Karmakanic "Wheel of Life" CD
[Regain]
This progressive rock band hails from Sweden and uses tons of guest musicians on this record. Among the guest contributions are keyboards, Hammond organ, additional percussion, flute, piano, additional vocals, and additional guitar - all on various tracks. And it's not so bad for what it is, which is basically straight up prog rock the way most people think of it: Long songs, drawn out instrumental passages, lots of solos (guitars and keyboards), pretty laidback atmospheres that range from lush and chilled out to energetic (but not heavy) rock, etc. There are some weird time signatures and of course some wildly technical runs (especially during the leads), but most of the riffing is honestly pretty typical for the genre, which is somewhat bothersome. My biggest gripe though is the vocals. I simply don't like 'em. The guy's voice is a little too high and irritating for me. Something about the delivery feels cheesy and sort of forced dramatically. There are cool passages, but the vocals definitely harm the music, which can be pretty strong. I don't like that the longest songs sort of feel like a lot of random solo passages with actual miniature song structures pasted into them either. They make use of dynamics through a few appearances of acoustic guitars and overt bluesy/jazz influences, which can be cool, but again the songwriting isn't really interesting or (by contrast) linear enough for me to appreciate. And this is not metal, just so you know. I have no problem with that, but this label usually deals with metal, so I wouldn't want anyone to expect something hard hitting here. Sure, there are some parts that remind me a lot of Dream Theater, but only the most upbeat and silly aspects of Dream Theater. This is far closer to something like Porcupine Tree but inferior atmospherically and songwriting wise. Everyone in the band is very talented and I think they could some amazing work, but this isn't for me as a whole. The rhythm section is definitely the strong point for me. There are some sweet melodic guitar parts, but the roaming basslines and percussion do their own thing quite often and I find myself focusing on and loving those elements. I do like the recording for the most part, however. The bass tone is phenomenal and usually plays a great role in the center of the mix, most of the keyboards sound excellent and are very tactfully employed (which is a rare observation coming from me), the drums are resonant but tight and aren't mixed overly loud, and the guitars are warm without being too distorted (nor are they wimpy). It could be slightly better (the vocals are a little loud - also problematic), but the instrumentation all sounds very natural and vibrant, and I enjoy that. The layout actually looks pretty weak in my opinion. Admittedly I find the band name and album title to be cheesy as well, but the aesthetic of the visuals here definitely falls into a similar category, with a baby blue color scheme and images of leaves, stone, etc. The band photos are definitely lame, if you ask me. I do sort of like aspects of the lyrics, though. Sure, they can get a bit sappy, but something about them ain't so bad. "Oblivion holds the key and leaves your mouth with bitter taste, So please remind me once again that this is only part of the plan." I sort of had middleground expectations for this and that's about where it falls. As I mentioned I think there's a wealth of talent here, and I'm confident this group could create some fucking amazing music (the instrumental "Hindby" is killer, that's a damn fine piece right there), but this record as a whole is too flawed for my tastes. Were it an instrumental record I'd have granted it a 6/10, but the vocals detract a bit much and disturb the listen for me. (5/10)
Running time - 65:33, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: Hindby]
Regain Records - http://www.regainrecords.com

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