Intelligent Music Project VI - The Creation

Intelligent Music Project VI

The Creation

9/10

By Decibel Report - May 7, 2021

As a prolific conglomeration of musicians coalescing around an ongoing collective identity, the Intelligent Music Project is also one of the best judging by the storied players invited into its rarefied company on this impressive record. With this being its sixth iteration, the quality of songwriting and musical arrangements is reflected by the superior calibre of personnel involved. 

I.M.P impresario Milen Vrabevski MD has gathered together a core company of musicians who have appeared on previous albums plus, sans the ever-present Simon Phillips, a pair of Herculean percussionists in former Rainbow/Sabbath skins-man Bobby Rondinelli and current Styx sticks-man Tod Sucherman. All of whom embellish an already cultured canvas of smartly crafted albums of upbeat rock rhythms with progressive touchstones on this linear release.

Also back to front this artful record is a foursome of super-fine vocalists who individually interpret the spiritually uplifting and positive lyrical concepts of each song. John Payne, Carl Sentance, Richard Grisman, and Ronnie Romero deliver their contrasting vocal qualities with no little panache as they passionately revel in fronting up these standout compositions.

Joining this stellar cast drawn from Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Asia, Styx, and Nazareth is a hard-core of resident Bulgarian musicians: Bisser Ivanov (guitars), Ivaylo Zvezdomirov (bass guitar), Vasil Vutev (drums, percussions), and Ivo Stefanov (keyboards) who create a magical musical backdrop throughout.

The curtain is raised on this sixth chapter of releases as album opener A Sense of Progress encapsulates the spirit of this album with its hard-nosed rock rhythm tempered by quality musicianship. The epic musical undulations on The Story, superbly interpreted by a mix of singers, and sudden tempo changes, reveals the depth of blended talents on show. That Something re-enforces these guileful compositional elements.

Contrastingly, there’s also a pleasant choice of pastoral rock pieces in which the acoustic bedrock of Listen segues into the melodrama of Your Thoughts. Mostly, though, there’s a clever clutch of rocked out songs that contain a feverish tangle of instrumentation.

Elsewhere, there’s a diversity of stylings showcased by the initial jazzy, bluesy tones on Let It Go that expands into a controlled riffed up track that straddles the white lines with its burning guitar chords and restrained vocals. The impressively catchy rock happy I Know and grand closing song Serve completes a remarkable recording of songs drawn from a wellspring of diverse creativity.

There's a spotless patina of musicianship, glowing with a top-grade production, on this release as Vrabevski smartly weaves together the many stellar talents contributing to these crisp rock tracks, offset with serene interludes, on this finely balanced sequence of songs.