From distant Belarus come The Worm Ouroboros (name taken from a novel by Eric Rucker Eddison of 1922), a band that joins fellow countrymen Rational Diet (the best known) and Five Storey Ensemble, showing that even in lands not exactly famous when talk about prog, there are groups that sprout, have ideas and skills. Of Things That Never Were in style is very close to the British school, so the expressive canons are certainly not those of the aforementioned groups, but the reasons for curiosity are still several. There is actually a contribution from Rational Diet, namely the presence of Vitaly Appow on woodwinds, but the true undisputed protagonist and leader of the training is Sergey Gvozdykevich, author, bassist, guitarist, flutist and singer in the few vocal parts present. The other members are also good, not of the supporting actors but musicians of absolute value, such as the rhythmic section formed by Eugene Zarkhin on drums and Alexey Zapolsky on bass and guitarist Vladimir Sobolevsky. The whole album, largely instrumental, is a reference to the Canterbury scene of Camel and Caravan, but a look is also placed on Genesis and King Crimson. Obviously there are no news of any kind but the tracks on the disc are all of a good level and honestly the feeling of dèjà vu is submerged by pleasant and well blended songs. However, finding ourselves in front of rather peculiar situations of this kind is not a flaw if we are able to propose such brilliant and daring passages in a natural and fresh way. The sung parts are measured but when present they do not lower the average, on the contrary. And in fact Return to the Cold Sea of Nothing and The Pear-Shaped Man are among the most significant moments of Of Things That Never Were. The debut of The Worm Ouroboros (weblog AltrOck / Fading) is a work with a sincere look on the seventies, but it does not appear nostalgic, probably for the liveliness and class of the musicians and you can not help but be positively impressed by this new Belarusian reality, which can find many admirers in these years of rediscovery of progressive rock with a vintage flavor. (Luigi Cattaneo)
