Karmakanic - Wheel of LIfe

It's weird seeing a band like Karmakanic being released on Regain Records, a label which is home to extreme metal bands like Ragnarok and Marduk. They have recently diversified their roster with the progressive metal of Time Requiem and the legendary Danzig and Overkill. Karmakanic play a style familiar to seventies progressive rock. The band was formed just a couple of years ago by Flower Kings members Jonas Reingold (bass) and Zoltan Csorsz (drums). They released their debut full length, Entering the Spectra, in 2002.

While Karmakanic is essentially Reingold's solo project, he and Csorsz are joined by guitarist Krister Jonzon and vocalist Goran Edman (ex-Glory, ex-Yngwie Malmsteen). Wheel of Life features guest appearances by Time Requiem keyboard wiz Richard Anderson, Flower Kings guitarist Roine Stolt, and Flower Kings keyboardist Tomas Bodin. Jonas Reingold is a very distinct bassist and you can always identify his bouncy, prominent playing. The fifteen minute epic "Masterplan Pt. 1" opens Wheel of Life with Reingold's quirky and bouncy sound. The music is quintessential prog and the vocals actually remind me of the Beatles. The song wanders and eventually mellows. "Alex in Paradise" is upbeat and "At the Speed of Light" features some vocal variations. Csorsz is really impressive on Wheel of Life. The spastic instrumental "Do U Tango" allows him to shine. He does so again on "Where the Earth Meets the Sky" which is totally seventies prog. The much shorter "Masterplan Pt. 2" closes Wheel of Life on a mellow note with a Pink Floyd like sound. Karmakanic is pure old school prog rock (just look at that album cover) but it actually sounds fresh at the same time.