From.UZ
is a progressive rock band that hails from Tashkent in Uzbekistan,
hence the origin of the name. The band was formed back in 2004 and this
current release, Sodom and Gomorrah, is the fourth studio album following Overlook (2008), Seventh Stay (2010) and Quartus Artfactus (2011). Sodom and Gomorrah
was composed by multi-instrumentalist Albert Khalmurzaev as the
soundtrack for a theatrical production of the same name at the Youth
Theatre of Uzbekistan. “The production re-interprets the biblical tale
of Sodom and Gomorrah in a modern world, ravaged by addictions and vices
that can only be remedied through a change from within the very heart
of the human condition” (a quote from the record label).
The
band present on this release, contains the 5 original members, Vitaley
Popeloff (guitars), Albert Khalmurzaev (keyboards, guitar, harmonica and
vocals), Vladimir Badarov (drums), Andrey Mara-Novik (bass) and Eugeniy Popelov (keyboards and vocals). The album, Sodom and Gomorrah,
is a 14 track effort with a total playing time of around 52 minutes.
Track 3, “City,” is the shortest with a running time of 2:06 minutes and
track 8, “Folly of Mob,” the longest, lasting for 6:45 minutes.
There
is a variety of styles in evidence on this release, with some scorching
guitar work and burbling keyboards, as shown on “The Capture” but
mainly the more atmospheric soaring melodic blend shown on “Prologue”
and “The City.” There are even bits here and there that hint at the
quirkier side of prog, more in the Gentle Giant style.
The first part of the album I definitely found the more interesting, and upbeat, part of Sodom and Gomorrah,
with the second half certainly matching the bleakness of the original
story, but losing the tight grip that the first part had on the
listener. I do find that concept albums tend to be either amazing, and
pull the listener into the story, refusing to let go until the album
finishes, or the journey can be a bit haphazard and requires terrific
staying power to last out till the end. Sodom and Gomorrah
sits firmly astride these two scenarios with the first and second parts
to the album, and another obstacle with this particular release from
From.UZ is that the album is mainly instrumental, so thereis no narrator
to carry the storyline.
Sodom and Gomorrah
is, without doubt, a work of intensity and the band members “work their
socks off” throughout, but there is no disguising the dichotomy between
the first half of the album and the second. Followers of From.UZ will
be eager to aurally digest Sodom and Gomorrah,
but I do prefer the previous release from 2011, although that
blistering first part to the album, hopefully, will be the direction the
band move into, and that could make the next release, “the one” that
lifts From.UZ several more rungs up the prog ladder
4/5 STARS
Key Tracks: The Capture, City, Black Feast 1
Jim “The Ancient One” Lawson-MuzikReviews.com Staff
September 14, 2013
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