REVIEW: ZA FRUMI - ZA SHUM USHATAR UGLAKH

 

ZA FRUMI - ZA SHUM USHATAR UGLAKH (Independent, 2000):

Technical data:

Recorded and Mixed in Stockholm 2000.

Engineered by Za Frumi.

Track list:   1- Intro, 2- Dushatar, 3- Za Kala, 4- Za Shulg, 5- Nudertogat, 6- Albai, 7- Vrapogat, 8- Interludium, 9 - Za Ismael Kala (Act I), 10 - Za Ismael Kala (Act. II), 11- Knish Requiem (Outro).

This is a conceptual album narrating an epic story about the orc leader Uglakh and his compatriots. Much in the vein of Lord of The Rings or the "Planet of Adventure" saga. The curious thing here is that the lyrics are in a strange language (in fact they are not lyrics, they are dialogues between the creatures that are the protagonists of this history), the one used by the characters and the booklet has the translation to english. The music here has something tribal (like on "Dushatar" with tribal percussion), something atmospheric (there is heavy use of keyboards and clean guitars and also female vocals like on "Albai"). It is like listening to the soundtrack to a science fiction movie. It is an interesting concept to create a history and then put music on it in order to make the listener see an imaginary movie. I have never before listened something like this, full of battle noises and all the sounds that you would hear in the cinema, plus the voices of this creatures. Favorite tracks: "Nudertogat" and "Albai". Contact: zafrumi@hotmail.com