THE FIRST COSMIC

Two years ago, Russian multi-instrumentalist Vitaly Kiselev, under the alias Sunrise Auranaut, released his second album `Way of the King', a humble little do-it-yourself instrumental symphonic prog work with cheerful cover artwork that showed an emerging artist growing in confidence and finding his feet. 2015 has the artist stepping up for his third album `The First Cosmic, an hour long journey overloaded with enough endless ideas and great playing to fill numerous albums! This is proudly symphonic-styled prog in the regal manner of modern groups like Karfagen, Trion or Willowglass, with `Snow Goose'-era Camel, perhaps Rick Wakeman's solo works, Emerson, Lake and Palmer and a hint of Jethro Tull thrown in for good measure, but also given a frequently spacey spin! Deep space keyboard atmospheres and pastoral acoustics make for an interesting mix in this vibrant album, and it's Vitaly's strongest work to date.

Just pay attention to the 10 minute opener `Amazing Universe' - it sets an early template with so many glorious memorable themes and includes everything from cascading church organ, whirring Moog, marching drum pomp, murky electric guitar grunt, harpsichord-like glistenings and flighty acoustic guitar runs, the piece effortlessly gliding between the multiple instruments and passages with a great sense of flow and purpose. The heroic, infectious `Incarnation Calls' and joyfully groovy `Non-Stop' are delirious and up-tempo, `Atmosphere and Vacuum' floats with a gentle hint of eeriness and dangerous outbursts, and the balance of acoustic guitar loveliness and romantic keyboards of `Pristine Planet' bring favourable memories of Camel. `We Will Meet at the Spaceport' mixes in the drifting deep space of Sensations' Fix with organ-driven classic era Genesis majesty, subtle electronic loops and cinematic-flavoured synth flair rises victoriously in `Threshold', and the drowsy acoustic strums and reaching Floydian guitar strains over icy synths of `Lost in Deep Space' remind of Seventies group Pulsar in a few spots.

An hour that contains eleven tracks is definitely too much here (perhaps the old LP length of about 45-50 minutes would be more ideal?), and Vitaly shouldn't always feel the need to overload each piece with multiple direction and style changes, but there's no denying the constant inspiration and growing confidence on display. It truly sees the artist edging closer to the quality of modern symphonic progressive albums like Trion's `Funfair Fantasy', Willowglass' `The Dream Harbour' and Karfagen's `Lost Symphony', not to mention the earlier works of Glass Hammer, and perhaps were it to have been released by one of those more established names it would already be receiving more positive attention. But in a year that hasn't had an abundance of symphonic releases, the well-executed and energetic `The First Cosmic' is definitely one of the highlights, and Vitaly Kiselev should be very proud of what he has achieved here.

Four stars - Symphonic fans and keyboard freaks, be sure to look into this colourful album!