Ars Nova ~ Japan

The Book of the Dead (1998)

I concluded my review of Ars Nova's final album Seventh Hell with "Their first three albums are likely to be permanent fixtures of the collection given my personal history with the band, and their fourth is TBD. Otherwise I either didn't buy, or keep, the others. I prefer their more traditional progressive rock keyboard trio albums."

And here we are evaluating that fourth opus, which I haven't heard since I first bought it 23 years ago. The album starts off, as I expected, in keyboard trio ELP via Italy bombast mode, but as it went along, I did pick up something a bit different on this release. One is the obvious Egyptian styled interludes which tie back to the album concept. They're almost at the novelty level, but I can appreciate what they're attempting to do. That alone wouldn't move the needle. What was more interesting to me is that The Book of the Dead sounded oftentimes like an electronic rock album versus symphonic prog. I read a few reviews to corroborate my findings, and I haven't noticed anyone else picking up on that. I think part of the reason for this sound is that Ars Nova at this point were really a duo of keyboards and drums. They had the ex-bassist of Deja-Vu helping out, but he's clearly a session player here. And Keiko is breaking out the sequencers on more than one occasion. That's a unique enough diversion for me to consider holding onto this title for longer. Overall I enjoyed a +1 listen. And that should close the lid on my Ars Nova collection. I still need to revisit and document Transi and The Goddess of Darkness, but I anticipate both making the cut for different reasons, that I'll get into at that time.

Ownership: 1998 Musea (CD). Booklet with recording details.

2001 (acquired); 1/16/24 (review)

Seventh Hell (2009)

Ars Nova's swan song goes out swinging and takes no prisoners. Completely over the top bombast whilst keyboardist and band leader Keiko Kumagai takes her sex kitten routine to its logical extreme. After 17 years and two handfuls of releases, Ars Nova had nowhere else to go with the concept. Kumagai could have continued to take her ideas further into metal, S&M, and other extreme forms, but it would have been painful to watch and listen to a desperate person attempting to stay young. Better to retire gracefully. I almost kept this considering its no holds barred approach. But decided it's not really that interesting musically. Their first three albums are likely to be permanent fixtures of the collection given my personal history with the band, and their fourth is TBD. Otherwise I either didn't buy, or keep, the others. I prefer their more traditional progressive rock keyboard trio albums.

Former ownership: 2009 Altavoz (CD). Papersleeve.

5/24/14 (acquired); 11/9/23 (review)

  

Fear & Anxiety (1992)

The all-female keyboard trio Ars Nova were a breath of fresh air that blew into the landscape in the early 90s. They proudly followed other such acts like Deja-Vu, Social Tension, Motoi Sakuraba, as well as the various acts that contributed to the Kings Boards compilation. It is this sampler where we find Naomi Miura's (Rosalia's keyboardist - Rosalia incidentally is an all-female progressive pop band) brilliant instrumental piece 'Corde Spirale'. This track, no doubt, provided the inspiration for Fear & Anxiety (Naomi is mentioned in the credits). Keyboardist Keiko Kumagai displays an enormous amount of talent and creativity as she composes all the songs and obviously directs the course of each track. Though she plays a myriad of modern day digital synthesizers, the centerpiece of her sound comes from those wonderful old analog machines - the Hammond organ and the Mini Moog. 'Dark Clouds' opens the album rather ominously with minimalist piano, and haunting synth voices. Then the rhythm section kicks in courtesy of the Saito sisters, Yumiko and Kyoko, and we're off into keyboard trio nirvana with '[dziha:d]' (I think something got lost in translation here...). Ars Nova consistently play with angst and passion! On 'House of Ben' Keiko produces a sound Black Sabbath would be proud of. 'Prominence' and the two part 'Fata Morgana' finish this work with a similar display of imagination and performance. Fear & Anxiety is strongly recommended for those into the aforementioned Japanese groups, legends such as ELP and Supersister, as well as anybody into innovative progressive rock.

Ownership: 1992 Made in Japan (CD). Die-cut booklet.

1993 (acquired); 1/26/18 (review)

Android Domina (2006)

I realized after buying The Goddess of Darkness real time in 1996 that Ars Nova had little more to offer from a creative standpoint. Somewhere down the line I ended up with the next one The Book of the Dead, and my opinion remained unswayed. And here we are with Android Domina - a Japanese mini-LP I only bought because it was dirt cheap. Now we have the girls in full S&M regalia, and opening the album with mock orgasmic sounds. Honestly, they sound - and act - like a bunch of silly Japanese girls at a pajama party. Why they must tease the middle aged male dominated progressive rock crowd, is anyone's guess, but I suspect it is yet another "Lost in Translation" scenario. Because once that bit of tomfoolery is over, our gals get down to the serious business of keyboard dominated instrumental progressive rock. And they still have nothing new to offer. Can't dock them for the performance, it's all very good. Like Ozric in that way.

Former ownership: 2006 Altavoz (CD). Papersleeve

12/22/13 (acquired / review); 4/9/18

I own and still need to review: Transi; Goddess of Darkness

12/22/13 (new entry)