Residuous Mentales - A Temporary State of Bliss - 2023
“..the stuff of dreams ...”
intro
The headline of my review for the debut album "Introspection" by the Greek studio project Residuos Mentales was "Neo Classical Textures and elements of electronic and ambient music" but the music on the new album "A Temporary State of Bliss" is something completely different . A surprising twist. The new album by Verbal Delirium keyboardist Stratos Morianos and multi-instrumentalist Alexandros Mantas is overflowing with various musical styles. In addition to the already present electronic, ambient and elements of Greek music, you now also hear fragments of heavy and sometimes quite complex progressive rock. Listening to "A Temporary State of Bliss" is an overwhelming progressive rock experience. Or in their own words "This sophomoric achievement is still exploring the instrumental possibilities of progressive rock, only this time Residuos Mentales have upped the tension with an even more adventurous album".
Stratos Morianos - keyboards, synthesizers; Alexandros Mantas - guitars, flute, bass
Dimitris Radis - guitars, bass; Yiannis Iliakis - drums, percussion; George Karrayiannis - 2nd guitat solo on "A Series of Self-Correcting Errors"; Vaggelis Katsarelis - trumpet on "The Missing Part"; Maria Tseva - vocals on "The Stuff of Dreams"
review
The long album opener "The Stuff Of Dreams" is inspired by the book of the same name by Sane Joker and is divided into the following sections; i) The Meeting, ii) In Life and Death, iii) There and Back to Hades, iv) The Curse Is Not Lifted, v) Lives Apart, vi) The Quest of the Lion Child, vii) Free to Live. "The Meeting" is a dark and mysterious electronic soundscape with only synths and keyboard strings at first. When a strumming electric guitar is added, you have to think of Pink Floyd. The intensity of the music builds up slowly with a wonderfully fat synth. An atmospheric opening that flows seamlessly into "In Life and Death" which has a more cheerful character with acoustic guitars and flute. What is striking are the alternating beautiful melody lines of the synth and the fine guitar solos that come together at the end. It is difficult for your reviewer to determine where each section begins or ends. But gradually the music becomes heavier, more complex and more mysterious. As a listener you remain fascinated by all these variations in the music. The music, which now has progressive metal influences, slowly works towards a climax in terms of intensity and then calms down again with melodic guitar work that first has a Pink Floyd vibe but then has a more jazzy character. Sort of a jazzy Camel vibe. What a wonderfully varied opener of 17 minutes.
"The Missing Part" opens with relaxed and melodic piano and guitar (Camel) sounds. Later a jazzy trumpet part is added. Just when you think it is going to become more of a jazzy song, delicate keyboard strings are added and we are treated to a beautiful melodic guitar solo that reminds me of Andy Latimer (Camel). Slowly the song gains more power with full strings and the trumpet returns, building to a nice climax. A wonderful song with a mostly relaxed atmosphere.
"A Series of Self-Correcting Errors" opens with strumming guitars, menacing synths, piano and classic keyboard orchestration, but abruptly transitions into an uptempo rock song with fast guitar and synth parts. When the full keyboard strings swell, the music seems to take on a calmer character for a moment, but soon the hectic returns for a while and then calms down with beautiful guitar melodies, strings and beautiful piano playing. This also includes a wonderful bass part. Then the music becomes more powerful again and we are treated to a more main stream rock guitar solo. We also hear a saxophone and flute passing by. The intensity of the music slowly builds towards a climax. The guitar parts are more rock oriented and at one point I was reminded of the fairly complex music of the American band Djam Karet.
The last song "Impending Catastrophe" has a fairytale beginning with beautiful piano, flute and acoustic guitar on a bed of beautiful keyboard strings. But the music soon changed in character, now uptempo with heavy guitars and cool synths. But it remains melodic. You hear all kinds of instruments passing by in the music of Residuous Mentales. A nice resting point is the part that is introduced by the combination of church organ and keyboard strings. But soon another wave of compact music washes over you. There is enough variation in the music because it is certainly a real melting pot of all kinds of styles in this song. Personally, I like that there are also influences of classical music in my prog. The compact and sometimes intense music washes over you on this album. The contrast with the debut album is therefore great.
conclusion
Wow, it really takes a moment to catch your breath when you listen to this album for the first time. But at the same time I was so overwhelmed and intrigued that I immediately listened to the album for a second time. On this adventurous album you will find a mixture of styles that are seamlessly combined as a whole. Sometimes the music is so dense with all the layers and instruments used that you are a bit overwhelmed by all the impressions. But there are also plenty of moments of tranquility woven into the music. It is an exciting and captivating experience listening to this album. It is an album that will grow the more you listen to it. The contrast with the debut album is great. They sometimes say that the second album is the most difficult to make, but Stratos Morianos and Alexandros Mantas, together with their music friends, don't care about that and come up with a successor that rushes over you like a train. Personally, I think that "A Temporary State of Bliss" has become a fascinating and adventurous album that only reveals its moments of bliss after several listens. If you take the time to listen to this album carefully, a musical world will open up for you. Recommended by progVisions!