Long acoustic folk songs with flute, violin and guitar, where the percussion and vocals are very thrifty with their input. Though the band hails from the USA, folk influences from eastern Europe are used.
They’re especially clearly embedded in opener ‘Clouds’, which brought the Armenian band Artsruni (a name that could ring a bell amongst the prog rockers) in mind. After a minutes long somber intro, ‘Angels’ seems to hold more in store: some medieval sounding tambourine and drum, a few passages where the guitar chords are played more energetically, while the vocals remind somewhat of the Moody Blues. The ‘ouroubouros’ is an ancient symbol of a snake eating its own tail. This symbolizes the eternal recreation, like the phoenix which time and time again is reborn from its ashes. So the meditative, somewhat melancholic song of the same name contains repetitive passages. On ‘Microcosmos’, built on guitar and flute, the voice is a bit out of tune. Then ‘Peace And Solitude’ follows the same pattern as ‘Angels’ and sounds more dynamic. With less than six minutes, the compact ‘Heiligkeit’ is more explicit folk, especially due to the violin, while the male voice sounds harsher (Michaels turn?) and a whiff of female vocals are added towards the end. In the closing ‘Unbroken’, we have energetic/repetitive passages, more, but not a lot female vocals and again those delicate flute melodies.
With its lengthy songs, I’d tend to describe this album as one long soundscape, partly painted in soft dawn colors by a timid spring sun, partly bright by a moderate summer sun.
