Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Karmakanic
Label: Inside Out Records
Released: 2008
Rating: 4/5
The Flower Kings have turned into a veritable melting pot of all kinds of family spin-offs in recent years, and when it comes to swearing by the musical legacy of the prog classics, they have no equal in the progressive rock world. It often seems like every single one of their members already has a solo project or a band of their own, which usually differs only slightly from what the Flower Kings themselves do. These tireless musicians, hyperactive as they’ve proven to be, aren’t running out of steam anytime soon, so they keep needing new playgrounds for their compositional and instrumental ambitions. Besides the better-known The Tangent, Karmakanic are now establishing themselves as one of the better outfits too, especially since the release of their latest effort “Who’s The Boss In The Factory”, among fans of symphonic prog revivalism under the baton of the leading lights of The Flower Kings and Spock’s Beard.
Karmakanic started out as a project of TFK bassist Jonas Reingold, undoubtedly one of Sweden’s best bass players, joined from the very beginning by former TFK drummer Zoltan Csorsz, another hugely respected name on the modern prog scene. The roster of celebrated names is rounded out by the ever-excellent singer Göran Edman, who, besides playing a major role in a whole bunch of different projects, is best known for his work with shred guitar guru Yngwie Malmsteen. Even though most people know him as a co-creator of classic rock projects, Edman has never hidden his love for progressive rock.
Karmakanic have put out two records so far, “Entering The Spectra” (2002) and “Wheel Of Life” (2004). Nearly the whole TFK crew took part in both, led by Roine Stolt and Tomas Bodin, but they went by relatively unnoticed, mainly because of too much cloning of what the mother band was already doing. So the two TFK frontmen bowing out of the collaboration actually turned out to be a blessing on “Who’s The Boss In The Factory”, because now we can finally talk about Karmakanic as a real band and not some side TFK project. After all, Reingold and the gang have finally moved away, at least to a degree, from sounding so much like their parents.
For Karmakanic, “Who’s The Boss In The Factory” marks a noticeable step toward more sonic independence, even though some of the motifs still strongly recall the Flower Kings crowd, but don’t expect any revolutionary shake-ups. Just like the music of their more established cousins, Karmakanic aren’t charting new waters; as devoted fans of 70s classic symphonic prog, they revive most of the best elements from the golden age of progressive rock. The production fits the bill, too, and could easily have come from some long-gone era, one that’s still deeply romantic for anyone who loves good music. Despite plenty of complex (even jazzy) arrangements, the album gets under your skin incredibly fast thanks to its high melodicism, so it’s easy listening even for less demanding listeners. Unlike TFK, Karmakanic don’t give in to drawn-out solo improvisations for even a moment, and instead put the emphasis on the directness of individual, usually highly melodic motifs.
Just how deep the symphonic prog revivalism runs in Karmakanic is vividly shown by the opening, nearly 20-minute epic, “Send a Message From The Heart”, easily the best piece on the album, where the opening swaying rhythms and playful, high-pitched synth passages pull you hard toward Genesis or Fish-era Marillion, and there’s no shortage of symphonic finesse that stirs up associations with Kansas. Perhaps Karmakanic’s greatest strength lies right in Edman’s excellent vocals, and for anyone familiar with his career of guest spots and collaborations with some of the world’s best-known names in rock, there’s no need to single him out as one of Sweden’s best rock singers.
Krister Jonsson is definitely one of those guitarists who really understand the guitar technique of the great David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), but he’ll have to eat a lot more bread and salt before his slide passages shine with the same subtlety and heart. Later on in the album, especially on “Let In Holywood” and the title track, Karmakanic prove they have an outstanding sense for the flow of individual motifs and for crafting moving orchestral arrangements, while the aforementioned subtle, Floyd-esque slide passages from Jonsson get plenty of room to build a mystical atmosphere.
They vividly show off their fondness for jazz fusion on the excellent “Two Blocks From The Edge”, too, which is, among other things, enriched with juicy saxophone accompaniment. Just like their “fathers” The Flower Kings (even if we subtract Reingold and Csorsz), the members of Karmakanic are exceptional instrumentalists whose virtuosity and knack for crafting captivating arrangements easily take the breath away from anyone who hasn’t yet fully explored the boundless expanses symphonic prog rock has to offer. What’s more important, these are also very good songwriters, to whom long-windedness and plain solo-fueled ego-pumping are something completely foreign.
Even though the album runs a bit out of steam toward the end, especially on both parts of the closing ballad “Eternally”, whose baroque arrangements and operatic vocal approach aren’t far from what the likes of Rhapsody Of Fire love to do (a pretty grotesque comparison, but still), this is an excellent record that will delight fans of Scandinavian and American symphonic prog revivalism most of all.
With “Who’s The Boss In The Factory”, their most mature release to date, Karmakanic don’t uncover anything new that wasn’t already said in the 70s and 80s. Anyone looking for innovation and fresh musical adventures in progressive rock should rather not waste their time on it, because they’ll be seriously shortchanged. Meanwhile, all those music lovers who badly miss new records from the by-now-weary or long-gone giants of progressive rock absolutely must not overlook this one, as it’s one of the best releases in symphonic prog rock to come out in 2008.
Lineup
Göran Edman – vocals
Krister Jonsson – electric and acoustic guitar
Jonas Reingold – electric bass, fretless bass, additional keyboards
Zoltan Csorsz – drums
Lalle Larsson – keyboards
Production
Jonas Reingold
Tracklist
1. Send A Message From The Heart (19:28)
2. Let In Hollywood (4:53)
3. Who’s The Boss In The Factory (13:04)
4. Two Blocks From The Edge (9:51)
5. Eternally Part I (1:51)
6. Eternally Part II (6:21)
Album length: 55:28
