Nova Art Follow Yourself
by Joe Mis
Staff Writer
Nova Art is the brainchild of Russian singer and composer Andrey (Andrew) Nova. Their music is difficult to classify as it mixes elements of old school heavy metal with progressive metal and “art rock”. Unlike some other bands to emerge from the former Soviet Union, these guys will succeed solely on the strength of their music rather than on a gimmicky “Hey Ve Are From Russia” attitude.
Released worldwide by My Kingdom Music, Follow Yourself is Nova Art’s second album. It has received much wider distribution and more attention than their first, 2005’s The Art of Nova (released in Russia on the Valiant and DVS labels). The current line up is: Andrew Nova (vocals), Artem Kleymyonov (guitars), Stanislav Koulikov (drums), Konstantin Ganulich (bass) and Konstantin Sdobnov (keyboards). Andrew Nova wrote all of the music for the album, and is also credited as co-producer.
Nova Art’s music is moody, powerful and well written. The engineering is a bit rough at times but it suits the music perfectly. Andrew Nova has a limited dynamic vocal range, but he makes up for it by singing in three distinct styles – a medium-high falsetto (which he does well), a normal singing voice (which he also does well), and a deeper, almost death-metal growl (which works most of the time but occasionally becomes indecipherable). Kleymyonov is an outstanding rhythm guitarist who lays down some powerful riffs and emotional acoustic passages, but at times becomes overly enamored of harmonics and squeals. His solos are sometimes lost among the keyboards and drums. Koulikov and Ganulich are a very competent rhythm section, handling the many tempo and style changes smoothly and cleanly. Sdobnov’s keyboards are amazing and seem to drive many of the songs.
“Wake up and live!” is the underlying theme of Follow Yourself. The highlight of the album is “Deliverance,” a three song arc that opens with the pounding and dark “Would My Soul…” a drum and bass-driven piece. It leads right into the moody and softer “Medium” – a great song that lyrically transitions from suicidal thoughts to life and hope. The arc concludes with the bouncy and uplifting “Sense Of Life” – some outstanding keyboards here. Guest musician Olez Izotov provides some high-energy guitar on three tracks, and is at his sharpest in “Knowledge Garden.” Guest vocalist Lidia Emelyanova lends her hauntingly beautiful voice to three tracks as well, the best being “Deceptive World.” “Just Raining” and “2-35 Before The Roar” are nice mid-album instrumentals that give you a chance to take a breath before diving back into the power chords.
All in all, Follow Yourself is a solid album, but not a perfect one. Some of the prog-metal inspired tempo changes are a bit jarring and lead to the question “Is this still the same song?” – and Nova’s Russian accent may be a small stumbling block for some Western ears. Otherwise, the musicianship is top-notch, the production is decent, and the sound is consistently powerful. Fans of Dream Theater style progressive metal will definitely not be disappointed. Nova Art is a very young band with a bright future, and they will only improve with age.
Web: On MySpace and Official site.
Label: My Kingdom Music
Track Listing:
1. Don’t Follow the Crowd
2. Follow Yourself
3. Would My Soul… (Deliverance pt.1)
4. Medium (Deliverance pt.2)
5. Sense of Life (Deliverance pt.3)
6. Knowledge Garden
7. Just Raining
8. Deceptive World
9. 2-35 Before the Roar
10. My Essence
11. Lost in Dreams
HRH Rating: 8/10