Rurouni Kenshin: Final Chapter Part I The Final

Karmakanic is the project of The Flower Kings bassist Jonas Reingold. Yes, this is another The Flower Kings related release, and yes, Reingold is joined here by bandmates Roine Stolt on guitars and vocals, Tomas Bodin on keys, and Zoltan Csorsz on drums, as well as former TFK drummer Jaime Salazar, guitarist Johan Glossner, keyboard player Robert Engstrand, and former Yngwie Malmsteen singer Goran Edman. So, can we classify this as basically another The Flower Kings? On a few songs, it comes pretty close, but there is also a Pain of Salvation-ish prog metal vibe going on here, as well as some jazz-fusion that makes this an all-around winner.

Thirteen songs, and all the artists who contributed to the three previous works, now gathered in a single album. Embellished with the unmistakable sounds of Steve Hackett's electric guitars, the narrating voice of his wife, Jo Lehmann and the magical flute of his brother, John Hackett. The pianistic romanticism of the first keyboardist of the Hackett Band, Nick Magnus, the unmistakable narration of the late Francesco di Giacomo (Banco), the more than unique fretless bass by Richard Sinclair (Caravan, Camel, Hatfield and the North), the phantasmagoric winds of David Jackson (Van Der Graaf Generator), the bass "a la Squire" and more by Billy Sherwood (Yes, Circa), the fantastic electric violin by David Cross (King Crimson), plus another excellent presence: Bernardo Lanzetti (P.F.M.) introducing first vocal track ever on a TRP album.

Recordings that include strings quartets by Schoenberg, Berg, and Webern are common, but an album that includes music for quartet and voice by each of them is a rarity. Schoenberg's Second String Quartet, with a part for soprano in its third and fourth movements, is standard repertoire, but the version of Berg's Lyric Suite with a vocal part in the final movement is highly unusual, and Webern's bagatelle with voice, an unpublished movement apparently once intended to be part of the Six Bagatelles, Op. 9, receives what is probably its first recording. Novelty aside, the high standards of these performances make this a formidable release. Founded just before the turn of the millennium, Quatuor Diotima plays with the assurance and mutual understanding of a seasoned ensemble. The quartet has a lean, clean sound and the ensemble is immaculate, playing with exquisite expressiveness, an ideal combination for this repertoire.