Style: Progressive, atmospheric rock.
A recently discovered gem. This is an album by Mariusz Duda, the vocalist from the Polish Prog band Riverside. This dark, conceptual album explores the philosophy and reflection on death and the possibility of life after death.
As you can guess from the brief synopsis above, this is not shaping up to be a very uplifting album, however, don't let this put you off. The songs contained within this album are elegant and atmospheric and exults Mariusz's talent as a vocalist and multi-instrumentalist. Musically, this album is very simple, and focuses on the incredible vocals and the complex production. The vocal harmonies are rich and sorrowful and the bass and drums deserve special attention in terms of their production and role within the album. The drum sounds are partically effective on the tracks 'Near Life Experience' and 'The Final Truth' in terms of conveying a more atmospheric mood.
The choice of instrumentation is interesting too. It is a lot softer and slower than the work of Riverside that Mariusz has previously become associated with. There is a wide range of timbre, including a flute on one of the first tracks 'The New Beginning,' setting the theme of a transient, out-of-body experience, hinting at the overall mood of what's to come.
This certainly stands on its own as a well-written, conceptual album, with a solid performance all round. Ideally, you would want to be listening to this on a decent Hi-fi system that really shows off the subtleties in this work.
Mariusz has announced that he is working on a second Lunatic Soul album which I will be most looking forward too. In conclusion, a highly recommended album in terms of the quality of the song writing, musicianship and production.
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