also returning with his vocals. Superb harmonies sung here as well involving both Olga Rostovska and Bartosz Kossowicz. The music itself exudes confidence. The clarity and bold keyboard styles carries on this upbeat flow we just experienced from 'The Spark'. I also get a sense of funk when I hear the title 'Masterplan' sung.

'Mirror of Souls' is a short instrumental, a bright interlude overflowing with the wealth of talent between Antony Kalugin, John Hackett and Daniel Ilyin.

'Unchained' is a sombre song sung by Jean Pageau, another guest from the rich pool of talent of the band Mystery that could not be a better choice for this song. The depth of sorrow he brings enriches the torment that is the character of this song. Through all this darkness hope is regained at the end. Also fully emphasised by the empathic playing of Max Velychko on guitars.

'The Cards We Play' is the longest track on the album and in my opinion the highlight. John Hackett's flute flows in with an elegant piano playing aside. The smooth and delicate vocals by Marco Gluhmann (Sylvan) introduce the song backed by ghostly touches of the strings on the guitar by Michel St. Pere (Mystery). The music soon swells to a pure melodic sound with a dramatic piano driven in the background midway through the song with intricate guitar. Oxygen hits the embers of Marco's voice into a full flame with entering an exciting climax coming to a heartfelt and mellow conclusion.

'You And I' is led by Bartosz on vocals. The music gives a sense of mystery and the fate of life. This song has a firm and tight direction which is a perfect entry as a single which I now believe has been released as a single.

'Storyteller (Part 2)' which is naturally the bookend to the album which cleverly reveals the point and reason of storytelling. We also receive a bonus track 'Omni II Overture' hinting at a sequel and why not?

In conclusion this project is all-encompassing. Antony has truly brought in many different elements and has weaved a wonderful story about storytelling. This is also not a typical Karfagen album. This is more a song structured album I would more associate with his other project 'Sunchild'. Karfagen albums have normally centred around an instrumental structure. The instrumentation is still very strong and sound. Antony has given us more to revel in, more music and thought to expand our minds. Omni is 'All', it is 'Universal' and it is 'All-Encompassing'. Buy this for a complete experience. Omni is brilliant and fulfilling.

Antony Kalugin has created a NeoProg concept album with the help of one of the finest lineups of Progressive Rock Hall of Famers. Two long inter-connected suites are the result.

A) "OMNI Part 1" (23:03) 1. "Omni Overture" (2:37) Why? Why did Antony decide to use Genesis' Duke opening to open this album? It's too blatant, even though it does expand upon the flow and direction of the original, but then it comes back to the pulsing "Duke's Travels" section before going Phil Collins with the blasts from the "horn section. (8.8.75/10) 2. "Storyteller (Part 1)" (4:29) interesting 1980s NeoProg with Richard Sinclair in the lead vocals and on the fretless bass while Michel St-Pere provides the New Wave guitar chords and sounds. (Think The Fixx's Jamie Oren-West, Simple Mind's New Gold Dream, or Re-Flex's "The Politics of Dancing" for the sound Michel uses). John Hackett's flute is notable but dismissive. When Michel starts to step up front for the lead guitar work at the end we are reminded of his power as a NeoProg guitar player. (8.875/10) 3. "Whispers from the Past" (3:28) 4. "The Spark" (5:45) the music continues as Salva's Per Malmberg steps up to the lead microphone. He sounds so much like someone from the late 1970s or early 1980s--someone quite distinctive (and good). Maybe the lead singer from the Canadian band PAYOLA$ ("Eyes of a Stranger"). (9.25/10) 5. "Masterplan" (5:18) 6. "Mirror of Souls" (1:24)

B) "OMNI Part 2" (22:42) 7. "Unchained" (5:44) beautiful and emotion-wrenching NeoProg is fronted by amazing performances from Mystery vocalist, Jean Pageau, and Inside The Sound guitarist, Max Velychko. Has the torch been passed from Marco Glühmann to Jean Pageau as the reigning greatest prog vocalist and that of the greatest NeoProg guitarist from Michel St-Pere to Max Velychko? (9.3333/10) 8. "The Cards We Play" (8:26) Antonin Kalugin, John Hackett, Richard Sinclair, Marco Glühmann, and Michel St-Pere: has there ever been a better "all-star" lineup? 'nuff said. (18.25/20) 9. "You and I" (3:52) nice NeoProg with Bartosz Kossowicz performing the FISH-like lead vocal with some real searing lead guitar work from Michel St-Pere. (8.875/10) 10. "Storyteller (Part 2)" (4:38) the final sounds like with Richard Sinclair, Bartosz and Antony sharing the multi-part lead vocal duties. Rather nice--even beautiful and emotive--if not innovative. (9.125/10)

Total Time 45:45

Despite not owning this album and, therefore, not being able to hear all of its songs (three songs covering ten minutes of the album's nearly 46 are unavailable for previewing on the album's Bandcamp page), I am going to post this review.

A-/five stars; a minor masterpiece of progressive rock music and a fine example of lush, high-quality modern NeoProg from one of prog's most prolific composer-musicians.

karfagen omni notes

1)Omni overture- the alblum suite starts off with amazing instrumental intro with keyboards what you expect out antony kalugin the ukranian tomas bodin of modern day.

2)story teller part 1- sounds like caravan meets camel in this amazing song with lil bit that canterbury flavor i think Sinclair on this song could be wrong.

3)whispers from the past- has folkish sound with female vocals sunchild sound i grew to love so much. with more romantic era folk i get steve hackett vibes on this track meets sunchild with the flower kings esque sound.

4)the spark-vocals are very aorish this song has asia vibe to it top notch. evoking 80s vocal sound. the guitars have roine stolt meets steve hackett vibe on this alblum very much. i hear tfk and solo hackett vibes. this album is mixed bag it explores everything and for being aorish asia ike song it one best parts of suite 10/10

5)Masterplan- song starts of very keyboard dominated. One cant help compare antony to tomas bodin from flower kings fame. vocals are antony again evoking sunchild flavor again now it karfagen. antony wanted fuse sunchild into karfagen name it works so good. my second fave song on alblum although this suite is in 2 songs. i got review copy seperates tracks in suite im reviewing each song individually as part of epic process. you still have lil bit that 80s flavor without it being aorish.

6)mirror of souls. baroque symphonic opening it like u got symphonic baroque sound that tomas bodin does and hackett does. also with romantic side hackett does. if flower kings and hackett had baby this alblum is exactly that. its so beautiful. classicalness of this song and alblum themes as whole.

7)unchained-here comes many guests are on alblum vocals wise. near end of suite. i hear lil bit yes meets rush in vocals department this song. this album as whole feels like it make killer rock opera and stage production with roger dean artwork and maybe edunistky as backdrop on projector screen.

Literally this antony best work vocals wise on karfagen alblum that is not sunchild. guests vocals make it special. with my 4th listen now this album has climbed up in ratings. this alblum done live with right backdrops artwork bring into visual experience live evokes rock opera without it being rock opera.

8)the cards we play-has singer of sylvan german fame. very baroque and romantic themes in music. why i feel this alblum could be made into score performed live on stage in semi musical theatre style it hack rock opera leanings imho would work better as having movie theatre screen in background with artwork. and then have guests singer evoke imagery on backdrop. if you never heard of sylvan amazing band. i highly recommend.

the mix this alblum in end of it i feel snare of drums is tiny mixed low. bass on alblum is lil high then i expect low frequencies would love drums stand lil more out. it does not rob from alblum as whole its still killer. the mix this alblum is 90 out 100. nearly perfect.

9)you an i-some keyboard tones i hear remind me of Mannheim steamroller at times. no this is not yes cover title of song would confuse you. im getting pallas vibes on this song. uk band has alan reed vocals.. guitars are hackett and stolt fused. antony can do no wrong. this is antony best theatrical evoking musical peice ever.

it like shakesphere and bach and marice ravel made baby with hackett and flower kings combined all into one without it being jesus christ superstar.

10)story teller part 2- this ends alblum is last piece of 2 song epic making cohesive alblum. i love this album alot mix is 90 out 10. the alblum is 95 out 10. cloes thing u can get to masterpiece as possible. it has it minor flaws. i feel over low frequencies of bass are lil to high on few songs near end rob essence of drums sticking out other then that this is rock solid album.

this is alblum for flower kigns fans those who been wanting 20 plus min epic since banks of eden. this alblum is gold just gold. antony has made alblum that evokes theatrical imagery in mind. could be made into live setting. also evoking classicalism of greats of ravel bach. even shakesphere in poetic way its executed in music and lyrics.

buy or die. this is best thing flower kings have not released since banks of eden period. it basically if flower kings made theatrical alblum without name of flower kings.

4.5 stars

Yet another new album by Karfagen was released two days ago, phew! How can anyone be so productive and keep it on such high artistic level? It took me ridiculously long to finally listen to this preceding one released in May. But all the more rewarding it was. Several years (and perhaps a bit too many Karfagen/Kalugin albums) ago, I was deeply charmed by the music of this amazing prog talent from Ukraine. The impression has naturally decreased in time, as it all has become pretty familiar.

But against my own expectations, my initial listening of Land of Chameleons was graced by that magic again. It definitely helped to have a little pause. Yes, it's all exactly what his listeners have learned to expect, but I daresay this one touches perfection as a Karfagen album, and I simply have to give it five stars as I have done multiple times before. I sense a strong inspiration and pure musical bliss on this album.

Since another reviewer here gives a detailed track-by- track analysis, I'll stay on my overall impressions. The band led by composer & keyboardist Antony Kalugin is in a terrific shape, and it's great to hear Marek Arnold's soprano sax guesting on many tracks. There's a suitable amount of both Antony's vocals and the female vocals while the emphasis is on the playing: soaring, melodic, passionate and Neo-flavoured contemporary Symphonic Prog in the vein of The Flower Kings and such. Well, by now Karfagen itself ought to be among the references when speaking of this style. It doesn't get quite so overblown, and a certain mellowness -- comparable to Camel and the quartet era Genesis -- is essential.

The pieces around ten minutes in length are all gorgeous compositions. Instrumental 'Journey to a Shrine' is perhaps the loveliest, so full of emotional melodies. 'My Shadow' uses (once more) a poem of R. L. Stevenson, and the childlike spirit is beautifully captured in Antony's and Mariya's duet vocals.

Two brief instrumentals are ideally placed. 'Dios Pyros' slightly reminds me of Tony Banks' A Curious Feeling album sonically, but enhanced with Arnold's sax. And the closing track '2 Minutes Before the Dawn' is a nocturnal, New Age approaching synth piece. The two CD-only bonus tracks are nice, too. One instrumental and one with vocals.

This album has deservedly earned a lot of high ratings (and I frankly cannot comprehend the few low ones). So, a sincere thank you to Antony. You still move me with your music!

At last I've been able to obtain the new album by Karfagen and it is FANTASTIC!!! I thoroughly enjoyed this CD as it is a real breath of fresh air, as most of Karfagen's albums are, and this one is no different - and I mean that in a positive way!

I was going to write a track by track review but I've been beaten to it! There's not much I can add to the glowing reports already mentioned, but I just had to say something to express my gratitude to Antony and the band for composing and producing such top class prog! All musicians are playing extremely well with sweeping keys and synths accompanied by some great guitar playing. My favorite track on here (if I had to choose one) is Track 5: Into The Kaleidoscope. Pure Prog, and I love it!! I would love to hear this song performed on stage. Any song they play live will be brilliant, but this one really tops my list.

So Thanks Antony and Karfagen for releasing more beautiful sounds for us to enjoy! Stay safe you guys and keep Prog alive with music such as this.

Prolific NeoProgger Antony Kalugin's 2024 contribution to Prog World includes myriad buyer's choices in terms of form and song inclusions. The version that I acquired on Bandcamp is not the same as that listed above in the PA database.

Line-up / Musicians: - Antony Kalugin / keyboards, vocals With: - Mariya Panasenko / vocals (1,3) - Olha Rostovska / vocals (5,6) - Max Velychko / electric & acoustic guitars - Konstantin Ionenko / bass - Viktor Syrotin / drums & percussion - Sergii Kovalov / accordion (5) And: - Marek Arnold / soprano saxophone (1,2,4,5)

1. "Land of Chameleons" (4:51) Antony's ROINE STOLT-like talk-sing voice is mirrored by Mariya Panasenko's beautiful, lilting (and sometimes belting) soprano (in multiple tracks) to sing this proggy THE FLOWER KINGS-like song. Professionally constructed and rendered with excellent engineering and production, I just wish the high ends of modern music weren't so muted and/or compressed. P.S. The soprano saxophone play of Marek Arnold is quite good- -definitely a standout element. (8.875/10)

2. "Agora by Day" (10:04) The proggy sound palette sounds so computerized: the drums sound machine-generated, the bass muted and lacking percussiveness like a keyboard, even the rhythm guitars sound button-pushed. The keys and lead guitars are rich and well-presented though also feeling compressed on their high ends. Antony's singing again sounds like a cone-muted ROINE STOLT, but the music's chord and melodic presentations are quite engaging, even enjoyable--especially in the soft passage crossing from the fifth to the sixth minutes. I feel as if the instrumentally-complex bridge inserted at the 6:00 mark exists only to try to prove to me that these are actually human-played drums, bass, and keys. I remain fairly unconvinced. Still, the music is quite good, definitely proggy, and, though somewhat familiar, feeling new enough to satisfy my pleasure principals. The closing motif is quite satisfying-- even emotional. (18/20)

3. "My Shadow" (7:49) I am really troubled by the rather-blatant and unabashed imitation of ROINE STOLT with Antony's vocals. The song is also structured and stylized to sound like some kind of 1980s power ballad--like Alannah Myles' rocked-up version of "Black Velvet"--at least until the end of the third minute when things turn more jazzy-- bordering on Yacht Rock (albeit, very good Yacht Rock). I guess I shouldn't complain since there are not a lot of artists (that I know of) doing this kind of quality Classic Yacht Rock today. The good parts are quite good (the instrumental Yacht Rock passages) and the more familiar, cliched BONNIE TYLER/KIM CARNES-like parts are still pretty darn good. (13.5/15)

4. "Dios Pyros (part 2)"(3:01) a weird little electronic keyboard- and computer-generated piece for Antony's piano to solo within. (8.5/10)

5. "Into the Kaleidoscope" (11:49) a song that sounds as if Antony had been studying GLASS HAMMER's masterpiece epic from 2005's Colossus Magazine-Musea Records commissioned Odyssey: The Greatest Tale. He throws in a little Lion King/Adiemus and some sounds and elements from Anthony Phillips' 1984, and a lot of it is generating/inspiring original music, but he keeps coming back to melodic and chordal themes used in the Glass Hammer piece. The final electric piano-led motif sounds a bit like a reprise of the previous "pyros" piece. (22/25)

6. "Journey to a Shrine" (10:49) opening with some dark chords played rather incongruously with pleasant, light sound choices, the song turns into a New Age song that sounds like it came straight out of one of David Lantz & Paul Speer's albums from the late 1980s and 1990s. At the end of the second minute our perceptions are distracted for a bit by a Middle Eastern palette and melody, but within 30 seconds the music returns to the Lantz-Speer motif--until 3:55 when a piano-supported poorly-recorded wordless vocal chant from Olga Rostovska returns to a Middle Eastern-like setting, though this time feeling far more spacious and epic. The heavy multi-drum hits every 2.5 seconds adds to this slow build epic feel. In the seventh minute they switch to reverb snares and then getting muted from the 7:30 mark on--so that a searing electric guitar solo can be fully heard. There is no denying that the music is pleasant, engaging and beautiful--both the New Age theme and the proggy Middle Eastern theme--but once again I find myself unsettled by its computer manipulation and usurpation of "borrowed" sounds and themes. (18.5/20) 7. "2 Minutes Before the Dawn" (2:37) multiple synths and Fender Rhodes with support of bass and soprano sax and a few electric guitar chord strums. Nice. Maybe Antony should move full time into the creation and publication of New Age soundscapes: he is certainly very good at them. (9.3333/10)

Total Time 45:47

The two main issues I have with this album are the computer-polish and Antony's prepensity to rely on lifting sounds, riffs, chord progressions, even forms and styles from past masters; I know everybody does it to some extent, but Antony's lifts are so blatant that they even conjure up the exact songs that they came from. Is this intentional? Is he creating music like a circus performer: with every intention of arousing the crowd's boisterous cheers every time we recognize a familiar riff.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of NeoProgSymph. Highly recommended for those of you who prefer to bask in the warm and nostalgic sunlight of the past.

The new Karfagen album, 'Land of the Chameleons' ably greets us into this other world. Antony Kalugin has this surmountable ability of transporting the listener to magical places. The musical talent he imports is always of high quality as this band translates Antony's vision into chimes of wonder and beauty.

1. LAND OF THE CHAMELEONS The first song introduces the mood and feel rapidly. Antony sings almost immediately soon followed by the background singers enhancing this world we just stepped into. Naturally we get the spirited keyboards backed and supported by the sparkling guitar. Mel Collins type saxophone playing also ensues making this song a crystal and clear intro to this new collection.

2. AGORA BY DAY This 10 minute track to my ears has a familiar tone and temperament. Within 2 mintues we hear several themes all combining, blending and furthering a captivating chain of musical elements, leading into a fast paced mixture of keyboard, guitar and vocals reaching an endearing climax.

3. MY SHADOW The soft touches of the keyboards takes us to Antony's quiet singing and the ghostly guitar strains of Max Velychko. The gift of Mariya Panasenko's voice heightens the timbre of the piece with Marek Arnold from 'Damenek' playing saxophone adding to the mix.

4. DIOS PYROS PART 2 A sombre interlude running at 3 minutes. A blend of piano and saxophone that brings an air of curiosity. A certain bounce in the piano enters here backed by long synth notes ending in a wonderful and quiet bass guitar moment.

5. INTO THE KALEIDOSCOPE An anthemed symphonic intro begins this 11 minute track. Mostly keyboard driven with touches of guitar in the background enhanced by gracious saxophone . I do get hints of 'Dragon Isle' here a little which is no bad thing. In fact it highlights Antony's development. I also suggest to anyone to watch the video of this on Youtube. The animation is astonishing and incredibly inventive. Picture and sound truly complement each other.

6. JOURNEY TO A SHRINE This track to me is the reason to own this album. It has become one of my favourite Karfagen tracks. It begins with cold, delicate guitar tones that warm you up into a heated and exciting wealth of musical pleasure and enlightenment. After pulling back midway to a soft and endearing path, it then leads into an ethereal climax that leaves you breathless.

7. 2 MINUTES BEFORE THE DAWN This now brings us to the end of the album with another short track taking us to the dawn and with the warmth of the rising sun.

Again, Antony has brought to us his scope of symphonic beauty to the highest of quality. This is an outstanding addition to the Karfagen library, to any library. His music grasps his fantastical themes with passion and vigour. His music permeates the listener with joy, excitement, comfort and beauty. I gauge this album very high and would think Antony himself would be very proud of his accomplishment here.

I Been Diehard Karfagen fan since 2018. This new alblum..I love alot more then one previous this year it mostly all vocals. As sunchild is no more... I feel antony wanted make vocals alblum ..give sunchild fans what they like Do instrumental alblum for ones who prefer that format more so both audiences are pleased.

1. Land of Chameleons (4:51)---8 out of 10 this song 2. Agora by Day (7:52)10 out 10 this song very reminscence of tomas bodin at times 3. My Shadow (7:49)-9 out of 10 vocals are superb this song . 4. 2 Minutes Before the Dawn (2:37) 8 out 10 short song 5. Into the Kaleidoscope (11:49)-9 out of 10 the bread and butter i love female vocals on this alblum alot they pair well with male vocals 6. Journey to a Shrine (10:49) 10 out of 10 killer song.

overall rating 95 out 10 so 4.5 stars out of 5.

I`m waiting for the Vinyl version of this fantastic album to be released! Great album from the artwork to the very last notes. I have it in a Deluxe edition format, which is 2CDs editon, it came to me not long ago with Cool "Echoes from witin Dragon Island" 2 LPs deluxe Gold edition... So, i believe, the "Chameleon" vinyl will be the same superb quality. To order Vinyl - go to Anton`s official Bandcamp site - which is the main way to support the artist directly and of course to have some signed physical goods.

1) Land of Chameleons 04:51 - album starts straight away from the hit rock ballad with very melodic vocal lines. Maria`s vocals are superb compliment to it. (17/20) 2) Agora by Day 10:04 - Mainly instrumental true Karfagens trademark. (Agora by Night was presented on a previous more jazz rock album) Vocals on this track are like - Zappa meets Gilmour ))) great! (18/20) 3) My Shadow 07:49 - My favourite!!! Amazing ballad with Canterbury instrumental breaks - Max on guitars , Maria on Vocals - Kostya on bass, Viktor Syrotin on drums and the main man on Keyboards/ vocals doing great job. This one is an art rock classic piece (by the way it`s based on Robert Louis Stevenson`s poetry, like the Dragon Island album) No doubts : (20 out 20!) 4) Dios Pyros Part 2 03:02 - Nice piano driven instrumental piece - modern piano classic . George Gershwin , Claude Debussy comes to my mind and of course Happy the Mans Kit Watkins and Frank Wyatt. (15/15) Vinyl side 2: 5) Into the Kaleidoscope 11:48 - once again, well crafted, mainly instrumental track with parts sang in Ukrainian language. this one has lovely video on YouTube. Marek Arnold plays soprano sax solo on this one - what a solo - well done! This track has very powerful and emotional final part (19/20) 6) Journey to a Shrine 10:49 - another epic, this time it`s something intimate that goes straight to your heart. You drift away along with the music into some mysterious journey. Antony`s wife Olga does vocalis in the middle of the track, very nice. I understand Antony , when , before releaseing the CD , he wrote message to us (followers on Bandcamp) that this epic will be a sort of dedication to Peter Bardens ; listen to the last part of the track, what a solo! what a harmony ! (25/25) 7) 2 Minutes before the Dawn 02:24 - gentle instrumental mood with keys and sax - smooth ending of the Side B (10/10)

Must have album - for me, it`s one of the best, in 2024

One of the best symphonic prog albums of the 21st century. It`s obvious that this album will be in my top 10 of modern prog releases! I`ve just received the Vinyl 2LP Deluxe version and it sounds even better!! So warm and melodic with so much passion and melody. It`s an symphonic poem, suite almost rock opera ))) with touches of gryphon, Flower Kings, Pink Floyd and Camel... just to name a few. My favs are Suite part 1 and 2 together with the gentle acoustic ballad " My Bed is a Boat" - it could fit 1 LP and it would be still a masterpiece!!!!!! I have Vinyls in GOLD variant - because this album is value of Gold to me) There`s not many places where you can get vinyl - just go directly to Anton`s Bandcamp site and you can order it there - support the artist you like DIRECTLY! Must have , my rating is 30 / 30!