Antony Kalugin, the ukrainian multi-instrumentalist behind Karfagen, is a man of many talents and his 2025 album "Omni" is another good example of his stunningly prolific vein (you'll find more elsewhere in this blog)."Omni" Part 2 is a well built suite, a 22 minute one divided into 4 movements, also enjoyable as stand-alone songs, many of them in a rather slow tempo, but with some welcome accelerations and many, unpredictable changes.
As usual, an inspiring cover art
As always, there are very good melodies and beautiful solos, and this time the vocals, provided by the kinds of Marco Glühmann, Richard Sinclair, Jean Pageau, Bartosz Kossowicz plus, of course, Olha Rostovska and Antony Kalugin himself, play an essential role in the great picture, something we don't easily find in Karfagen's discography. All those different and sensitive voices fit perfectly in such a rich musical texture. Among other guest musicians, Michel St-Père's (of Mystery fame) guitars and John Hackett's flute need no introductions and are two more bonuses added to this musical pearl. This is Neo-Progressive rock & Symphonic Rock at their best and I'm glad to loose my mind in this flowing, lush musical river.
