SOLARSTALGIA

The more I discover Russian bands the more I'm covinced that Russia is the land of the modern prog without throwing away the old. Aton Five is a band which up to now has released only two EPs and one full length album, this one, but I hope that sooner or later more will come.

This is a concept album based on a Sci-Fi concept, but honestly I don't know anything about it. The music is enough to enjoiy it even without a story behind. It starts with a sort of bolero with interludes reminding to early PINK FLOYD, I mean the Ummagumma years, but with keyboards sounding like the best Rick WAKEMAN. This track has been enough to "light my prog sensors up".

Very different the second track, with a classic rock mood and a bit of 70s funky. Musically comparable to NIACIN, but with an excellent rock guitar which NIACIN don't have. Eight minutes of pure energy.

The Crimsonian "Time" follows. Here the bass is leading and has a volume a little higher than keys and guitar. This band has clearly absorbed the standards set by the bigs in the 70s, and is able to re-elaborate them into something new without losing the connection with the past. It starts heavy but it doesn't betray the standards, so there are several changes in tempo and melody, odd signatures, keys and a crying guitar, but the reference is to early KING CRIMSON.

There isn't the voice of Ozzy Osborne, but "A Chain Of Events" could be A BLACK SABBATH song, if only WAKEMAN played with Sabbath. My compliments to the guitarist, too.

It's a characteristic of this album that every track must be different from those before. The 13 minutes long "Milky Way Incident" doesn't contain any reggae, otherwise I could have thought to QUANTUM FANTAY. There's also a sort of "dialog" between keyboards, guitar and bass which reminds to the "Made in Japan" version of Child In Time. Great guitar work throughout the whole track and a final in a clear DEEP PURPLE style.

"Death?" is just a short interlude with some background noise. A little touch of Avant which introduces "The Endless Desert", an appropriate name for a 17 minutes track. The influence of PINK FLOYD on this trak is clear. Despite the guitar sounding like Piotr GRUDZINSKI's, this appears to be very inspired to "Set The Controls For The Heart OF The Sun". The keyboards seem played by Richard Wright, but in addition to it, there's a great work from bass and drums. This is undoubtely a psychedelic track.

The album is completed by a couple of bonus tracks: the live version of Journey taken from their EP "Live in Mars" and "Woods Made Of Stone" which is not featured studio in this album. The first sounds even more '70s in this live version. The second is another heavy but psychedelic track in the vein of OZRIC TENTACLES, with arabesque riffs giving it a ethnic flavor which I have to say, reminds a little to SENMUTH, who is another musical project from Moscow.

I'd say a 4.5 stars album. Hoping that those guys decide to release a masterpiece as next effort.