Karmakanic - Wheel Of Life

Karmakanic is the brainchild of Jonas Reingold.  Many of you will know his work with The Flower Kings among others, and this is his second outing in Karmakanic. Using the same formula of musicians as the first album Entering The Spectra, in comparison, this effort is more in the progressive style and vein.  Goran Edman takes the vocals again; Zoltan Csorsz on percussion and on guitars is the impressive Krister Jonzon.  Many ‘guests’ appear on certain tracks such as Roine Stolte, Tomas Bodin and Hans Bruniusson who are household names with their Flower Kings connections, and to be fair; it sounds like a Flower Kings album in some places.

Opening this near sixty-six minute eight-track opus, is Masterplan pt1, and it is pt2 that closes it.  Pt1 is a nice journey through many time changes and would not be out of place on any Flower Kings CD, which is a credit to Jonas as a writer.  Masterplan pt1 is a fine example of modern progressive rock, blending many twiddly moments, haunting vocals and strong riffs.

Alex In Paradise is next, and there is a nice seventies sounding Moog, which appears at the start and odd times during the song.

At The Speed Of Light could again be a Flower Kings number, and here Jonas’ bass is very strong throughout.  The backing vocals are also very prominent, reminding me of a Rabin period YES.

The instrumental Do U Tango? starts off with a female version of a  ‘Steven Hawking’ type of voice, and is a sea of instruments with a quick tempo, very jazz sounding in places, with piano and hi-hat making a fine vision.

The joyous tune of Where Earth Meets The Sky covering thirteen minutes is another up-tempo piece featuring a great winding bass line and keys.  When the vocals start, they give you a storybook feel.  The middle section is a nice jazz style, and it ends to an instrumental climax featuring a drum solo.

Hindby is a little bluesy style instrumental with a nice moving slow guitar solo, leading the way to the title track Wheel Of Life.  The flute starts this track off, and you think of Jethro Tull, but it develops in a Steve Hackett influenced tune. The backing vocals are in sync with the flute, and there are many summer moments on this happy song (tubular bells are present too!).

Closing the album is the aforementioned Masterplan pt2.  This starts with a Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds type feel to it, and Goran’s vocals are quite strong and to the point.  There is a nice feel to this track with the guitar solo, piano, and Jonas’ bass just pounds away in the background.

To sum up, this is an enjoyable album with impressive playing.  Many if not all Flower Kings fans will make a purchase and they will not be disappointed.

A notable effort.

Danny Mayo

www.reingoldmusic.com

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