Almanac in 2020 is a little different to those who appeared on the debut album, with Victor Smolski (guitars, cello, sitar, piano, keyboards) currently joined by singers Patrick Sühl and Jeannette Marchewka, bass player Tim Rashid and drummer Kevin Kott, plus guest singers Frank Beck (Gamma Ray) and Marcel Junker (Anam). Metalheads may not realise, but Smolski is a champion rallycross driver and the cover art shows his car ripping itself to pieces as it attacks the car next to you – any similarities between this image and that of Rage’s Soundchasers I am sure are purely coincidental (not). The album also commences with the sound of racing engines, but this isn’t just an album for now, it also looks back directly to one of his most important pieces in Rage. Smolski was performing in a professional group when he was just fourteen, but perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that he was a precocious musical talent given his father is Professor Dmitry Smolski, one of the most important composers in Belarus. Within this album is a section dedicated to “Suite Lingua Mortis Part 2”, a direct sequel to the metal/orchestra collaboration which appeared on ‘Speak of the Devil’ back in 2006. “I composed the first “Lingua Mortis Suite” with my father”, Smolski says. “A couple of years ago, I lost him, which put me in a very dark place. He was the central figure in my musical career and was always there for me. For a long time, I wasn’t able to compose a single note. Now, however, is the time to continue this suite in his memory. With the same orchestra from Minsk, and in the same studio.”
Almanac are a band very much in the style of Rage, showing that in recent years Smolski was at least as important in the musical direction of the band as Peavy Wagner as their ideas bounced between them and they produced some seminal works. Peavy continues to shift his line-up around, and Smolski is similar in that regard, and they are both single-minded in achieving what they have in their mind, so in many ways it is surprising they managed to survive in the same band for so many years together. It demonstrates just how musically aligned they were, which is why Almanac can be seen as a direct continuation of Rage in many ways, just as Refuge can be seen as a throwback.
This is solid power metal, from a guitarist who knows exactly what he wants to deliver, and ensures he has the people alongside him to achieve just that. For any fan of large guitar power metal with symphonic influences then this is essential.
Rating: 8/10
Links:
https://www.almanac.band/
https://www.nuclearblast.de/en/
