EL ARTE DE SEGUIR VIVOS

Our scene is a truly global scene. These days, you find gems from all corners of the world. Peru is not the most exotic country in the world, but this country is still not known for it's prog scene. Kharmina Buranna may change that perseption.

Listed as a heavy prog band, Kharmina Buranna draws a lot on Rush discography. That's their baseline. Then we get a lot of other bands into their sound. Osanna (Italy), Led Zeppelin, Van Der Graaf Generator & Areknames, Gnidrolog, Gentle Giant, Fruupp, Hawkwind and Yes. Their influences are many and their sound is very complex. That complexity makes this album both accesible and unaccesible. Accessible because some of the songs are really great. Inaccessible because the music is so full of details that it demands a high degree of concentration from the listener.

The musicianship is excellent though. The vocals are in Spanish which suits this music very fine. The vocalist does a great job. The sound is both contemporary and vintage 1970s at the same time. The sound is great in other words.

The quality of the songs here are great. There is no outstanding tracks, but the album as a whole tends to creep under the skin of the listener and remain there. You just feel that this album is something special and worthy of your attention. The songs are filled with some truly great melody lines too. Mostly done with synth and keyboards. Some of the keyboard runs are brilliant.

In short, this is a nice surprise made in Peru and should be lauded as the great album it is. I hope to hear more from this band. Can we get a second helping, please ?

4 stars