“This is a very good and refreshing album which was classified second best in 2011 and it was not for nothing”
1 A long journey-Intro 6:02
2 Step by Step 5:16
3 Heights and Depths 7:28
4 Die Kinder der Erde 5:03
5 Who we Are 6:04
6 Chapters of Life 6:54
7 In Mutatio Tempora 4:59
8 Consolation and Oblivion 8:14
9 Never Alone 8:27
10 The Migration–Outro 5:14
(CD/DDL 63:38) (V.F.)
(EDM, E-Rock, Cinematic)
A growl of gong opens A long journey- Intro which immediately slides into the tribal vapors of the Arabian Nights with Mellotron wings which coat an immensely cinematic overture. Second gong; and drum rolls beat a measure of Egyptian slaves under even denser violin envelopes as the first stages of the sequencer is clicking under a canvas of fat choirs which hum to an emblematic approach of a Persian hymn. After the third hit of the gongs, the rhythm bounces by saccade in a more electronic phase. The incisive guitar of FD Project spreads its creaky and twisted solos on a structure eroded by sequences and percussions which pulsate and tremor on this E-rock more symphonic, but as much intense than theatrical. Welcome to Matzumi's astral journey. Where the Milky Way crosses a land impregnated with the poems of the sand's peoples where life stops and regains its rights in the astral breezes of the Babylonian gods. IN MUTATIO TEMPORA, for the race of time, is an impressive work that comes out of nowhere. It is a great album where the sweet poetry of Kathrin Manz overlaps good sequenced phases, cosmic and cinematic atmospheres on big symphonic progressive rock structures. It's a big hour of pleasure that surprises each time we insert this little flat disc in our CD player!
Intense violin sails surround the intro of Step by Step, whose gongs and ethereal mists somewhat follow the cinematographic model of the opening track. The chirps of the synth, which stick to the crackling and jerky sequences, draw a swirling structure which is similar to that of Alan Parsons' I Robot. A structure which oscillates curtly on the flying wings of violins. They lose altitude in dreamlike vocalizations, generating a fascinating duality between this crushed rhythm and the poetic harmonies which are exchanged a structure where progressive and symphonic rock rubs easily an EM heavily sequenced. Delicate arpeggios sparkle and chant with pretty nice Eden voices at the opening of Heights and Depths. The oneiric synth layers, which adorn this ethereal introduction, finely swap under the rattling of reverberating cymbals while other synth layers add to the ambience which is subjected to the pulsations of a bass-drum. And quietly Heights and Depths takes off towards a more deafening rhythm where the percussions resound and pulsate around a slightly stroboscopic line which winds a bed of synth layers with Babylonian aromas. The sequences jump from all sides. Oscillating and hopping with a disorderly approach, they shape a heavy and resonant rhythm which moderates its ardors when meeting the suave vocalizations of Matzumi, bringing the last phase of Heights and Depths in the dreamlike sweetness of a pharaonic world. The principle of the number's force applies to the rough sequences which throb with a heavy and infernal rhythm on Die Kinder der Erde. It's a very good cover of a title that we find on the album Dying Sun / Scarlet Moon by Nattefrost. Matzumi participated in this album and she takes up this title with an infernal heaviness that we never get tired of hearing and which shows that EM can be downright frenzied. Who we Are is a very moving title which begins with violins whose strings draw tears that are lost in fiddled mists. It's a very intense title endowed with a heavy dramatic cachet which embraces a more angelic part with a delicate piano which makes its dreamy notes dance on a structure vacillating at the gates of resilience.
Chapters of Life is a great title whose heavy and pulsating rhythm is excited on an evolutionary structure. Silky, the intro is full of iridescent breezes and arpeggios singer that come out of the bowels of an indomitable beast. Good spherical waves rise to undulate on a finely jerky line while pulsations hammer a heavier rhythm. A rhythm where the tempestuous pounding progresses with a fine acceleration in its flow, while the synths divide the harmonies with warping lines and others with scents always imbued of old Arabian tales. This influence of Arabic dances and rhythms is at the heart of the harmonies of IN MUTATIO TEMPORA. Thus, and after an ethereal intro topped with enveloping synth wings, the title-track offers a heavy structure where the rhythm gallops on a good amalgam of sequences, percussions and pulsating bass chords. The rhythm roars on the plains of the Persian deserts, surrounded by a synth that swaps its cosmic sounds for violin strings which veil themselves with the voice of Matzumi. Violins with strings that are both jerky and melodious caress the curves of an increasing rhythm which is fed by riffs which slide under the blows of more and more repeated bows which structure a captivating symphonic approach. The electronic and symphonic union which dips in aromas of the sands' peoples continues with Consolation and Oblivion, a long title where the lamentations of Kathrin Manz mold themselves to the morphic layers of the synths. Late, the tempo is teased a little after the 3rd minute with a mixture of percussions and sequences which pulsate under the blows of jerky bows. The rhythmic canvas is latent and short, serving as a pretext for dividing the Arabian astral atmospheres. They throne above this title with essences of poetic priestess coming from the vocalizations of Matzumi and her synths with Persian tones. Never Alone embraces a long angelic intro where the breaths of Orion caress the dust of shimmering stars before the curt and jerky rhythm awakens among heavy reverberations. Like a gallop on astral plains, the rhythm dithers before exploding under the strikes of the percussions which frame synthesized harmonies and the chants from Matzumi. The Migration -Outro loops the loop of this fascinating musical journey in the heart of the ancient Arab lands with a title as cinematic and emblematic as its introductory title, crescendo in less. A bit like a long journey of a lifetime which reaches its ultimate point, concluding a really good album which was classified second best to none of 2011, on a national level, at the last Schallwelle Awards.
Sylvain Lupari (March 27th, 2012) ****½*
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