Gazpacho - Soyuz

Though more of a prog-rock-focused album than a pure-blooded metal release, Soyuz does include a bit of subtle metallic intensity for the prog-metal enthusiast. Gazpacho is a band I found out about a few years ago through on a trip down the rabbit hole of obscure prog acts one day (I was hoping to find more like this band Porcupine Tree I had discovered at the time), and I stumbled upon their 2007 album Night, a gem of ambient rock and progressive psychedelia. Since then, their album Tick Tock has been another favorite of mine and 2014’s Demon was mildly impressive too, but the band haven’t been the most consistently pleasing, to my ears at least, outside those two. Soyuz, thankfully, reclaims their strong footing on the ambient psychedelic prog they’ve made their career from.

Even though the band never really made any grand departure from their earlier style, Soyuz still somehow feels like a return home for Gazpacho, working their familiar brand of prog into more sensible songwriting than what albums like Missa Atropos and March of Ghosts were putting forth. More dynamic, and more psychedelically ambient than the bulk of their output lately, Soyuz perhaps pleases my pallet because of its similarity to Night and Tick Tock.

“Soyuz One” starts the album with a healthily spacy atmosphere backed by a slowly throbbing bass beat. Its eerie guitar refrain eventually bursts into a more post-metal section in traditional prog fashion, a strong beginning to the record. The second track, “Hypnomania”, reintroduces more wavering vocals and dives deeper into the bass-driven rock, including a bit of slightly glitchy percussion. It’s more of a continuation of the first track’s mood than a real turning point for the album though, one of the less notable tracks. The piano-led “Exit Suite” takes the first dive into the band’s refreshed approach to neo-classical psychedelia and ambience, and with subtly gorgeous results. Though full of well-constructed soundscapes, first three tracks feel more like an introductory trilogy than fully fleshed out ideas from the band.

“Emperor Bespoke” is the first semi-lengthy piece on the album, led slowly by bass and piano on a scenic path across a landscape of vibrant prog delights that range from the shimmering of high pitched percussion and heavy guitar sustenance. “Sky Burial” follows with an oddly pull-off-esque piano motif lining the song’s length, as well as some drone-y guitar chords and ethereal strings and choir that do well to carry the song to its swelling climax. The following ambient droner, “Fleeting Things”, is not quite as bombastic or expansive as most of the album, mostly serving as a nice ambient piece in the middle, possibly as a preparation for the massive track to follow.

The album’s centerpiece, the 13-minute “Soyuz Out” integrates just about everything about the band’s early sound that captured my ears on Night, in fabulously sprawling form, the kind of slow-stirred sonic journey I enjoy from Gazpacho, all culminating in a bright, climactic finish of glistening guitars and dazzlingly accented drumming.

The album closes up with the ethereal piano cool-down of “Rapaccini”, a pretty enough and fitting conclusion to the album, with sorrowful strings ushering the song and the album off stage.

Overall, Soyuz is a pretty welcome return to form for Gazpacho, feeling a lot more consequential than some of their more jumbled experiments have. The band play to their strengths without simply sounding like they’re going back to something they needed to leave for a reason. I doubt it will be doing anything for their career Night or Tick Tock wouldn’t have already done, but it’s a pleasing addition to the catalog.