DisAgreement Online

When Ivan Rozmainsky isn’t publishing any papers in economics as an associate professor at a university in Saint Petersburg, he’s either busy with his progressive rock band Roz Vitalis, or with one of his side projects, among which Compassionizer has taken up the most space in recent years. A first album was released in 2020, making The Fellowship Of The Mystery already the band’s fourth longplayer, coming two years after its predecessor. Last year saw the release of As Smoke Is Driven Away, a one long-track EP, and A Tribute To George Harrison EP. It makes you wonder how focused one person can be.

There is nothing new under the sun, when it comes to Compassionizer, although it must be said that they have been refining their sound over the years. The new album contains six shorter tracks ranging from four to five minutes, and the twenty-minute-plus title track. The band line-up is quite unusual, as is the music too. Ivan Rozmainsky is in charge of composition, and plays all the keyboards, synths, melltrons, kalimba and this time even a spinet, to make for a late Baroque atmosphere. Serghei Liubcenco plays by himself the more typical rock instruments (guitar, bass, drums) but also adds some Central Asian percussion and string instruments. The truly weird choice is that the quartet features a clarinettist and a bass clarinettist.

Those familiar with Compassionizer know what to expect. Everybody else should prepare themselves for a strange avant chamber prog hybrid. The guitars are only used sparsely, the drums rarely play a straight beat but rather add percussive touches here and there. Guest musicians on trumpet, ukulele and violins add even more colour, although everything always feels very subdued, like music for a twilit setting. Ivan Rozmainsky is more a composer than a typical songwriter, and the progressive rock elements are less Yes and Genesis than a nod to darker Rock In Opposition bands like Univers Zero and Art Zoyd.

The song titles are all verses from the Bible, so there might be a spiritual background to the music, but as it is instrumental, one might not accuse Compassionizer of proselytizing. I admit this is not a very easy music to listen to. There are elements of progressive rock that will help find your footing, but all in all Compassionizer have managed to create their own sonic universe since their inception. The Fellowship Of The Mystery is yet another step in the band’s growing musical journey that I am certain is far from over.