THE BOOK OF THE DEAD [AKA: REU NU PERT EM HRU]

Having lost the bass player, Ars Nova continued to explore their pompous, explosive keyboard-oriented prog with the seme level of energy and intrincacy exhibited on their previous effort. Kimagai's keyboards even feel more powerful all through its multiple layers, orchestral textures, and wizard-like solos. Tracks 2 and 4 (introduced by its respective introductory segues) start the album in a state of full frontal white heat, handled with immaculate skill and sheer enthusiasm: the supporting role of Takahasho's precise drumming proves effective. Maybe this impression is caused by the more tertical and somber nature of most compositions in this album - actually it shouldn't come as a surprise, since the album's conceptual subject is esoteric, dealing with the dreadful divine forces that intertwine and fight each other in the afterworld. 'Held of Iaru' is the longest track of the album, giving more room to subtle passages that appeal to the mystic side of the subject, though it still comprises a good amount of heavy sounding moments: Kimagai gets at her most Wakeman-esque on this one (I've always thought that her major influences as a writer and performer are Leone from Balletto del Bronzo, and Wakeman, despite the obvious Emersonian shell she uses to encapsulate her keyboard sounds). As you may notice just by reading the tracklist, there's lots of segues, which are the uneven numbers: those segues (one prologhe, one epilogue, and four interludes) display some Far Eastern lines, which serve as exotic brief reliefs in the middle of such amount of pomp and circumstance. 'Ani's Heart and Maat's Feather' works perfectly as the last long track, since its climatic ending is captivating. Nothing else to add, but this would make "an excellent addition to any prog collection".