ChatGPT translation:

After a long hiatus from the music scene, Lauri Laubre (keyboards) has set himself a formidable challenge with his new album—merging the liturgical chants of Ukrainian Orthodox monastery monks with the music of his own rock band into a cohesive artistic whole.

Remarkably, these two elements never actually came together in the studio. The monks’ chanting was recorded earlier during a cappella liturgies at the Holy Trinity Dukonski Monastery in Ukraine under the direction of Archimandrite Mikhail. Only later did Laubre compose his own music to accompany this material, which was recorded in Estonia with Estonian musicians and the brilliant Ukrainian guitarist Gennadiy Grimov. The band’s rhythm section—Raul Vaigla on bass and Andrus Lillepea on drums—needs no introduction.

The overall impression of “Northodoxiani” is monumental, embodying all the parameters of progressive rock—massive soundscapes, energetic rhythms, and intense performances. If one were to seek analogies in the music world, some supergroups of the 1980s like Asia and Saga come to mind, as does Rick Wakeman’s earlier work, especially in the album’s final track, “A Hero.” Of course, these comparisons are somewhat arbitrary, but Laubre’s analog synthesizer sounds and his development of lengthy compositions fully justify these parallels.

The album’s opening track, “Great Litany,” is impressive—a powerful a cappella beginning by the monks’ male choir is immediately grounded by the rock band’s massive foundation. This is intense prog rock with forceful climaxes, supported by the dramatic symbiosis of choir and band. The next track, “In The Dark,” is a heavy-prog piece, yet unexpectedly intriguing with its harmonic modulations. Gennadiy Grimov’s tonally virtuosic and ultra-expressive guitar solo is undoubtedly the best performance on this album!

As mentioned earlier, “Northodoxiani” features long, development-rich compositions. For the most part, they are well-balanced and compact in terms of form, as demonstrated by the epic progression of “Time Of Hope” with its driving rhythm. Only in “Anthropocene” might one feel that there is perhaps “too much” musical material for a single track, or that the composer’s creative vision is soaring into space.

The album’s final track, “A Hero,” stands out for at least two reasons. First, for its lyrical flute solo (by Tarvi Jaago), which hints at a music hall style. Second, for its memorable and danceable main melody—if you took just that melody and gave it a “Europop twist,” it could easily be sent to the Eurovision Song Contest. (And by this, I mean no disrespect to the composer!)

In summary, this album is a very interesting and well-mixed collection of sonically memorable, dramatic music. It’s monolithic, but fortunately not overly heavy, thanks to some ambient electronic sound solutions, as heard in the track “Northodoxium.”

Original review is here:
https://www.ajakirimuusika.ee/single-post/lauri-laubre-northodoxian