In 2018, ROZ VITALIS offers newest studio album, also via Lizard Records. This album is titled “The Hidden Man of the Heart”. It is most ambitious, grandiose and high-flying opus of the band. It consists of 14 tracks and lasts 63 minutes. Various keyboards, guitars, bass, drums, flute and trumpet are supplemented by exotic kinds of percussion, mandolin, bass clarinet and even string quartet! It is that this album extremely emphasizes strange combination of memorable/hooking melodies and sophisticated compositional structures with complex system of leitmotivs. Such combination of “familiarity and weirdness” is one of the trademarks of ROZ VITALIS
Conceptually the album is about spiritual/creative constituent of a person in strange dynamics. Such constituent can be called “The Hidden Man of The Heart”. Often this dynamics can be tragic and dramatic when a person is faced with various temptations destroying his or her spiritual/creative constituent. A person can be Trampled and Wounded by such temptations which can be represented in the terms of The Lion and Adder, Jungle, or just Evildoers. Sometimes such person becomes Refugee in the Blurred and Passed Over. And then all that is left to do is to sing, to cry and to scream – in desperation – Psalm 6!
The style of “The Hidden Man of the Heart” – like any other ROZ VITALIS stuff – can be described as the “Unclassifiable Branch of Prog Rock”. However, such tags as “Melodic Avant Rock”, “Canterbury Gothic Prog” or “Between Sympho Prog and Avant Prog“, are, perhaps, also partly relevant.
Music of ROZ VITALIS is about The Ineffable and The Unfathomable. In particular, it is about human aspiration for The Unapproachable Light.
“The Hidden Man of the Heart”
è l’opera più ambiziosa, più caleidoscopica della band russa ROZ VITALIS, ancora targata Lizard Records dopo l’apprezzato “Lavoro d’Amore”. Un album di 14 tracce per una durata complessiva di 63 minuti. Un lavoro particolarmente eclettico, ricco di variegate atmosfere e sfaccettature, grazie all’utilizzo di diverse tastiere, chitarre, basso, batteria, flauto e tromba, con l’aggiunta di esotici tipi di percussioni, mandolino, clarinetto basso e persino quartetto d’archi.d’archi. Una sorprendente sequenza di brani che enfatizza in modo straordinario particolari combinazioni di accattivanti e memorabili melodie e sofisticate strutture compositive, con un uso complesso di leitmotiv. Tale combinazione di “familiarità e straniamento” è uno dei marchi di fabbrica di ROZ VITALIS
Lo stile di “The Hidden Man of the Heart” – come qualsiasi altro ROZ VITALIS – può essere descritto come “branca inclassificabile del Prog Rock“. Tuttavia, tag come “Melodic Avant Rock“, “Canterbury Gothic Prog” o “tra Prog sinfonico e Avant Prog” sono, forse, anche in parte di efficace definizione.
Concettualmente l’album esprime la parte spirituale / creativa di una persona di fronte a scelte difficili e a strane dinamiche. Tale componente può essere chiamata “L’uomo nascosto del cuore”.
http://www.musicmap.it/recdischi/ordinaperr.asp?id=6286