KARMAKANIC – Transmutation (Album Review)

Here in 2025 you could be forgiven for not knowing who Karmakanic are. After all, they haven’t released an album since 2016 and their principal architect has been…shall we say, busy, with other projects. But now that new album Transmutation has unexpectedly been unveiled, it’s high time to get acquainted (or reacquainted, if you were fortunate enough to know of them previously). That mastermind is, of course, Jonas Reingold, one of the most highly regarded bassists in the prog rock world today.

Having begun to make a name for himself internationally as the prodigious bassist with The Flower Kings, Reingold formed a project of his own in 2002 with the debut Karmakanic release Entering the Spectra. Several excellent albums, tours, and live releases later, Reingold always seemed to find time for his band in between his other increasing commitments. Since joining Steve Hackett’s band, however, and the ensuing relentless touring, there hasn’t been as much space for extra-curricular activities. His long tenure in The Flower Kings even fell away, along with other budding projects from The Fringe to The Sea Within and many more. Happily, however, Karmakanic is back and, as they say, it’s been worth the wait.

Transmutation is a stunningly good album, but the title is well placed. The band had previously retained a fairly cohesive roster of personnel over its history but much of that has now changed, with this latest album boasting a “who’s who” roster of prog’s elite appearing as guests. As Reingold explained to me: “After 25 years in the prog business, I got to know all these great musicians and so I’m sitting on a pool of great players. So I have the luxury to pick and choose who I think would fit this part or that song, for the sake of the music. I call it the Real Madrid of prog.”

Most apparent is the lead vocal role, formerly taken by Göran Edman. At this stage in his career, Edman was no longer up for extended touring and so Reingold thought it better to look for an experienced ally who could deliver the goods from start to finish. His choice, John Mitchell, is one of the finest voices (not to mention guitarists, songwriters, producers, etc…) in modern prog, and the entire album literally sings under Mitchell’s spell.

Personally, although a big Mitchell fan, I was initially resistant to this news, as his ubiquitous voice already adorns so many bands and side projects that I had to wonder if the world really needed another John Mitchell vocal project, which might rob Karmakanic of having its own identity? Fortunately, Reingold’s material is so strong and personal that it stands out from blending in with Mitchell’s other discography. And of course the ultimate proof is revealed by the album itself, which finds that Mitchell fits in perfectly with this material.

For all of these reasons, Transmutation truly describes what’s happened to Karmakanic, with the best of circumstances. Happily, some of the previous band members make appearances, too. Reingold sums it up pretty well himself: “I wanted to create not just music but an experience – the best progressive rock album in modern time, a place where the listener can dream, reflect, and be carried away by the sound. Working with these extraordinary musicians has made this album truly special to me.”

Did he really just say “the best progressive rock album in modern time”? Those ballsy bassists. But if you like this kind of melodic symphonic prog, damn if he isn’t hitting his target.

The album opens with a brief appetizer, a short blast appropriately titled “Brace For Impact”, that makes sure the audience is awake and listening. It’s quickly followed by “End of the Road” which might wind up being one of my favorite songs of the year. Whether it’s because of his time in The Flower Kings, or something in the Swedish water, Reingold’s writing seems to capture many of the best elements of the Kings and then takes it further.

This 10 minute mini epic features Simon Phillips on drum kit, sounding utterly flawless in this mix by Chris Lord-Alge. Awash in a sea of acoustic guitars from Jan-Olof Jonsson, the joy in Mitchell’s voice is palpable as he sings, “You can feel it in the wind, you can see it’s closing in, days of wonder longtime due, oh I’m over you.” As Reingold’s luscious chord changes progress, Fringe-man Randy McStine joins Mitchell on vocals (side trivia: which one of these gentlemen has had more projects and side cameo appearances in the past five years?) and the listener is melodically swooped away to the end of the road. The masterful Luke Machin is brought in for his characteristic guitar neck-bending solos which elevate the piece even higher.

Oh, and Reingold? He’s having a blast on the low end, not to mention the mid and high ends of his bass, plucking away busy lines when the inspiration strikes, but making sure to cover the rhythmic drive of the piece. He also establishes the main bed of this and every song by playing keys, guitars, and additional vocals.

The opening single “Cosmic Love” is a compact rocker finding McStine covering all of the copious guitars, while Craig Blundell comes in to deliver a hard-hitting performance behind the drum kit. It’s the piece that sounds most similar to some of Mitchell’s previous history, so in some ways is unfortunate to be the lead single but nonetheless is a captivating vocal performance and a great song.

“We Got The World In Our Hands” feels like classic Karmakanic as original guitarist Krister Jonsson plays his electric six strings and McStine chimes in on 12-string acoustic guitars and serves up a beautiful lead slide guitar line. Phillips is back on his full drum kit and it has to be said that Reingold even sounds pretty impressive on those keyboards, along with his lower-end groove. I like how “All That Glitters Is Not Gold” opens with the wistful accordion lines of Lelo Nika, alongside Reingold’s fretless bass, while later in the piece Rob Townsend’s transcendent saxophone playing gets an airing. The piece is alternatively fanciful and heavy, representing the subject material, right up to its dramatic ending.

We get a bit more dark energy on “Lose This Ball And Chain”, which is welcome at this point in the track listing. Göran Edman shows up for a side vocal spot, Jonsson takes lead guitar, and even Tomas Bodin makes a nice surprise appearance on keys for this one. Which triggers another side note memory: don’t miss the one-off Reingold/Bodin/Lehrmann instrumental trio release Barracuda Triangle from several years ago, there are several sumptuous tracks on there.

All of this leads up to a whopper of a finale in the epic title track, nearly 23 minutes of full-on prog. With a subtitle called, “The constant change of everything”, we get lyrics as open ended and transcendent as the music herein. Again, this one sounds very Karmakanic through-and-through, with sufficient Flower Kings influence to draw in that audience as well. As we’ve heard throughout the album, having Reingold as the author of this project means that he gets to noodle on bass as much as he wants, and there’s plenty of that here, thankfully.

Drums are handled by third The Fringe-member Nick D’Virgilio and he makes his presence deliciously known. Dina Höblinger offers a beautiful voice to duet with Mitchell in parts of the song, while Geri Schuller’s brief piano solo is like heaven raining down. Jazz fusion jams, pastoral prog, crunching guitars, freaking Lalle Larsson and Andy Tillison (and Roger King!) playing keys on the same track, and even Steve Hackett tremolo’ing his nylon stringed guitar, it’s all here.

Although spearheaded and written by one man, Karmakanic feels more like a celebration of modern prog. The talent represented throughout is perfectly utilized but not overbearing. The production and sound stage couldn’t possibly be better than they achieve here, bringing each musician to the fore in a satisfying way. Hats off to Reingold for achieving this monumental release, which must be a career highlight. If he plans to continue Karmakanic beyond this album, it will have to be as a rotating VIP roster, there’d be no other way to match these heights. Consider this transmutation complete. 

Released By: Independent
Release Date: March 7th, 2025
Genre: Progressive Rock

Musicians:

• Jonas Reingold / Bass, Keyboards, Electric Guitar, Vocals (2,7), Backing Vocals (3,4,6), Fretless Bass (5)
• Krister Jonsson / Lead Guitar (1,4-7)
• Göran Edman / Lead Vocals (6)
• Lalle Larsson / Keyboard Solo (1), Keyboards (7)

With:

• Andy Tillison / Hammond Organ (1,7), Clavinet (1)
• Simon Phillips / Drums and Percussion (2,4,6)
• Jan-Olof Jonsson / Acoustic Guitars (2,7)
• Luke Machin / Solo Guitars (2), Nylon Acoustic Guitar (2)
• John Mitchell / Lead Vocals (2,5-7), Vocals (3,4), 12-string Guitars (4)
• Randy McStine / Lead Vocals (2), Guitars (3,4), Backing Vocals (3,4), 12-string Acoustic Guitars (4)
• Geri Schuller / Piano (2,5,7)
• Craig Blundell / Drums (3,5)
• Dina Höblinger / Backing Vocals (4), Lead Vocals (7)
• Lelo Nika / Accordion (5)
• Markus Lukastik / Flute (5)
• Rob Townsend / Tenor and Soprano Saxophone (5,7)
• Tomas Bodin / Keyboards (5,6)
• Sven Cirnski / Electric Guitars (6)
• Nick D’Virgilio / Drums (7)
• Steve Hackett / Nylon Acoustic Guitar (7)
• Amanda Lehmann / Backing Vocals (7)
• Roger King / Keyboards (7)

Transmutation Track-Listing:

1. Brace For Impact (2:33)
2. End Of The Road (10:22)
3. Cosmic Love (4:56)
4. We Got The World (7:53)
5. All That Glitters Is Not Gold (6:38)
6. We Gotta Lose This Ball And Chain (6:23)
7. Transmutation (22:53)

Order Transmutation here.