Detailed Reviews [Meditation Project - 2003 - "Worship Scraped"]

Prolusion. I don't know how many albums French musician and composer Guillaume Cazenave has released, but this is definitely not the first. However, this is his first output, which goes under the vehicle The Meditation Project. In all, Cazenave plans to release five concept albums under that moniker.

Synopsis. To all appearances, this guy is from the reserve tribe:-) of Fifth Element. Which is regardless of any seeming contradictions that you may find in my words below. "Worship Scraped" is a work of rare originality and innovation. With the exception of the short instrumental Inter (4), which is actually a spacey intro to the following song, the music is extremely unique everywhere on the album. The only song here, the structurally stylistic essence of which is immediately recognizable, Interactive (1), is no exception to the rule as well. While the style is absolutely certain and is Classic Symphonic Space Rock, the sound is fresh and uncommon, and the arrangements are both complex and beautiful. The following two tracks: Internal Talk and the 21-minute Interpassive Neuro Activity (4 & 5) are incredibly original and intricate and are notable for constantly developing and very eclectic arrangements, cascades of virtuosi solos of several instruments, including those of acoustic guitar, violin, piano, and trombone, contrasting interplay between all of them, kaleidoscopic and, mostly, sudden changes of tempo and direction, odd time measures, etc. The stylistics is an extremely complex and unusual, yet, highly cohesive combination (which is not the same as a cocktail!) of Symphonic Space Rock, Space Metal, Jazz-Fusion, Classical Music, Electronic Rock, and Black Metal with the predominance of the first four of them. This is a brilliant music, and I can't consider it Fifth Element only because all of its constituents are familiar to me. Cazenave is a chameleon singer, and his vocal palette is as rich in varied colors as is wide his voice diapason. Nevertheless, he mostly sings with clear vocals, which are distinctly dramatic in character, just like most of the instrumental arrangements on the album, which, in its turn, is regardless of their almost inconceivable diversity. Interface Disturbance (5) is still complex and is much in the same direction, though it is a bit less intricate than Internal Talk and Interpassive Neuro Activity and features some more electronic sounds than any of the preceding three songs. One of the most distinguished features of the music on the album concerns its jazzy constituent. This is a classic Jazz-Fusion, and not Space Fusion. Well, the lyrics aren't that certain, despite their pronounced theology-related orientation, and are, sometimes, quite rough. However, these factors aren't of great importance, as the man is currently in such a creatively creative state, when even the most demonic human demons can turn into angels. Therein lies the principal difference between Art and Science, by the way.

Conclusion. The Meditation Project's (read Guillaume Cazenave's) "Worship Scraped" is a terrifically interesting album and is an undeniable masterpiece, even though I am not sure that I can recommend it to anyone. Nevertheless, I will dare to predict that the largest audience of the work will consist of the connoisseurs of Classic Symphonic Progressive. Generally, I take my hat off to the work of Musea Records in 2003. I clearly realize and highly appreciate the fact that most of the CDs, released by the largest contemporary progressive label last year, are of the highest progressive quality.

VM: March 8, 2004