Customer Reviews

Entering the Spectra

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Is this new Flower Kings? No, it's a Jonas Reingold side project but just as good. This is a bass player's dream cd with Reingold playing the coolest bass riffs I have ever heard. With help from the FK members, this could easily be mistaken as a FK cd. This is much better than any of Thomas Bodin's solo projects which are sometimes tedious to listen to. Play on Jonas !!

Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Jaime Salazar and Zoltan Csorsz from the Flower Kings all join Jonas Reingold in this, the debut of Karmakanic. There are other musicians throughout, Robert Engstrand does a fine job on keyboards, Johan Glossner assumes the guitar when Roine is not involved and Goran Edman from Yngwie Malmsteen also replaces Stolt on vocals from time to time. Here lies the problem with the disc. The compositions are consistently strong and hold one's interest. There are times when it leans a bit toward heavy metal but it is clearly a prog effort. It is with the heavy metal leanings of Edman that I find fault. Glossner, for the most part is fine but no Stolt. Edman's vocal histrionics can be tough to take. There are times it is clear that he has a strong voice but he often over extends it. It can be grating. Still, it is a highly enjoyable disc. Many similarities to the Flower Kings. On his next effort Reingold would do well to establish his own sound. Reingold's bass playing?....absolutely fantastic. His Jaco Pastorious influences are obvious but this is a unique and exciting new voice, one that prog has not seen the likes of since Squire first came onto the scene some thirty plus years ago. Worth picking up...Simon

So, wow. Who would have thought Jonas Reingold - Flower Kings bassist - was the main man on this release?

This is excellent progressive music. Absolutely excellent. The vocals are good. The music is flawless. And the songs are amazing. So good, in fact, I'll go through each track.

The Little Man N/A
Just an intro. A strange intro, describing someone who is the basis of this concept album.

Entering the Spectra 10/10
Amazing track. Pure prog all the way through. Some great playing. And when it slows down, to build up again, is rediculously good. These guys are good at making it sound like they completely lost the path in the song, then molding it all together again.

The Spirit Remains The Same 10/10
One of the highlights of the album. A lot more of a straightforward rocker, but heavily prog. Great, great song.

Cyberdust from Mars 7/10
This is a strange song. Pretty good, and it sound quite different than any song I think I've ever heard.

Space Race No. 3 10/10
This piece is borderline progressive metal here. Really good. Great vocals.

The Man in the Moon Cries 7/10
This is like a ballad, but a lot more bluesy. Unique. This might possibly be the only lower point on the album, but only because I'm really not a blues fan.

One Whole Half 8/10
An amazing instrumental piece. Pretty much every band member gets to show off their skills, and you won't be unimpressed. Jaw-dropping.

Is This The End? 10/10
Another highlight. This is a ballad, starting with a haunting piano melody and dominated by very dark, emotional vocals. It then flows into a very tense instrumental segment, and I swear every time that happens, you just stop and think to yourself, "Wow". It ends off with a very unique, climatic conclusion and a great synthesizor solo.

Cello Suite No. 1 In G Major 8/10
A solo reindition of a classic. Jaw dropping.

Welcome to Paradise 15/10
My favorite on the album. One of the most enjoyable prog songs I've heard. It's just a 'fun' song - and 9:00 of it. Everything is great, but its a bit cheesy. In a good way. They have some vocal dialogue partway through thats possibly the cheesiest thing you've ever heard, but it's the highlight of the album, in my opinion. The chorus is catchy as sin, too.

The Loser's Game 7/10
Strange song. Ever wonder what would occur if the Backstreet Boys made a song with Metallica? It would be similar to this. It's catchy, and you're nearly embarrassed to be caught listening to it. But it's a very good bonus track.

All in all, a very good progressive album. Add it to your prog archives.

I do like this album, but the later album Hos the boss in the factory is much better!

I came to this album backwards after first hearing Karmakanic's excellent recent Who's the Boss In the Factory?. Though Entering the Spectra is flogged as a Jonas Reingold side-project, one look at his supporting cast will tell you that this is essentially a Flower Kings side project. Even the name Karmakanic seems like something that Roine Stolt would have come up with, insinuating that this band is here to fix your karma.
My opinion is that the CD starts weakly with its rather lame fairy tale opening and doesn't really start to find its groove until the fourth cut. Although the second cut, which is the title cut, is an attempt at serious prog and contains some excellent sections, I find it directionless. However, the CD improves from the punchy, driving Cyberdust From Mars forward. Space Race No 3 and The Man in the Moon Cries are pounding prog pieces driven by Yngwie Malmsteen's Goran Edman. One Whole Half is a fusion throwback a la Jeff Beck. Cello Suite No 1 in G Major is a short classical piece you'll swear you've heard somewhere before and Welcome To Paradise is a frenetic piece played with wild abandon.
The CD is accompanied by an attractive booklet that features lyrics and pertinent album information as well as some fairly cool pictures and images. Entering the Spectra is a modern prog delight. If you like the Flower Kings, you are almost sure to like this. Pick it up before it disappears.

Karmakanic is the side project of Flower Kings bass player Jonas Rheingold. The band also features former and present Flower Kings members Jamie Salazar and Zoltan Csorsz on drums, Tomas Bodin on keys and Roine Stolt On guitar. As you might expect this project has a lot in common with The Flower Kings music. Overall this is a very good release. The music at times gets a bit closer to metal than The Flower Kings do, but this is not a prog metal release. Rheingold really gets to shine on bass here and the disc highlights what a well rounded musician he is. The album is a concept album. The story is a bit cheesy, but good for the most part. At times the album almost reminds me of Ayreon in spots with it's sci fi subject matter and musical similarities. Highlights include "Entering The Spectra", "Space Race No 3", "The Man In The Moon Cries" and "Is This The End. There is also a cool little bonus track called "Losers Game" which is very commercial top 40-ish type song, but these guys do this style really well. Overall this is a very nice progressive rock album, and one of the best of Flower Kings side projects.

EXCELLENT ALBUM - WELL DONE -GREAT VOICE AND SPEED AND WITH BONUS TRACK!!!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO ALL !!!

If you are a Flower Kings fan and especially like their more bombastic side, you will love this album. ETS is a very rocking album with great guitar work. Is it heavy metal? I don't believe it is. I enjoy hard rocking, guitar based music that falls short of heavy metal and I can say this fits the bill. Not to say that it isn't prog or all you hear is guitars, because there is plenty else to enjoy here. Jonas Reingold has a huge musical background apart from the Flower Kings and he shows off his skills in writing music and bass playing on the record. I found no fault with the vocals and the more I listen to it, the more I love it. When you talk about TFK side projects, I rate this third behind The Tangent and Transatlantic, but very close behind.

Roine Stolt, Tomas Bodin, Jaime Salazar and Zoltan Csorsz from the Flower Kings all join Jonas Reingold in this, the debut of Karmakanic. There are other musicians throughout, Robert Engstrand does a fine job on keyboards, Johan Glossner assumes the guitar when Roine is not involved and Goran Edman from Yngwie Malmsteen also replaces Stolt on vocals for the majority of the recording. Here lies the problem with the disc. The compositions are not consistently strong and at times, fail to hold one's interest. There are moments when it leans a bit too much toward heavy metal but it is clearly a prog effort. It is with the heavy metal leanings of Edman and Glossner that I find fault. Edman's vocal histrionics can be tough to take. There are times it is clear that he has a strong voice but he often over extends it. It can be grating. Still, there are moments, particularly with the opening 12 minute piece Entering the Spectra where it could pass for a Flower King recording (the current FK lineup is present on this number). This is hardly a cohesive disc. In fact it sounds like two distinctly different bands. On his next effort Reingold would do well to establish his own sound. Reingold's bass playing?....absolutely fantastic. His Jaco Pastorious influences are obvious but this is a unique and exciting new voice, one that prog has not seen the likes of since Squire first came onto the scene some thirty plus years ago. Beyond the opening number, the more I listen, the less I enjoy the disc. Proceed with caution...Simon

Cette album est un mélange de plusieurs sytles de musique assez complexes. Jonas Reingold exploite davantage sont talent de bassiste et le son "Fretless" de sa guitare basse contribue à donner, à l'occasion, une atmosphère Jazz alors que les passages de guitares de Stolt ramène le style The Flower Kings. Il y a aussi d'autres passages plus "heavy" qui ajoute une touche explosive à la musique. Le résultat demeure quand très cohérent et très intéressant.

Il s'agit d'un excellent album, un incontournable pour les amateurs des groupes progressifs récents, surtout pour les fans des Flower Kings.