DOMAIN OF OBLIVION

Having satisfied with the debut album, I kept searching the next release and found out this "Domain of Oblivion" is an excellent album and represents the band's positive progression. Not that the music is beautifully composed, the melody is most of them catchy.

A solid album with excellent melody

"Sadfield" (8:08) is a great opening track using excellent combination of violin and cello that accompanies vocal in dark mood at acoustic part. The music then blasts off in rockin' mood with hih energy in the vein of Genesis but with wild guitar work. From the opening track I can sense that the music is quite matured compared to debut album. The keyboard / organ work is reminiscent of ELP and it sounds really great. The music suddenly breaks and it reminds me to the kind of King Crimson. During the break there is an exploration of violin and cello followed nicely by guitar solo and vocal. From this part I can say that the song is really dynamic as it changes in style from start to end. The vocal part tries to emulate Peter Gabriel. This opening track is really great and it has all vintage components of prog but mellotron.

"Crowd on Sale" (10:07) enters wonderfully with symphonic prog rock in relatively fast tempo and high energy. At approx 0:52 the music breaks with the sound of keyboard accompanying vocal and the tempo slows down dramatically. This part moves in acoustic style even though drums accompany the music. AT approx 3:10 there is a sound of sitar and tabla that really enrich the textures of the music. I believe this is not typical neo progressive music as it has many improvisations. The interlude part is brilliant and beautifully composed.

"Empress of the Frozen Sea" (10:18) kicks off ambient with soft guitar riffs and stunning drum followed by music in symphonic style with inventive keyboard work. The music flows naturally in symphonic prog style augmented by nice violin work in the style of Kansas. The beauty thing about this track is the use of acoustic guitar fills plus brilliant interlude which explores guitar solo textured by vibraphone and dynamic basslines. Ohman .. I really love this part. And I really salute Ken's Novel for having composed this great song. There are great intertwined roles of violin, cello, guitar, keyboard and bass throughout the ending part of this track.

It's in the tradition of Ken's Novel on making short bridge like "Reject" (1:27) with an attractive composition. This time is just a repetitive guitar riffs, simple voice "Don't Reject Me" and at the end closed by violin / cello solo. It's a nice bridge. "Voices" (7:25) flows in mellow style with catchy melody of vocal line backed by wonderful acoustic guitar work.

"Wisdom Peak" is an epic with four parts where the opening part .a) The Magnifying Glass (2:47) contains stunning electric guitar solo backed by ambient long sustain keyboard work followed with piano. It's a nice opening. b) Mirror Man (3:53) comprises loop followed by howling guitar, and the music rhythm section reminds me to Genesis' "Follow You, Follow Me" in a darker style. The chorus part is more dynamic than Genesis and the interlude part featuring howling guitar work is excellent. c) Distorted Reflection (3:14) is a dynamic track with great pulsating keyboard solo.

"The Hallucinogenic Lake" (8:56) opens like a ballad with nice guitar work and powerful low register notes of vocal. The music flows in mellow style. The interlude part with guitar solo is stunning even though the song is quite long in duration. Fortunately there is an inventive style at approx 6:22 which enriches the texture of the song. The ending part is different in style than the previous segments at opening and it has high energy.

"Peaceful" (0:21) is basically an acapella to bridge the next epic title track "Domain of Oblivion" (16:06) which starts with keyboard work followed with a blast of music which features guitar solo augmented by pulsating keyboard work. The music styles of this epic varies from one segment to another with influences from Styx, Kansas, ELP, Marillion and Pallas. The beauty is of course enjoying the changes in styles throughout the epic. For those who have not been exposed to prog music this epic is probably quite hard to digest. But if get used to music like Yes' "Gates of Delirium" or Genesis' "Supper's Ready" this is not a tough task at all. "Distinctive Signs" (3:52) concludes the album with mellow style in catchy melody.

Overall, this album is better and much mature compared to the debut album. Fans of neo progressive rock will enjoy this album in its entirety. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW (i-Rock! Music Community)