Karmakanic - Wheel Of Life


Year of Release: 2004
Label: Regain Records
Catalog Number: RR0405-045
Format: CD
Total Time: 64:15:00

I said it before and I'll say it again: stellar talents need more than one band to spread their creativity. The Flower Kings, Richard Anderson's Space Odyssey, Time Requiem, Kaipa, Tangent and Karmakanic: all of these feature the talents of Jonas Reingold (bass). As all of these bands have released albums in the past year, it has been a very busy time for Mr. Reingold. But there is more to Karmakanic than just Jonas Reingold, as fellow Flower King Zoltan Czorz (drums) is involved as well, and the line-up is completed by Krister Jonson on guitars and Göran Edman (Brazen Abbot, Malmsteen, AOR, John Norum) on vocals. Add a load of guest musicians (the most known of them: Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin and Richard Andersson, but the rest are just as important!) and you can expect some high quality music.

Well, high quality it is! Modern day progressive rock with a vintage sound to it, and sometimes a few hints of Kaipa or the Flower Kings, but that should not be a surprise. The 9 songs are progressive rock as you may expect it: nice melodies, great musicianship and fantastic to listen to. Like the opener "Masterplan Pt. 1," it has everything: the "merry melodies," great guitars, very much in the vein of Kaipa, though, ethereal synths and the excellent voice of Edman. I really dig these kind of songs, but what makes this album stand out are a few songs: "At The Speed Of Light," as the vocals here sometimes resemble Prince (yes, the artist formerly known as ...), mainly because of the low range vocals he uses here, showing how versatile Edman is. It is a rather catchy song, with some harmony vocals and the guitar parts are nicely up-front, with some nice solos.

The second song that makes this album different from many other progressive rock albums is "Do U Tango". This is a bit like Kraftwork meeting ... well ... Karmakanic... The song has an electronic sound, with computerized vocals and the keys and bass are mixed to create (again) an electronic sound. Still, it is a nice song, but quite different and that is why I like it. Overall on the album, you hear the amazing bass sound by Jonas Reingold, but he never dominates the sound. The compositions are very balanced and they come truly alive, by these talented musicians. One of my favourite songs on the album must be "Hindby," an instrumental song, with stunning guitarplay by Jonson. He is one hell of a great guitarist, unfortunately I could not find out if he played with any other bands. I would certainly like to hear more of him and his virtuoso play.

I am really glad Wheel Of Life is not a Flower King clone, but a very original album, with hints of both vintage and present day bands, but definitely with a sound of their own. The bass sound of Reingold rules, but with enough modesty to have a balanced and rich sound. So far they have released two albums, so hopefully there will be more, as Wheel Of Life is an excellent album that only tastes for more. Highly recommended.

[This review originally appeared June 2004 at the ProgPower Online review site -ed.]


Tracklisting:
Masterplan Pt: 1 (14:39) / Alex In Paradise (5:09) / At The Speed Of Light (6:28) / Do U Tango (7:44) / Where Earth Meets The Sky (12:59) / Hindby (4:58) / Wheel Of Life (8:28) / Masterplan Pt: 2 (5:10)

Musicians:
Jonas Reingold - electric and fretless basses, keyboards
G?ran Edman - vocals
Zoltan Csorsz - drums
Krister Jonzon - electric and acoustic guitar

Guests:

Richard Anderson - keyboards (1)
Roine Stolt - guitar (7, 8)
Tomas Bodin - Hammond organ (3, 5)
Hans Bruniusson - percussion (1)
Helen Melin - percussion (2, 5, 7)
Sal Dibba - congas, yembe (5)
Helge Albin - flute (7)
Jakob Karlzon - piano, keyboards (5)
Ola Hed?n - vocals (7)
Inger Ohl?n - vocals (5)
Alex Reingold - speech (2)

Discography:
Entering The Spectra (2002)
Wheel Of Life (2004)
Who's The Boss In The Factory (2008)
The Power Of Two (w/Agents Of Mercy) (2010)
In A Perfect World (2011)
Live In The USA (2014)
Dot (2016)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin SE

Added: May 29th 2005
Reviewer: Marcel Haster
Score:
Artist website: reingoldrecords.se
Hits: 2183
Language: english

  

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