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It is the thirst of blood that leads the audience to the arena Few artists have left their mark upon the pairing of an electric guitar and orchestra quite like Victor Smolski. For more than 15 years the guitar wizard from the very heart of Belarus shaped the sonic tapestry of RAGE before finally starting his own project ALMANAC. There no surprises here he continued working on the perfect amalgamation of metal and classical music spiced with enthralling historic themes. After establishing ALMANAC as an uprising metal force with his first two records Tsar (2016) and Kingslayer (2018) Smolski boldly reshaped the band and is starting from pole position into what will be a very exciting heavy metal year. We ve been on the road a lot Smolski says of the last years. So much in fact that some of our members couldn t make do. They parted ways with us amicably because they realized that we wanted to go for it full throttle. They couldn t do it which is why they gladly made room for what is now the strongest ALMANAC incarnation ever.ALMANAC in 2020 consists of musical director Victor Smolski (guitars cello sitar piano keyboards) vocal tagteam Patrick Sühl and Jeannette Marchewka bass player Tim Rashid and drummer Kevin Kott with GAMMA RAY bellower Frank Beck and growl god Marcel Junker adding additional vocal oomph. Once again this lineup change really propelled us onwards. Suddenly we had all the time we needed to rehearse to experiment to just be spontaneous. And somehow by accident he laughs we got way more heavy. He can say that again; after having spent one year on the road with this current lineup playing everything from packed clubs to huge arenas ALMANAC return usually bombastic and refined yet surprisingly heavy fast and aggressive. With more than 30 years in the world of heavy metal under his belt Smolski of course has long established his signature style you instantly recognize throbbing riffs bombastic orchestration versatile vocals. More than ever before however the third album is marrying the bandwidth between symphonic grandeur and choking impact. Almanac never sounded that heavy that gripping that precise. They ve never been this dynamic before either: Rush of Death is a split album whose midsection is dedicated to Suite Lingua Mortis Part 2 a direct sequel to the much revered metalmeetsorchestra spectacle found on RAGE s Speak of the Devil (2006). I composed the first Lingua Mortis Suite with my father Smolski says. A couple of years ago I lost him which put me in a very dark place. He was the central figure in my musical career and was always there for me. For a long time I wasn t able to compose a single note. Now however is the time to continue this suite in his memory. With the same orchestra from Minsk and in the same studio.Listening to ALMANAC going all in with the Inspector Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Virtuoso will enchant Smolski fans and avid RAGE followers alike. Simply no other metal band working with a huge orchestra manages to pull off such a direct and organic sound. No other metal band is spearheaded by Smolski however. I don t wanna have a band in which everyone is just sitting around at home sending demos to and fro he states. I want to feel the songs in the rehearsal space. A song is only working on a record when it s working live.Rush of Death is not only the heaviest ALMANAC album yet; it s also the most contemporary. Aft.
