Customer Reviews

Wheel of Life

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Wow, What a treat. After being disappointed with the latest Flower King's release, "Adam and Eve" and being anything less then satisfied by The Tangent's "The World That We Drive Through," I was pleasantly surprised by this disc. Thanks diddy...

Jonas Reingold and Zoltan Csorsz comprise one the best rhythm duos in the prog world today. They are the only saving graces on the above two discs and they propel Karmakanic with power and style. Jonas' fretless playing is sweet and syrupy. I'd love to hear him in a straight fusion setting, ala the other Jonas. Csorsz playing swings and thrills. These guys got down. Very tight!

This is the first time I'd heard Krister Jonzon, the guitarist. He is versatile, from jazz to blues and straight out rock. First rate and then some. Roine Stolt does guest on two tracks and on "Wheel of Life" he tosses off a few Holdsworth-like lines that left me wanting more. The other TFK team members appear on a few other tracks, but thankfully don't turn this into another TFK album.

The main reason this doesn't sound like TFK is the great vocal work of Goran Edman. I really dig his voice. The main problem I've had with modern prog is the overwhelming number of singers who feel they have to play the overdramatic opera role in each performance. Thanks to Goran for not overstating his parts. He sounds down to earth and has some touches of Paul Rogers in his bluesy delivery.

Many of the tunes have heavy spiritual lyrics, though not too preachy. Two songs are instrumentals; Do You Tango?, a bit of fun, and Hindby, one of the best instrumentals I've heard in a while, bluesy and crisp.

All in all, a worthy selection for any prog catalogue and more satisfying then The Tangent and the Flower Kings latest. Of course, I will now have to hunt down the first Karmakanic release. Sheesh, all the money....

This side project from members of The Flower Kings is amazing. Prog for the sake of prog is sometimes boring, but this CD is refreshing, with great melodic music, great vocals and just overall excellent songs.

This was a pleasant surprise, and a CD that gets better with each listen, a true gem.

the music sounds great, but are these prices correct? over $60 amd even up to $200+ ? is that a joke? or are there some special tariffs on this product?

The music of Karmakanic gets better with every release. Their debut Entering The Spectra although a very good really does sound like one of the Flower Kings albums. What we are getting on Wheel Of Life to some extend and even more of on their latest Who's The Boss In The Factory (my first exposure to this band) is the increased amount of beautiful melodic moments of the sorts the music of Yes and Genesis would usually end up exploding in. For whatever strange reasons the music of Flower Kings was lacking these overtures, as far as my ears, or actually my heart and soul could tell. As I think is quite visible by now Jonas Reingold happens to be very spiritual and I am so glad that he had found a way to express and share with us his beautiful inner self.

`Every single action has its consequence
From the greatest conquest to a thought.
Every single flutter from the wings of a butterfly
Causes little whirlwinds that will make the heavens roar
In the wheel of life.'

The above text was placed by Jonas on the inside cover as a motto of this album. It is a part of his lyrics for the title song Wheel Of Life. I don't know much about butterflies but the first sentence of this statement I believe in as well. It is one of the basic laws of the spiritual world. I am not sure if Jonas as well is spending his free time following the body of work left behind by spiritual scientists, or should I say, by the scientists of the realm of spirit like Rudolf Steiner, Djwhal Khul and many others, but it surely seems like it, since he shares their main and fundamental esoteric truth with us and writes a rock concept album around that thought. This world may seem uninspiring on the surface but It is truly magical beneath its appearance, and we are so lucky to have access to such an enormous body of knowledge by now. From one search to the other we are able to google our way into the wisdom of the world accumulated by others over the centuries. Although technologically we are at the pinnacle of our development right now I actually feel like, unfortunately we are walking down the mountain from the heights of our spiritual development achieved by us exactly 100 years ago. Do not confuse what I am talking about with spiritualism, which was a very materialistic approach to...completely missing the point. I have a feeling that in the next years and decades we will be getting more and more little clues here and there, gentle and beautifully wrapped, like this album Wheel Of Life, slowly opening our eyes to the secrets of our esoteric universe. It would be such a waste for humanity to move on in the way we are moving right now, oblivious to the fundamentals leading our existence. Here are the lyrics beginning this album:

`SOS for mankind, stuck in the illusion
Crawling in the mud of, convincing misconception.
SOS for everyone suffering from the belief
That everything we feel is real and driven out of greed.'

Musically this album has a progressive rock feeling lightened by its jazz influences. This mood keeps on growing on you with your consecutive listening. Perhaps nothing strikes you here as spectacular but the concept is grand, the music is great and the light acquired keeps on shining within you. This album is very even and although my favorite song might be Where The Earth Meets The Sky there are no highs and lows here. This music just flows... If you have not heard Karmakanic before do not buy this album but first get their newest Who Is The Boss In The Factory. Musically it is quite an improvement over this one, and I consider it one of the best albums of the last 2 years. I have a feeling that you will like that album so much you will be getting this one next. I am already looking forward to what Jonas is working on presently because the curve of what he has been developing is extremely promising.

"Wheel" is the second album released under the Karmakanic moniker. This one seems to be much more of a band effort rather than simply a solo project for Flower Kings bassist Jonas Rheingold. Former Flower Kings drummer Zoltan Csorsz is still here, but the rest of The Flower Kings basically just serve in guest spots on a few tracks. The band, on this one, is a four piece with vocalist Goran Edman and guitarist Krister Jonzon rounding out the lineup. Overall I think this is a better album than the bands debut. The album covers similar musical territory with all of the musicians turning in top notch performances. The album is a mix of progressive rock vocal pieces and instrumentals. The two instrumentals on the album "Do U Tango?" and "Hindby" are both very good. The vocal tracks are all solid as well. If you like The Flower Kings, The Tangent or other similar bands you would probably eat this up.

One of the best records among The Flower Kings,Tomas Bodin,Roine Stolt,Kaipa,Anglagard,Quidam and Glass Hammer I like to listen.
The simple artwork does not reflect the richness of the music.

I can't give Jonas Reingold, Zoltan Czorsz, and the others enough praise on their well-tempered musicianship and their dedication to creating pristine-sounding records, but I sometimes wish that they would throw the prog-meets-flowerpower idealist conceptualizations by the wayside. I particularly feel that Jonas is hung up on trying to combine his prog-metal dexterity and jazz sensibilities with the operatic theatrics of Pink Floyd's 'The Wall.' This was definitely more apparent on 'Entering the Spectra,' but certainly echoes heavily through 'Masterplan' and 'Wheel of Life.' The lyrics and classical grandiosity in several parts of this album often make it tough to enjoy. I got into Reingold's playing primarily because of his fusion chops and his ability to put together great bass lines. I just wish he would emphasize working on Zappa-esque pieces like "Do U Tango" instead of trying to write the next prog opus. He should take a hint from Tomas Bodin and emphasize the music above everything. The concept on 'Spectra' was inch-deep and a bit irritating to deal with and this album is no different. The lyrics drift over the same faux-psychedelic 'cosmic' this-and-that and 'merry go round' metaphors that Roine Stolt beats to death on every Flower Kings album. The lyrics on this are a bit cliche overall, with the exception of 'Alex in Paradise,' which at least has a tangible story behind it. I understand fully that English is likely Reingold's second language and that he's catering to prog's predominantly English market, but there is still way too much emphasis on the vocals for a musician of this caliber. The same could be said about Zappa, who often chose to sing like a goofball over music that was otherwise great in its own right.
That being said, the music on this record is great in the same way the music on the Flower Kings' records is great. The playing is tight and colorful. The recording is pristine and bears a mark of pride that Reingold and Co. have in all of their studio work. I always look forward to hearing the music on the 4+ albums of work Jonas does each year (in Kaipa, Flower Kings, Tangent, etc...). I just want to hear more music and less singing/lyrics/concepts. The prog of the 70s/80s has been cliched and tedious for some time now but in my opinion, good musicianship will never go bad. Jonas needs to leave the Genesis phase and embrace the Brand X phase.