Love of Life (Zvuki.Ru)

Sergey Bogaev is a wild and enigmatic master of the electric guitar. About ten years ago, he shone on the stages of various rock festivals, demonstrating an extreme level of playing skill on a "Ural" guitar that was absolutely not designed for such antics...

Sergey Bogaev is a wild and enigmatic master of the electric guitar. About ten years ago, he shone on the stages of various rock festivals, demonstrating an extreme level of playing skill on a "Ural" guitar that was absolutely not designed for such antics. The music of his band Oblachny Krai — far too ferocious and unhinged for hard rock, yet at the same time too technical for punk — was unlikely ever to achieve widespread popularity. Several demo albums recorded at the "AnTrop" studio, as well as their 1991 vinyl debut, did little to change this situation. It seemed the band had long since retreated into the realm of "myths and legends of Russian rock" — but a campaign to globally reissue their catalog somewhat unexpectedly revealed that Oblachny Krai had a stash of new musical material.
The new songs were recorded at the "AnTrop" studio in the old-fashioned way. Unfortunately, Bogaev's idea to take on the vocal duties in addition to playing the guitar cannot exactly be called one of his best decisions — only on the "rock-Cossack" track "Pea​​chal-Kruchina" and in the "black" ballad "Izobilie Blagovony" does he manage to sing something worthwhile. In all other cases, the frontman's voice is barely distinguishable from the overall musical canvas — and even an abundance of vocal effects fails to help. If we also consider that "AnTrop" has always been famous for panning the vocals and instruments as far apart as possible, the result is frankly quite sad. The contrast between competent hard rock and thrash-death growls is at times as vast as an abyss, which simply makes it hard to listen to the music. Furthermore, the obvious homespun quality of some guitar effects, multiplied by a crystal-clear digital sound, occasionally produces such "grit" that all of Bogaev's guitar wizardry simply ceases to be perceived adequately.
The band's music remains "an acquired taste," though it is highly, highly interesting. The twisted stream of consciousness in epic tracks like "Ubita Rita" can only be endured by the most die-hard adherents of musical sadomasochism. The theme of love beyond the grave threads its way through most of the songs. The sound collages between tracks only add to the discomfort. Kissing zombies on the album cover drive the final nail into the coffin, which will inevitably be opened from the inside anyway. Highly recommended to all thrill-seekers. To everyone else — listen to it exclusively when in the right mood. And make sure there are no sharp or piercing objects within reach while listening!
A curious and original, yet extremely uneven band has released yet another curious and original, but still extremely uneven album. It is incredibly difficult to listen to, but at the same time — terribly fascinating. Or rather, terrifying and fascinating...