Various - Opus Iridium

I am sorry to be the first reviewer here, and then drop a negative comment too, but V/A Opus Iridium just fails to impress. Music wise, that is, as the 20 page booklet which comes with the release is nothing short of amazing. Those pictures inside are eye candy! It's a fun and interesting read, moreso since the music is a grand let down. I can't even remember how far down memory lane has it been that a label made such a fantastic effort to bring a release so rich and and visually seducive. Basically: you'd wanna buy this just for the cover art alone. So, where does it go wrong?

Right at the start, to be honest. Cheerleader goa trance, this is, meaning there is no edge, challenge, creativity or magnitude here. There are plenty attempts to try and create those, but all fail. The first CD has eight dull tracks which are two steps down the ladder when compared to anything Suntrip Records has released thus far. Substandard modern goa trance, with run of the mill joyous melodies, unimaginative sound patterns and boring boring boring and still boring structures. All tracks follow the same formula, thus leaving me lost and asleep by the fifth track. Though "The Art Of Happiness" shown glimpses of redemption, all it takes is thinking of any other CD released under the Suntrip flag, and the initial excitment is quickly gone. Shakta tries to dust off his old school garments and see if they still fit, but no... It just doesn't work. As much as I was glad to see him taking it back to the roots, the final execution is dissatisfactory and the raw energy of his once distinct sound got lost somewhere in the execution process. Filteria, Suntrip's main hitman goes into cheese territory with the final climax on his track, "Birds Lingua Franca". Ethereal? The news of a new track by these guys sure did make me crack a smile, and "Moondawn" is far from a bad track, but it sounds just about like any other number they've ever done, just a little less inspired. That concludes the first CD.

Moving on to the ambient disc, which eventually proves itself to be more rewarding, if for nothing else, then for the mere fact it provides quality relaxation time, or better yet - solid sleep, like in my case. And no doubt about it, tracks by the constantly great Solar Fields and Ra are the compilation's calling cards, but these are only two memorable tracks two far between each other, so you've got to skip plenty o' fillers to find some nice stuff. I sometimes wonder where can Solar Fields go next with his sound? The guy has covered it all by now, and "Confusion (Illusion remix)" does everything but disappoint! The man single handedly rescues this compilation from absolute mediocrity and tucks yet another undisputed masterpiece under his belt. Way to go, Magnus Birgersson!

All in all, Suntrip Records have sky high expectations to live up to, and Opus Iridium not only fails to meet them, but it is actually buried by its own laziness. It's not a bad release on its own, and if I was a goa trance newbie or was not fully aware of the otherwise great Suntrip Records legacy, I'd have given it a much higher grade. The way things are, I'm going to be patient and wait for these guys to drop something in the lines of Apsara and Twist Dreams, both of which are prime examples of state of the art old (new) school goa trance being taken to new heights. This is taking the music nowhere. And this listener is not being moved either. Oh well, and I've given it plenty of time to sink in as well...