Sailing the Rivers of Time
The reasons
of Valeriy Kipelov’s departure from Aria are unknown for me. And to put it briefly, I really don’t care
about this. The most important thing is that he formed another band (2002) and
recorded a debut album. What is more, this album is a splendid release! Of
course, I cannot forget about his glorious past with Aria and many classic
heavy metal albums with him on vocals. Fortunately, a new incarnation of Mr.
Kipelov has a different touch than his former band, however it is still the
same (heavy) metal genre. Such obvious Iron Maiden influences from Aria career
are gone now, furthermore, the production is also a strong advantage, the album
has been mastered in Germany, and to be honest with you, it is a really good
move. “Реки времён” got very powerful and modern sound
(especially when I compare it to Aria), vocal lines and instruments are audible
perfectly. In addition, no sterility can be found here, so… let’s dive into the
rivers of time…
Musically
the Russians smartly travel in heavy metal sounds, they use all the kinds of
the genre which make the album pretty varied: from really hard, sharp guitars
to soft and tender balladic moments. And I loved these calmer tunes at the
start. Let’s take “Я здесь!” with beautiful piano-like parts,
acoustic guitars and very emotional and warm Valeriy vocal lines sung in
Russian only. The band delivered hard guitars moments too, so I got a classic
metal ballad, in addition I am impressed by crushing bass and guitar solo. The
second track maintained in rather calmer vein is the title song. For sure it is
quite risky to put two ballads in tracklist, but here the Russians recorded
simply two good tracks, however… the rest is much better! And even if I
undervalued these songs at the beginning, now I worship them all! Kipelov
presents absolutely great opening: “На распутье” starts
off with rather mysterious music supported by bass and drums, then it becomes a
fast, straightforward heavy metal killer. Kipelov’s vocal is still on top form,
he can create really great melodies, in addition the rest of the band seems to
be very professional, the song is well-thought-out and well arranged. The next
example? Listen to “Дыханье тьмы”. With perfect start, again rather
fast tempo, the first stanza has no guitars, only rhythm section. And this
moment simply kills. Generally all the bass lines played by Alexey Kharkov are
great addition to the guitar wall, and music enters another dimension to
conquer the listener’s senses.
Yes, the
first songs coming out from “Реки времён” are fine piece of heavy metal. But
my favourite song is “Матричный бог” thus far. This track is a good
example how the good production is important to show the band’s talent. It is
maintained in mid-paced tempo, but riffs are like a sledge-hammer crushing my
hindhead. Guitars work is perfectly supported by these bass lines I mentioned
above. The song seems to be less melodic than the rest, though it has a real
touch of heavy metal and old hard rock, which makes it really interesting piece
of music.
I like this
album a lot. Of course, it is not possible to forget about Kipelov previous
band, but fortunately, I don’t find here any Aria cover, the whole material is truly
consistent even in spite of two ballads, everything flows very well through its
strong heavy tunes. The band provided powerful production where each single
tune is audible perfectly (especially bass lines). Even if there is only one
guitarist in the line-up (occasionally supported by Victor Smolski), expressive
riffs and solo leads have classical and modern touch, yet they fit to the
entirety. Musically I don’t want to compare this band to another, maybe I
cannot find any rational comparison? This album guarantees all I need in metal
release: passion, very good musicianship with highest class vocalist and
heartbreaking melodies. Even if it is not a classic for generations to come,
Russians build a real heavy metal monument. For sure the whole tracklist is a perfect
material to be played live, but is it possible to see this band on Polish
stages? I don’t think so…
92/100
-Tlacaxipehualiztli
(previously written for Encyclopaedia Metallum, on September, 2013, now modified a bit)
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