Detailed Reviews [Intelligent Music Project V - 2020 - "Life Motion"]

Prolusion. Bulgarian venture Intelligent Music Project is the creative vehicle of composer Milen Vrabevski, who assemble a team of renowned musicians to record and perform his compositions. The project has a history of exploring progressive rock, classic rock and hard rock, and it would appear that the specific style and orientation as such aren't aspects that really are all that important for this venture as long as the material falls somewhere within this spectrum. Seven studio albums have been released under this moniker so far, of which the most recent one appeared in 2022. "Life Motion" is the fifth album by this band project, as was issued back in 2020.

Analysis. While Intelligent Music Project has been a venture that has included progressive rock oriented creations in the past, the material presented in 2020 do not include creations within this style. On this occasion the compositions are all inside of a classic rock and classic hard rock spectrum, with the 1980's seemingly the main decade of choice as far as likely sources of inspiration are concerned. My main impression is that it is more of a US style variety of this music that is explored, and one that comes with a distinctly radio friendly presence. Hence we won't find any truly rough edges here, other than a sometime raspier presence in the lead vocal department. The stand out songs are filled with efficient contrasts, engaging melodies and well developed hooks. Typically we'll get songs alternating between a gentler and a harder edged expression, with the latter and more impactful one saved for the chorus section. A select few purebred rockers obviously have a higher intensity level throughout, while the ballads operate under slightly different terms. Here we have more of a gradual development, with a gentle start, a more fleshed out continuation and then a fully fleshed out conclusion. Sometimes with a proper ballad developing into a rock ballad or a power ballad, sometimes with a ballad given an additional orchestral backing before taking the next step or additional two steps in the development cycle. With high quality instrumentalists and vocalists involved, this is an album that comes with something of a guarantee as to the general quality of the material. Quality musicianship and vocals tend to cater for that department rather well. Many of the songs are both well enough developed and with a high enough inherent quality to make an impact too, something that is much harder to achieve than most people can imagine when dealing with a style of music that has been popular for decades. While not everything is engaging on a deeper level, this is perhaps more a matter of subjective taste in music than any lacking foundational qualities as such.

Conclusion. "Life Motion" isn't an album that will manage to gain all that much attention from a strict progressive rock interested audience. But for those who love and treasure their AOR, classic rock and classic hard rock, this is a production that should make much more of an impact. Those who tend to enjoy the radio friendly rock and hard rock of the 1980's, and then the variations of those orientations that had its existence outside of the pop metal territories, this is a production that should be an interesting experience for many and probably a rewarding one for quite a few at that.

Progmessor: January 2023
The Rating Room