Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: AlogiA
Label: Miner Recordings
Released: 2014
Length: 36:13
Rating: 4/5
Alogia are a Serbian band from Smederevo, active since 2000. To date they’ve put out three studio albums, one live album, and a collection of songs picked from the first two records, which they re-recorded in English versions in an attempt to break into the Western European market. Their previous album, »Priče o snovima« (Stories About Dreams), released two years ago, thoroughly rattled their fanbase. Especially the hidebound metal diehards started cooling on the band, because the group served up a softer-leaning record aimed at the realms of melodic rock. »Elegia Balcanica« is the album that fixes this »mistake« and takes the band back to the days of their second album, »Priče o životu« (Stories About Life). So it’s fair to say that with the new album Alogia are once again flirting wholeheartedly with progressive metal.
Including the bonus track, the band has squeezed together barely 36 minutes of music, which is surprisingly little for the progressive metal genre, where bands generally love to »complicate« things at will with their arrangements. That’s why »Elegia Balcanica« is, from head to tail, a clearly defined album of great compactness and the band’s unmistakable character, with no »gray patches of time«, or time-stitched runs of stitches. From the opening track it’s instantly clear that back in their salad days the guys were in awe of Dream Theater and what they do. But the band has skillfully balanced those influences across the album with melodically polished lead motifs, especially the chorus hooks, so we’re talking about a progressive metal album that very easily crawls into your ear. Alogia’s edge over bands in a similar vein lies in their geographic origin. The band works into its vocabulary tangibly punchy passages built on a melos that comes from Arabic scales. In this they’re so distinctive that it hands them a winning poker hand of aces in recognizability and artistic uniqueness.
The centerpiece of the album is the title track Elogia Balcanica, which, as the album’s flagship, is also its finest and most ambitious moment, combining neo-classical elements with elements of Arabic melos, while, despite its prog metal twists and turns, staying extremely listenable thanks to well-crafted verses and a grabby chorus hook. There are a few tracks on the album where the progressive elements lie low and the symphonic, bombastic heavy metal packaging takes the lead. Such moments on the album are Galija, U tišini, Ona zna (Lilit) and Vreme je. At these points neoclassicism also comes to the fore, flourishing most visibly in the transitional passages. It’s an approach to arranging that runs parallel to the compositional virtues of European (Scandinavian) masters such as Timo Tolkki (ex-Stratovarius) or Magnus Karlsson (Primal Fear, Last Tribe, Starbreaker). Tacked onto the tail of the album is Intentionally Blind, a joint collaboration between Alogia and the black metal outfit Silent Kingdom. A neat little crossbreed of two musical genres, it even evokes memories of good old Night In Gales.
The execution of the material is brilliant, full of chemistry, juicy, played with the precision of filigree fine mechanics. All the building blocks are optimally spread out and balanced in the sound picture. In the complex sections, where lead motifs and rhythmic figures trade places again and again, the drums claim plenty of room for loads of witty transitions, while the keyboards and guitar fall into a dialogue that, with full gusto, erupts into a proper solo tornado. And we can’t skip the important element of the polished, melodic and commanding vocal performance from the excellent vocalist Nikola Mijić.
»Elogia Balcanica« is the album with which Alogia return to the home musical turf they know and master best. It’s an expressively strong album, packed with distinctive charisma, as the title of the album itself already hints. At the same time, it’s certainly the band’s most mature work to date. Let’s hope the band keeps its creative charge and keeps evolving and growing in the musical direction set out on »Elegia Balcanica«.
Line-up
Nikola Mijić – vocals
Miroslav Branković – guitar
Srđan Branković – guitar
Vladimir Đedović – keyboards
Vladimir Ranisavljević – bass guitar
Srđan Golubica – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Anđela Išić – vocals on tracks 3 and 6
Silent Kingdom – track 9
Production
Alogia
Track list
1. Almagest
2. Callis ad astra
3. Galija
4. Vreme je
5. Elegia Balcanica
6. Ona zna (Lilit)
7. Inferno
8. U tišini
9. Intentionally Blind
