It’s hard to imagine a time when Victor Smolski wasn’t writing. Being a fan of the guitar virtuoso since his incorporation into Rage in 1999, he has written for Mind Odyssey, Kipelov and LMO on top of his main band. After parting ways with Rage last year many imagined this might be some downtime, but Smolski has swiftly returned with a brand new band, and yet another ambitious effort in the concept of ‘Tsar‘.
[tracklist]
01. Tsar
02. Self Blinded Eyes
03. Darkness
04. Hands Are Tied
05. Children Of The Future
06. No More Shadows
07. Nevermore
08. Reign Of Madness
09. Flames Of Fate
[/tracklist]
[details]
[record_label]Nuclear Blast[/record_label]
[release_date]18th March 2016[/release_date]
[/details]
Sadly parting from Rage last year, it was hard to see Victor Smolski writing without some sort of affiliation with the band. His method’s of crafting music have becoming well known through the band, mashing his classical background into the modern planes of heavy metal. But perhaps that is the reasoning for the swift introduction of his new band Almanac – a band that he will head up and highlight his immense songwriting skills, and base a sound around that classic meets metal sound sugared with lyrical concepts.
That is exactly the idea that comes out on the opening opus of ‘Tsar‘. It’s a bombastic track making use of every element in the band Smolski has shaped into a musical powerhouse. 3 vocalists lace the concept in diverse voice, while the scientific guitar work of Smolski brings the metal, all neatly threaded together with a hand-written orchestra. When the bombastic effort that is ‘Self-Blinded Eyes‘ hits the speakers, the vision is very clear for Almanac.
While many elements in ‘Tsar‘ are very identifiable with his previous works, the music is so well constructed that it’s impossible to go on and compare with something like LMO. The heavy concept of the brutal reign of Ivan The Terrible has clearly had an impact on shaping the album’s sound, with tracks like ‘Hands Are Tied‘ providing a darker progression than heard before, yet some familiarity poking in the technical guitar shredding over the funky interlude in ‘Children of the Future‘.
Fans of Smolski’s work may have expected something wildly experimental as now he has free reign with Almanac, but the musician has opted to highlight what he does best, and that is write to a theme with a score like passion. It was the better choice to do so, as when it comes to his LMO-esque work, ‘Tsar’ is undoubtedly his best effort.
[verdict]Yes[/verdict]
[why]While ‘Tsar’ doesn’t stray away from Smolski’s classic method of songwriting, it’s impossible to argue that it isn’t brilliantly crafted. A great listen from top to bottom.[/why]
