Issue 2025-056
Culak — Eidetica
Edwin Roosjen
Christian Culak is a one-man band who has released a lot of albums. He writes and records all the music himself and for some of his albums he even provides the artwork. From his back catalog DPRP has reviewed Dreamforge and Ens Astrale. Two albums that were reviewed very differently. Equally diverse is the music of Culak. The style of music can range from ambient to metal and from folk to grunting death metal and everything in between.
Christian Culak is for sure a busy man. In the Ens Astrale review it was mentioned that at the time of writing the review the new album Wayfarer was already released, that was only a few months apart. The album Wayfarer is an instrumental ambient album, it has some heavy parts but all nicely woven into the lengthy soundscapes.
This new album Eidetica is also instrumental but the songs are more compact. The style of music ranges from symphonic rock to progressive metal, it has some soundscape parts but not as lengthy as on his previous album. Wayfarer only had four songs and lasted over an hour, Eidetica has five songs and is just over half an hour.
Blueshift starts a bit ambient but soon a lot more is happening. Nice melodies on the bass that work very well in contrast with the keyboard lines. Suddenly the music changes, and fast, heavy guitars take over. The song ends with some fast melodic bass playing.
Culak is very keen on these sorts of transitions, songs tend to end very differently from the way they start. Often, he manages to put all these styles into a single song. Mirrored starts very fast and heavy, and about halfway the song slows down and ends into a more ambient style. 'II is built completely the other way around. Start very ambient and slow, and halfway the power increases.
Advent is a slow song starting with acoustic guitar and then a sharp electric guitar solo. And of course, the song changes a lot, in this case the song is getting very dark and ominous. Redshift is the easiest listening music as you can get on this album. A user-friendly eighties keyboard tune starts the song.
Eidetica is an interesting album for people who like instrumental prog between symphonic rock and progressive metal. I wonder what he will bring us next time, I am pretty sure he is probably already working on the next album. If you like this one, also check out the previous instrumental album, Wayfarer.
People Of The Sun — People Of The Sun
Andy Read
For those Europeans seeking a slightly different ambience in their progressive music, it may be worth extending your search to the other side of the world. I've always been a big fan of Australian bands but there's now some great stuff being created by New Zealand-based artists.
A few years ago I was enchanted by Outside In, the debut album from a band called Karmatrain. They don't seem to have generated a follow-up, but more prolific are Auckland-based Shepherds Of Cassini, whose recent third album is getting good rotation on my playlist. There are several others I could mention, and probably plenty that I have yet to come across.
The latest addition to my collection hails from New Plymouth. People Of The Sun is a trio, made up of seasoned Kiwi musicians Joseph Anderson (vocals and guitar), Djordje Nikolic (bass) and Tom Scrase (drums and synths). Their aim is to meld rock, soul, prog and indigenous sounds into "a fierce and evocative new form".
Having built a solid live reputation, the threesome have headed into the studio to create this, their debut album.
"Our goal was to create an album that feels as deeply connected conceptually and emotionally as the records that shaped us," states the band. "The albums we loved weren't just collections of songs - they carried us somewhere, unfolding as a complete, powerful experience."
Sitting on the crossover between alt-rock and progressive rock, these five extended compositions will delight those who enjoy the music of Tool, A Liquid Landscape, Votum (Metafiction), Soup (The Beauty Of Our Youth) and Wolverine (Communication Lost).
People Of The Sun (promo photo)
The sheer variety and the bursts of heartfelt-soul share common themes with another Australian band Acolyte and their wonderful Entropy album from a few years back. I am often reminded here of fellow Aussie outfit Sadhana and their two wonderful EPs The Real and Vicissitudes and occasionally People Of The Sun dip into the trippy-psyche of Aussie outfit Lucid Planet.
But it is the delicate blending of traditional timbres, and tropes from their home country that gives People Of The Sun's music a very individual sound.
Lisurgen draws you straight into the band's sound-world, blending heavy and light dynamics to absorbing effect. There is a clear desire to conjure the landscapes of Aotearoa and the stories of its people, but that is only a part of the whole. Anderson has a great voice that blends soul, blues and alt-rock as he drifts in and out of quieter and more forceful dynamics. There is a frequent sensitivity and vulnerability that I adore.
The drumming is delicately textured, and the guitar work is varied and inventive. There is plenty of space in the mix, but equally there is plenty going on in the band's endlessly evolving soundtrack. The extended running time of each song allows the band to fully explore their ideas, yet never becomes self-indulgent nor overly repetitive.
Seed offers a nod of respect to Led Zeppelin. The extended guitar ending could be more concise. Elders drifts through its spartan beauty for just long enough. After Lisurgen, Sky is my favourite song. Again it is quite a stripped-down composition but builds slowly and surely with some lovely details that emerge on repeat spins.
Final Song (Keep Burning) brings things to a close in somewhat of a meditative fashion. I always feel that something a little more boisterous might have been a better way to go out. But overall this is an impressive debut album that I think a lot of people will enjoy, for the way it which it blends traditional native sounds with a range of more western styles. Clearly a talented trio, I shall be interested to see where their journey flows.
Markus Reuter featuring Fabio Trentini and Asaf Sirkis — Truce <3
Owen Davies
It took three minutes to be totally immersed in the three key ingredients of this album.
I was compelled to engage with the banshee howl of the guitar, the vibrant rumble of the bass, and the controlled hits on the drum kit. It was soon apparent that Truce <3 was going to have a monumental effect on my goosebumps. (They had elevated and stubbornly refused to lie down on hearing the original Truce album). And what an effect Truce <3 had on my tingling skin!
The goose flesh rose, peaked, pulsated, and quivered purposefully in a fruitless bid to keep up with the shattering energy emanating from the fluidity of this progressive power trio of virtuoso musicians.
Everything about this release has the potential to raise adrenaline and excitement levels. Anybody who appreciates the power and furnace blast of instrumental fusion-styled music will find more than enough to satisfy and satiate any cravings for a raw yet sophisticated exploration of this rock-strewn path. This album pulverises the senses and rattles limbs. It vibrates the curtains and massages the ornaments.
The bulbous bass parts of Fabio Trentini underpin the music with unrivalled melodic ferocity. Low-end sounds burp and gurgle and relentlessly drive the music. Markus Reuter occupies the high end of the tonal spectrum. His malevolent touch guitar soloing bursts asunder any preconceptions that he should be primarily recognised for creating the type of languid soundscapes that he is sometimes associated with.
His playing on Truce <3 is as far removed as you could imagine from his ambient endeavours in his seven-volume Stream of Consciousness project. His playing on Truce < 3 is even more explosive than his often molten, and expressive playing with the Stick Men. It is that good!
However, whilst Trentini and Reuter provide the showcase moments of the album, it is perhaps the contribution of Asaf Sirkis that more than anything else holds things together and ensures that the album is such a fascinating and wholesome experience. His playing is phenomenal. Power and subtlety, foot-tapping accessibility and unexpected complexity are not always easy bed fellows, but Sirkis manages this and much, much more.
The album begins with Not Alone. This piece encapsulates all that the album is all about. The relentless bass line riffs and surges to all corners of the room, sky reaching soloing with a nod to the fluid tones of Robert Fripp fills the upper spaces and strokes the stratosphere. Sirkis' strikes and strokes keep everything grounded with a pulsating rhythmic heart that ensures that the whole tune is skillfully tethered to the bouncing floor.
We Have your Back, is in some ways even more dramatic. I just love the way the bass plays off against the ambience of the guitar droning in its opening moments. Some of the rich tones selected by Reuter in this piece reminded me of the evocative playing of Vitaly Popeloff in Fromuz' Audio Diplomacy and Outlook releases.
My favourite piece on Truce <3 is probably Crooked. It has an intensity that is hard to describe, but flesh bump goose easy to experience. The interaction between the musicians is superb. It is visceral and sophisticated by turns and is utterly compelling. There is a tangible excitement as the players feed off each other in a series of inspirational passages where invention and improvisation are arguably the most significant ingredients.
It took fifty-six minutes to be totally and irreversibly entwined in the fifty-six, or more carefully woven and freshly presented musical patterns of this album.
I was captured and smitten by its underlaying bass currents, expressive guitar patterns, and raucous rhythmic groove.
And it goes without saying that of course, my goosebumps refused to lie down!
Sendelica — Nirmata
Jerry Kranitz
Welsh band Sendelica have been conjuring up a steady stream of space rock/psychedelic music for nearly two decades. Nirmata (Sanskrit for architect/creator) is only one of the latest from this prolific band. These guys are so dedicated to making music that even keyboard player Colin Consterdine's battle with liver cancer and guitarist Pete Bingham's heart condition struggles haven't stopped them. Colin and Pete are joined by long-time members Glenda Pescado on bass and Lee Relfe on saxophone, plus guests Calli on vocals, Kate Riaz on cello, and the ubiquitous Shane Beck on spoken word.
Wish You A Good Health opens the set with a lazily drifting country-ish psychedelic vibe. I like the simple but peaceful melody and trippy guitar. About halfway through this 9-minute-plus piece, the music transitions to an alter-dimensional realm with heartbeat-punctuated soundscapes, spacey guitar licks, saxophone, brief poetry from Shane and robotic narrative from Calli. The elements trip around until slowly coagulating into a serenely melodic finale. A powerful opener that is clearly a commentary on the bandmembers' health challenges.
The title track is next, gently floating in space, though communicating intensity with its potent rhythmic pulse. I especially like the prominent cymbal work combined with deep space guitar, eerie atmospherics and alien effects.
Singled Out And Strangely Left In Limbo is even more intense, kicking off a menacingly searing guitar and steadily potent drumming jam that has a thematic soundtrack quality. I love the psychedelically threatening environment that's offset by space-prog keyboard runs.
Blood One is different. It's compositionally complex, with piano-led orchestration and parallel melodies, though it's all occurring within a spacey psychedelic habitat. I like the competing moods... mournful, lightly intense, yet calmly meditative. But then Save Your Breath switches gears into pure atmospheric space, with soothing chant vocals and tranquil saxophone.
Finally, Peyote Sunrise features Shane Beck repeating 'Peyote Sunrise, Peyote Sunrise' over rippling soundscapes and looped effects, and briefly gets center stage with a poem. This is a beautifully trippy tune, with mind-bending ambience, ethereal voices, heavenly cello and saxophone that brings the set to a satisfying close.
Nirmata is a guaranteed pleaser for the space/psych crowd, and there's plenty for progheads to love too.
The Soundbyte — Still Quiet
Ignacio Bernaola
Some albums dive into darkness and immediately pull me in. I can spend hours with bands like Antimatter or the more experimental phases of Ulver, because their music feels heavy, honest and strangely comforting.
With Still Quiet, though, The Soundbyte just don't get there for me. I wanted to like it, but after several listens I have to admit it left me a bit cold. At just over thirty minutes, this feels more like a long EP than a proper full-length album. That wouldn't be a problem if the music was gripping, but the opening tracks never really take off.
Floating At Distance sets up a mood that seems to promise more than it delivers, and The Fall Of Illusions feels like it's building towards something bigger that never actually arrives. Even the long centrepiece, Will You Follow, drifts around without finding a real direction. Instead of pulling me deeper, it loses momentum.
The real drop, for me, comes in the second half. When All Is Gone introduces Kirsti Huke on vocals, and from that point the album starts to fall apart. I don't question her talent since she has a strong background, not least with The 3rd And The Mortal alongside Trond Engum, but her style feels completely out of place here.
Mixing her voice with Andreas Elvenes' darker tone could have been a powerful contrast, but the execution just doesn't work. Instead of adding depth, it breaks the flow, and the final two songs only make the whole record feel even less coherent.
I'm sure there will be listeners who enjoy this combination of moods and who find Still Quiet more rewarding than I did. It's well produced, the musicianship is solid, and the intentions are clear. Coming out of the metal corner, blending post-rock and experimenting with different other elements. To these ears, the experiment did not turn out so well. It starts with promise, then loses its direction halfway through.
To be honest, I closed the album thinking: this could have been something special, but it never quite got there.
Nad Sylvan — Monumentata
Patrick McAfee
Nad Sylvan is best known as Steve Hackett's concert vocalist, but over the last ten years he has also released four respectable solo albums. The fifth, Monumentata represents a significant change from his previous focus on gothic tales to decidedly more personal themes.
The potent lyrics reflect on past loves, betrayal, sexuality, culture clashes, the loss of his parents and mortality in general. These more serious topics do not equate to heavy-handed or overly somber results. It is a compellingly confident record, that is also effectively introspective.
There is a diverse musical range to these songs, that includes prog (That's Not Me, Wildfire), pop rock (Monte Carlo Princess, Flowerland, Make Somebody Proud), hard-rock (Secret Lover) and the superb tribute ballad to his dad (Monumentada). Though the average track length is only around four to five minutes, the substance of the material cannot be denied.
Lending to the high quality here, the impressive guest list includes Marco Minnemann, Felix Lehrman, Jonas Reingold, Tony Levin, Nick Beggs, and Randy McStine. Ultimately though, this is a solo album in the truest sense. Sylvan performs most of the instrumentation and Monumentada as a hole, is an entertaining view into this uniquely talented artist.