Prog-Nose

Release: 2008 Style: prog rock Label: www.mals.ru Website: www.littletragedies.com b]Contact:[/b] Playing Time: 62:15 Cat. N°: Mals 289 Review by: Misha Translated by: Rating: 5/10

Little Tragedies plays a “standard” prog rock, just like so many other prog bands.

It is sometimes even difficult to distinguish one such a band from another. Technically speaking, everything is all right with them. There’s these heavy and smoothly played synthesizers, good rhythm section, perfectly played guitar. But all this doesn’t surprise anybody today. Well, Little Tragedies actually can be distinguished … by a weak vocal, singing in Russian. A big minus point.

I am a native Russian speaker and understand the lyrics. Nice, not very special, but sometimes too religious. Of course, after Neal Morse, it is not terra inconcessus anymore. But still, to me it is even worth, then singing about love. I think in prog, it is not done… But well, there you have the right reference. The front man of Little Tragedies, Gennady Ilyin is – just like Morse – a composer, keyboard player and singer. However, I don’t even like Neal Morse’s vocal, and Gennady’s is even weaker.

The opening number, “The Cross” tells a story about a card player (hmmm… haven’t I heard such a story before? Check your IQ). He lost everything and plays his last game using his necklace cross as a bet. Musically not very catchy, this song will not keep you awake.

The forth song, “Behind the Walls of the old Abbey” is about an old abbey, taken by some evil spirits. Of course, eventually, the good forces arrive and win: Saint George comes and chases the evil spirits away.

The Tanets (a word Dance spelled in Latin) is the strongest and the longest (19 minutes) number. Quite good and long 1st part with stretched but interesting keyboard solo’s is unfortunately interrupted by Gennady, starting to sing, but luckily not for long. He sings just a few phrases, and after that it is again a good progressive piece, interrupted just once more again, for the second time by singing. What a waste, I would say. It could be a good number…

“Abandoned God” also has a nice instrumental part, it has even a quite dramatic development. Here, an eagle breaks through from a prison and flies so high, so that it escapes the gravity and finds it’s peace beyond the atmosphere, among the stars. This is the most dramatic number, laden with symbolism. Who is this eagle? Some antic god? Or maybe Russia itself, flying MIR’s to the orbit? Anyway, it doesn’t change the overall flat impression about this record.

This band has a potential (well, it has it already since 1994 :-). A good vocal and more original composing could do the job. We’ll see. But meanwhile, it is mediocre, so: 5 out of 10.

Tracklist: 1. Крест/The Cross 2. Осень/Autumn 3. Озёра/Lakes 4. За стенами старого аббатства .../Behind the Walls of the old Abbey... 5. Портрет мужчины/The Portrait of the Man 6. Tanets (Dance) 7. Покинутый Бог/The God Abandoned 8. Орёл/Eagle 9. Гиппопотам/Hippo

Musicians: - Gennady Ilyin / composer, keyboards, vocals - Yuri Skripkin / drums - Alexander Malakhovsky / guitar - Oleg Babynin / bass guitar, vocals - Aleksey Bildin / saxophone

[Aangemeld door misha]