Speaking of keyboards, Jones handled much of the keyboard work here - although Gonzalo Carrera, keyboardist on 2010's The Gathering Light, whom re-joined and then re-left Karnataka during the past few years, is also credited with performing on the album - as well as co-writing three of its songs. Jones is also credited with acoustic guitars and the string arrangements here - meaning that he is very much the architect behind the eight songs that make up the album. The overriding theme of Requiem for a Dream is the climate crisis, with a few of the songs here referencing it - either directly or indirectly. As such, the album opens (and, indeed, closes) with the sound of a spoken 'tick tock' from Sertari - which slowly fades away as the opening keyboard swells of All Around the World fill the speakers. One of the three songs which was debuted on last year's tour, All Around the World is a great representation of the sound forged throughout the album. The relative heaviness of Secrets of Angels has largely been stripped away here, with Requiem for a Dream feeling a bit more like The Gathering Light overall in my opinion. It certainly shares that album's lushness - although Machin's approach to the guitar allows for a few crunchier moments. In fact Machin sets his stall out early on, with some choice guitar leads during the opening keyboard melody, before the song transitions into a slightly crunchy verse - which introduces Sertari proper. She won me over live immediately, and she knocks it out of the park throughout the album with her varied and accessible approach to melody. Using the crunch of the song's verses, she allows herself to take a direct and more rock-orientated approach - before the lush strings and keyboard hook of the chorus sees her transition into something more soaring. The first portion of the song is pretty typical arrangement-wise, then, with verses sitting alongside the hooky chorus in a traditional manner - but the song changes tack as it moves along. Quite a few of the songs here are quite lengthy, and All Around the World breaches the 11 minute mark - and it is the first of a few prog epics on the album. Sertari really gets to showcase her vocal diversity with a vocal-led bridge section, which sees her approach to choral arrangements and wordless hooks given some attention, whilst an old-school synth motif later gives way to an excerpt from one of climate protestor Greta Thunberg's speeches - before a drum barrage shines the spotlight on Machin for the first big guitar solo on the album. He is certainly more shreddy overall than Enrico Pinna was on the last couple of Karnataka albums - but his playing rarely feels like something from a metal album despite his approach. He adds some bite, though, which is welcome given the album's lengthier arrangements, and his solos are always a welcome addition to any song. By this time, the song is reaching its conclusion - and the final section is based around the chorus. A more stripped down chorus arrangement is played first, showcasing Sertari's excellent voice, before the band joins in again - and the upbeat hooks pour out of the speakers until the song comes to a close.
Sacrifice, another piece which was debuted live last year, reins in the ambition of the previous song somewhat - and goes for something a bit more restrained in comparison. The song is still relatively lengthy, at over six minutes in length, but compared to many of the others here it is a snappy number - and it definitely seems built to really push Sertari's love of a poppier hook. It is a very keyboard-driven piece, which opens with a piano motif that resurfaces throughout, and the verses build on this opening motif - with both strings and piano backing Sertari before Allan's drums and Jones' bass join in. The rhythm section give the second halves of the verses a bit more drive, but the lack of any prominent guitar parts stops the track from feeling like too much of an out-and-out rocker. The rhythmic approach works well, though, and Machin does include a few lyrical leads occasionally - whilst delicately filling the sound out elsewhere. Given the vocal-led approach taken, it is fair to say that the song is really built around its chorus - which is one that will certainly stick in the brain from the off. The hooks throughout are very memorable, and they are relatively upbeat despite the song's sombre overall tone and the thickness of the string and keyboard arrangements. Karnataka have often managed to achieve this, and Sertari's vocal approach certainly brings some joy to what could feel a bit more rote in less capable hands. The big chorus is a winner, and it is one of the album's most immediate moments, whilst the song changes tack somewhat at the very end - as the band allow Machin to carry them out with a guitar solo that takes some of the chorus' melodies and twists them into something new with a bit more overall vigour than is typical for the rest of the song guitar-wise. Look to the East changes tone again, and the snappier song is likely the piece here which most recalls the heavier sound found on Secrets of Angels. Some of that album's gothic tones are repurposed here, and the keyboards throughout take on a bit more of a symphonic approach - with Eastern-tinged melodies creating an atmospheric backing whilst pulsing synths add a modern edge. The verses feel a bit more in-your-face, with Jones' bass high in the mix - whilst Machin's guitars have more weight to them here, adding plenty of crunch during the verses and the occasional knotty, screaming lead. 'Heavy' is a relative term of course, but there is certainly more of a hard rock strut here and Sertari showcases a different side of her voice - as she goes for a more full-bodied and heroic approach overall. Elsewhere in the song flashy neo-prog synths hark back to the genre's 1980s heyday, although they are used sparingly and behind Sertari's vocals, whilst Machin's short, but punchy, guitar solo is full of tricks. Despite the harder edge, it is one of the songs here that took a bit of time to grow on me - but the relative urgency is welcome, and it has become a favourite over repeated listens.
The final song which was played live last year, Forgiven, is up next - and the lengthy track feels like a Karnataka song of old - filled with lush melodies, folky vocal arrangements, and soaring strings. It is another lengthy song, breaching the 11 minute mark again, but the focus on melody throughout ensures that it never drags. Like Sacrifice, the song opens with a keyboard motif - whilst like All Around the World the early parts of the song are typical in arrangement, with an emotionally-charged chorus sitting alongside more delicate verses. As the song moves on, warm synth melodies join in - adding hooks which would generally be reserved for a guitar. The keyboard leads throughout the song are excellent, and again they hark back to the neo-prog era somewhat without ever sounding dated. As with the previous song, the synth leads are used fairly sparingly, and they do not dominate the mix, but they add some drama as the track moves along - particularly as Sertari starts to sing the Latin bridge, which slowly builds in intensity before the track grinds to a halt. This leaves the piano alone, playing a twinkling melody in place of the dense arrangement which came before, although Sertati soon starts to sing over the top of it - with subtle choral arrangements slowly adding depth and building the song back up somewhat. This respite is welcome, though, and the vocal/piano combo works really well, with some of the piano hooks being classical in sound, but the denseness of the song soon returns with a reprise of the Latin vocals - and the band file back in slowly around some percussive Allan drumming before Machin launches into a lengthy and extremely lyrical solo. There are lots of great guitar moments on this album, but his solo in Forgiven may well be the album's best overall - and I like the way that a synth run is built into is seemingly closing moments, before the Latin lyrics return. Only it turns out that there is more solo to come, and its final coda explores a couple of repetitive melodies - before the song returns to its simple keyboard-led beginning for a closing final hook and a symphonic outro. Following on from one of the album's most complex pieces is one of its most simple - and the gorgeous The Night's Dance might well be my favourite thing here. This seems strange given the majesty found elsewhere, but the vocal hooks throughout are just so infectious - and the song has one of those choruses that with the tiniest of unexpected twists turns into something so memorable. The song in general is a relatively poppy piece, albeit with a slow-burn and a melancholic approach, but it is another piece which has clearly been written to once again showcase what a great singer Sertari is. Her delivery during the verses a little folkier than she sounds elsewhere, but the approach works, whereas the chorus is sung in her more typical manner - although the layered vocal harmonies make it sound huge. Describing the chorus twist is hard in words, but the 'You saved my life from me' section which just alters the melody somewhat turns the chorus from a great one into the album's best overall hook in my opinion. Musically, the song is pretty straight ahead - but it does not need to be complicated as Sertari is the star here. A few brief piano breakdowns and guitar leads are enough to inject to occasional spark - but this is a song all about the hooks and it is the one I have revisited the most since getting the album.
Going for a bit more of a symphonic approach, Say Goodbye Tomorrow is probably the song here which has grabbed me the least up to this point - but in typical Karnataka fashion there is still a lot to enjoy here. The opening pulsing symphonic keyboards feel pretty upbeat, and the song overall moves at a relatively swift pace compared to many of the songs here. Allan's drumming has quite a bit of life to it, and Jones' bass playing is quite high in the mix - rumbling away in more of a harder rock fashion. There is quite a varied approach to the guitar as an instrument here, too, with big ringing chords used early on - whilst other sections feature ringing notes and leads, before the solo is born out of a dense wall of strings. It almost fights to be heard, but I like this slightly chaotic approach to the mix - and it adds something different to what is otherwise a relatively simple song arrangement-wise, despite the mix of sounds mentioned. What holds the song back somewhat for me, though, is the fact that the chorus does not stand out enough for me. It does not feel different enough from the main verse structure to really pop, which is a shame, but the song has still grown on me a lot since first getting the album. I also like the genuine acoustic-led section, too, which is very simple and welcome - showing that even in the album's weakest song there is a lot to like, which speaks to the overall quality on show here. Don't Forget My Name is a slower track overall, and more ballad-esque in approach. It opens with some quite modern synths, but the song in general is lush and string-filled - which is the perfect bed for Sertari's floaty and emotional vocal delivery. The synths and programming essentially replace the drums during parts of the song, allowing the vocals more of a chance to float, whilst Allan joins in for the chorus which has more weight thanks to the change in arrangement. The slight grit that the drums bring only enhances the chorus' emotional punch - and vocal lines here might represent Sertari at her must pure. This is especially true of a later reprise of the chorus which sees her singing against just a string backing, which then gives way to some subtle guitar melodies and then another soaring guitar solo - featuring lots of emotional note bends which only build further on Sertari's good work elsewhere. It is another candidate for the album's best solo - but I am not sure that it quite tops the one found in Forgiven, although it does come close. Given the strength of this solo and the centrepiece chorus, it is not surprising, then, that the rest of the song essentially is built around reprises of the chorus with more complex choral arrangements - and this builds in complexity as the song fades to a melodic and string-filled close.
Rounding out the album is its 25 minute-plus title track, which is suitably epic overall - and easily the longest song in the band's catalogue to date. Secrets of Angels' title track was lengthy, but Requiem for a Dream is longer - and, unsurprisingly, goes through a number of different movements throughout its length. I like the song a lot, but I am not sure that I have fully got my head around it yet. Despite this, though, it is a great track - and it feels like the culmination of all of the prog ambition that has been featured on the album up to this point - particularly on All Around the World and Forgiven. Regular collaborator Troy Donockley (Iona; Nightwish) adds his folky magic to the song, contributing both his trademark uilleann pipes and some low whistle, whilst in general the song's overall sound is typical of the rest of the album - with big string arrangements dominating and Sertari's vocals high in the mix. Speaking of Sertari, though, she showcases some different vocal styles here - which helps to mix things up. There is a section approximately six minutes in which features her singing in a more classically-trained manner, which is different from her usual warm approach. This singing style works well to add some grandeur to the section of the song in question, though, which is then carried further with a lengthy instrumental section featuring lyrical guitar melodies and some majestic keyboard lines. Quieter moments which feature Donockley's additions are sprinkled throughout, and these sections enhance band's folk side. Karnataka have always had a strong affinity with folk music, despite the big sound of their songs, but the plaintive whistle melodies used during this song are a return to something more simple. In fact, the whole next section of the song is pretty low key in comparison, with some subtle Sertari vocals against a string backing echoing the approach of the whistle - before Machin launches into a lengthy guitar solo consisting of lots of long, drawn out notes which sound almost tortured at times. The closing moments of this solo essentially bring the song to the half-way point, and the band kick back in as Sertari sings with a little more grit and Machin takes off again - this time with a bit more flourish. The song never stays in one place for too long, though, and soon the band drop away again as distant uilleann pipes fill the speakers and some Eastern-tinged wordless vocal hooks add depth. Marching drums and dense vocal arrangements then see the song slowly build back up once again, culminating in a more upbeat keyboard-led section with crunchy guitar chords and some synth melodies. This is as hard rocking as the title track gets, but it works well to inject some melody as the song starts to draw itself to a close - and the rhythm section certainly gets a chance to shine with a few big drum fills and some knotty bass playing which occasionally cuts through the mix. This harder rock section is the start of the song's close, but the main closing section kicks in when Sertari starts to sing again - and the final lyric-led section is the closest thing that the song has to a proper chorus, with the melodies here feeling like a real rallying cry at the end of the album. These hooks are repeated a few times to great effect, whilst Donockley's pipes cry away in the background - and this melodic moment is the perfect fade out for the lengthy album, although the 'tick tock' from the start is reprised to bring the themes full circle. In conclusion, then, Requiem for a Dream is another masterful album from the Welsh band - and it is easily their most ambitious and progressive album to date. Each listen reveals something new, and I imagine that I will continue to hear new things which will only improve my overall appreciation of the eight songs here. The band have never disappointed, and I am really looking forward to the upcoming tour - as many of these songs are sure to shine live. This is an album that deserves to be a success, so fans of progressive and symphonic music owe it to themselves to give it a go.
The album was released on 28th July 2023 via Immrama Records. Below is the band's promotional video for The Night's Dance.
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