UMUR "A Place, Where Is No Time" is the debut full-length studio album by Russian progressive metal act Agnost Dei. The album originally had a Russian title ("Место, где времени нет") and Russian song titles and that´s the version I´m in possession of. "A Place, Where Is No Time" is a concept album. The lyrical concept is based on the Andrey Tarkovskiy´s movie "Stalker".

The music on the album is quite dark and combines some really heavy chugging metal riffing with spacy synth sounds and more melodic progressive metal elements too. The vocals vary greatly on the album from melodic singing to aggressive styled vocals. The band masters all styles very well both when when it comes to the vocals but certainly also when we´re talking about the music itself. This is a very well playing and innovative band. There are lots of samples in the music taken from the "Stalker" movie and even though I haven´t seen the movie and don´t know what they are saying in the samples (Surprise: I don´t understand the Russian language) they create dark images in my mind. A testimony to the fact that the samples succeed in doing what they were meant to: Create dark and eerie atmosphere. In addition to drums, guitar, bass, vocals and synths which are played by the members of the band there are also a few guest musicians who play on the album. There are cello on a couple of tracks as well as violin on a couple of tracks. The addition of strings work well but it´s the saxophone in the track "By An Inconceivable Slumber..." that really takes the prize.

The lyrics are in the Russian language and that might scare off a few people but personally I find the use of the Russian language charming. The band has since the recording of "A Place, Where Is No Time" found a new lead singer and will use English language lyrics on future releases.

The sound production is professional and powerful. I think the bass sounds a bit unconventional at times with a clicky and metallic tone. It´s not a big deal though. The sound is overall excellent.

A release like "A Place, Where Is No Time" is exactly why I keep having faith in the progressive metal genre despite too many generic releases in genre. It might be that I have to drag myself through one Dream Theater clone after another before I get to an album like this but albums like "A Place, Where Is No Time" makes it every bit worth the struggle. Agnost Dei is progressive, innovative and experimental. What more could I wish for? And when the quality of the music, in addition to those above mentioned positive things, is so high, I´m sold. A 4 star (80%) rating is deserved. I can highly recommend this album to fans of dark, adventurous and rather unconventional sounding progressive metal.

UMUR "take a look: 2010 A.D." is the 2nd full-length studio album by Russian progressive metal act Agnost Dei. The album was self-released in October 2010. The band are currently looking for a label to release the album. Since the release of "A Place, Where is No Time (2007)" the band have added lead vocalist NicKK (Nikita Gaydukov) to the lineup. The album contains 11 tracks. 3 of the tracks make up the "Songs of the Dying Stars: The Tree of Life" suite, which was released as an EP earlier in 2010, but the rest are new tracks exclusive to "take a look: 2010 A.D.".

The music on the album is progressive metal with a futuristic touch. The addition of lead vocalist NicKK to the ranks, gives the band a slightly less unique vocal sound compared to the sound on "A Place, Where is No Time (2007)", but his more "regular" vocal style will probably earn the band more fans. Another change since the debut is that the lyrics on "take a look: 2010 A.D." are in English. Personally I really appreciate the Russian language vocals on the debut but if the band are to succeed further down the line it´s a sensible choice. The music is to my ears very influenced by Dream Theater and their ilk, but the band add their own futuristic touch to the sound and ultimately I think the outcome is pretty unique. The musicianship are excellent on the album, but not only that, the way these songs are composed proves that the band are also skilled composers. The sound production is well crafted and suits the music well.

"take a look: 2010 A.D." is quite a different album compared to how "A Place, Where is No Time (2007)" sounded, but it´s obvious that the band have honed their skills as songwriters and musicians in the years between the two albums. I won´t say neither is the better album though, because both are strong releases in their own right. I think it´s admirable that a band are able to change their sound as much as Agnost Dei have done without losing their identity in the process. A 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

UMUR "Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" is an EP release by Russian progressive metal act Agnost Dei. The EP is a self-released affair. "Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" contains three tracks that form the "Tree of Life" suite. The EP is 19:13 minutes long. The EP can be seen as a teaser to the "take a look: 2010 A.D." album, that was released in October 2010. All three tracks also apppear on the full-length album. Since the release of "A Place, Where is No Time (2007)" the band have added lead vocalist NicKK (Nikita Gaydukov) to the lineup and the band have begun to sing in English instead of Russian.

The music on the EP is undeniably influenced by Dream Theater and their ilk, but Agnost Dei add a futuristic element to their progressive metal style that sets them apart from the pack. The change on the vocalist spot means that the vocals on "Songs Of Dying Stars: the tree of life)" are more regular progressive metal vocals than was the case on the debut album, which featured some pretty spacy and at times harsh type vocals. The three tracks form a concept and musically they fit well together and all sides of the band´s sound are explored. The EP gives a good insight into the new sound of the band.

As a teaser the EP is great, but taking into account that all songs on the EP are also present on the 2nd full-length studio album by the band, it´s doubtful that many besides the most hardcore fans will find much value here if they already have the "take a look: 2010 A.D." album. Still there´s nothing wrong with the quality of the music and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is well deserved.