Karma Rassa -
Talks To Innerself


(CD 2016, 52:39, Soundage Productions, SAPCD 331)

The tracks:
  1- Silver Faces(5:28)
  2- Red Corridors(4:50)
  3- From War To War(5:53)
  4- The Endless Universal Hysteria(4:28)
  5- Frozen Deserts(5:11)
  6- Look For Me Behind The Wall(6:55)
  7- My Sailing Vessel In Jupiter's Storms(5:40)
  8- The Last Starfall(5:44)
  9- Talks To Innerself(5:52)

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Before I start this review I must confess that I'm not quite familiar with the Russian progressive rock scene. Actually Fromuz is the only band that I really know. When I first listened to the album Talks To Innerself from Karma Rassa, I didn't recognize that this band came from Russia. I heard progressive metal in a way that I liked.
Talks To Innerself is the second album of Karma Rassa. In a very short time, a couple of years, the band managed to release two full albums. No lack of ambition, you could say. And ambition is something Karma Rassa should have. In general this album has a good quality standard of progressive metal. All of the tracks have a more or less doom atmosphere. A comparison with the Swedish Katatonia can be made. Katatonia is a big name in the progressive metal scene. They know the art of music and they are able to create tension in their songs. This is something that Karma Rassa don't have yet. Some of their songs have tension, but the main parts of the songs don't have a lot of tension.
Nevertheless I personally think that this band is still growing. They are growing strong, actually. If these guys are able to stay together, I think they could reach the top of the progressive metal scene.

The band's line up is: Nagual (vocals, bass), Naar (guitars), Idegen (guitars) and Albe (drums). There are guest appearances by Anni Elliot (keyboards and vocals), Aleksey Bulygin (sax) and Sigmund (Inner Missing) (vocals).

Normally I try to tell a short story of each and every song. In this case the review will be a little shorter. Most of the tracks have the same character. All songs are really heavy. Guitars are taking the lead. The guitar sounds are djent like. And I think the band has interfaces with this music style. Furthermore, all songs contain thick layers of keyboard parts. Most of the songs also have doom- or scary intermezzos in between the rough parts. This gives some tension to the songs. But as I said, most of the songs are rather similar. Only The Last Starfall is completely different. This song contains dark- keyboard landscapes. I think the band can do more with this. Tracks can be more attractive when you play with atmospheres.
Another negative which contributes a little tedium are the vocals. The vocals are good and absolutely clean. But they are more or less monotone. That's really a pity. Monotone vocals normally make album tedious.

So for the critics. Putting all things on the row, the conclusion is that Talks To Innerself is a good album. The band gives itself perspectives in a positive sense. I hope that this band will be booked at some summer festivals. I'm very curious how they sound live. Furthermore they deserve the chance to introduce themselves to a wider audience. We will see what the future will bring for Karma Rassa. Удачи (good luck)!

*** Aad Bannink (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen)

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