A Layman's Guide To Unobtainium is the second studio album by the German progressive rock duo Castle Mountain Moon, based in Cologne, Germany. The core duo consists of Dirk Krause (vocals, guitars, bass, composition) and Robert "Ropp" Köhler (keyboards, composition, production)—two software developers who met in 2023 and pivoted into symphonic prog rock. Their 2024 debut album, Six Tales Of Perception (see review), received widespread praise from the international prog community. For this sophomore album, they are joined by drummer Gerry Wassong. I really enjoyed their debut Six Tales Of Perception a lot and therefore it wasn't so strange it end up in my year list of 2024 on the fifth place. Well let's if the new album will be a contender for this year's end list of best albums of 2026! The title A Layman's Guide To Unobtainium plays on the concept of "Unobtainium" (a fictional, impossible-to-find material). Co-founder Dirk Krause explained the core philosophy: "We wrote about something that, by definition, only exists when you don't have it. Still, we chase it—so somebody had to write a manual in layman's terms and hide it in the music, right before our eyes." According to the band's official statements, the album features eleven tracks conceptually built around maps—those that guide us, those that mislead us, and those focused on things we wouldn't recognize even if we found them. Let's go through those eleven tracks one by one: Guide To Unobtainium - The album opens with a nice, cheerful-sounding track without compromising on musical quality. This more up tempo song sounds nice and catchy and would certainly hold its own as a single. That is why I think it is not surprising that it was ultimately released as the first track from the album as a single, before the album was finally released. Real? - In the next track, the band reveals a completely different musical side. The electric guitars are plugged in and the amplifiers turned up to maximum volume. Things get pretty intense right from the start. The guitars rumble until the moment the keyboards take over in the somewhat quieter middle section. Beautiful keyboard parts can be heard until the guitars take over again and the musicians return to the beginning of the song in terms of musical content. All very finely done. Maps Pt.1 - The next piece is one in which guitars and keyboards dominate. It sounds completely different from the previous one. And that is how it should be. Variation is what we want, and that is what we get. Sometimes the tempo is picked up, and sometimes it is a bit quieter, but everything ensures that progressive rock remains the dominant factor. Valley Of The Deep - The longest track on the album lasts 10 minutes and can therefore be considered an epic musical piece. It is certainly the musical highlight of the album. It includes musical interlude reminiscent of Tangerine Dream and is truly beautiful. Maps Pt. 2 - A somewhat quieter track with beautiful Mellotron-like keyboard parts. But the Eastern sounding harp-like parts also sound exceptionally beautiful. Sadness - Once again, a song that starts quietly, with the tempo picking up somewhat as it moves towards the end. Here we also hear a beautiful guitar solo and lovely atmospheric keyboard passages. The title of the song is beautifully rendered in a sad way by the music. Before My Eyes - A song that clearly seems to have been written on an acoustic guitar, around which beautiful Styx-like melodic synthesizer parts musically embellish the track. Exit Right - The tempo clearly picks up on the next track. But it is short-lived. This is followed by a beautiful instrumental piece in which a stunning guitar solo is the highlight, alongside lovely background keyboard contributions. Scene Of A Crime - Beautiful electronic sounds from the synthesizer open the track before the electric guitar joins in. However, you shouldn't think that the song will be dominated by the guitar sound again. That is not the case this time. Especially since the synthesizer gets involved again with a beautiful solo. But the guitar doesn't mess around and delivers a beautiful solo as well. All excellently done. Dreamers - A song that evokes memories of the time when The Beatles called the shots musically. The Pink Floyd-esque guitar solo seems to fit perfectly into this quiet track, which ripple along beautifully toward the end. Reprise -The shortest track on the album closes this beautiful album with an instrumental lasting nearly two minutes. It is a beautiful keyboard-oriented piece. Perhaps it is not entirely clear where the gentlemen drew their inspiration from. The eleven songs clearly showcase a distinctive musical style that is difficult to compare with other acts in the progressive rock scene. This is, of course, a bonus point, as every band simply wants to be recognized with its own sound. Naturally, there are similarities to well-known names, even though they are difficult to pinpoint. I might hear echoes of Saga, Styx, Tangerine Dream, Pink Floyd, and The Beatles in their music. But one thing is paramount: Castle Mountain Moon have released with A Layman's Guide To Unobtainium a beautiful new album featuring nothing but strong tracks. There is certainly no question of fillers. The time between the first and second albums was well spent, and the result is impressive. It is clear that this is once again an album for a high spot on my end-of-year list. However, how high they will go, and whether they will ultimately reach the top 10, remains to be seen, as the year still has a few months to go before it ends. Four months in which anything can still happen musically. But for now, it is simply a joy with every listen. Hopefully, you will join in, because it is certainly worth the listen! **** Henri Strik (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
