Dark - Tamna Voda. 1988 Germany

Dark definitely has an Inner Mounting Flame burning on Tamna Voda, their second and final album. Guest L. Shankar has the spirit of Jerry Goodman flowing through his strings, while guitarist Miroslav Tadic emulates Mahavishnu John as much as possible. All the while, band leader Mark Nauseef keeps it all together with his ferocious drumming. Additional percussion keeps the party alive. There's the fire, water, earth, and air that was classic Mahavishnu Orchestra. David Torn is on board as well, and his atonal guitar contributions are obvious (and welcome), and the atmospheric pieces recalls his own Cloud About Mercury. The album loses momentum towards the end, but overall a very fine fusion work. It's modern and heavy, but the style clearly points to the early 70s. A long forgotten album that I think many fusion fans would enjoy.

Former ownership: CD: 1988 CMP. Jewel case. Simple booklet with recording details and a band photo.

2006 (first listen); 8/17/16 (new entry); 5/23/24