KARFAGEN – OMNI II The Glass of Time (2026)
”OMNI II : The Glass of Time” is the upcoming, new conceptual album by progressive rock combo KARFAGEN, led by mastermind Antony Kalugin. This immersive 67-minute release spans lush symphonic arrangements, cinematic storytelling, and features an array of first class international guest musicians.
We find uber talented Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings / Transatlantic), Yogi Lang (RPWL), Marco Glühmann (Sylvan), Jean Pageau (Mystery), Rob Reed (Magenta, CYAN) – just to name a few – collaborating to craft ahauting piece of music, always melodic, at places poppy and accessible without losing its prog essence.
KARFAGEN’s latest chapter continues Antony Kalugin’s signature blend of symphonic prog grandeur and melodic storytelling. ”OMNI II – Act I: The Glass of Time” feels less like a sequel and more like the opening act of a grand progressive-rock stage production. Where the first OMNI album revelled in Canterbury whimsy and symphonic nostalgia, this new work deepens the visual and immersive dimensions of Kalugin’s compositional world.
Much like in Lewis Carroll’s Alice books, after wandering through the card-ruled wonderland of OMNI, we now step “through the looking-glass” of Time into a new realm, where Antony moves his musical chess pieces across the board with the precision of a grandmaster.
And unlike an ordinary chess game, there are no pawns here – only major pieces. What a remarkable cast it is!
The album opens not with a bang, but with a breath on “The Glass of Time Part 1”. It’s a solar awakening where a beautiful pastoral dawn breaks the silver mist with the first rays of light. Shadows retreat gradually while the music rises with quiet majesty, opening the doors to the OMNI II fantasy world before the listener.
Rob Reed contributes the overture’s shimmering introductory keyboards and guitars, while Michel St-Père adds fluid, melodic electric guitar lines that weave naturally through Antony Kalugin’s rich keyboard arrangements. Together, they create an overture that feels less like a simple introduction and more like the ceremonial opening of a larger symphonic journey. The piece recalls Magenta, Camel, and The Flower Kings, yet Antony’s melodic romanticism gives it a distinct heartfelt identity.
“Frozen Rivers” stands as the undeniable centrepiece of the album – it is a vivid, multi-layered epic that successfully stitches together the Flower Kings brand of cosmic optimism and Kalugin’s filmic compositional style. The track mirrors its title with crystalline precision. The piece begins like a winter-bound stream: distant, calm, and suspended in a cool, resonant stillness. As the first rays of the overture’s dawn spill across an untouched landscape, this “ice” undergoes a natural thaw; the music gains warmth and mobility almost imperceptibly, transitioning from a static chill into a fluid, undulating current.
The strength of the composition lies in its collaborative architecture. Roine Stolt’s weathered, storytelling vocals anchor the narrative, while his guitar work acts like a sculptor carving curves into a riverbed. Above, the reeds – John Hackett’s lyrical flute and Marek Arnold’s sophisticated soprano sax – glide gracefully through the frosty air. Supported by the seasoned rhythm section of Michael Stolt and Aleksandr Murenko, and enriched by Max Velychko’s guitar textures and Daniel Ilyin’s electric violin, the track traces a single, seamless emotional trajectory.
On “Shadowbound” the queen makes a decisive move on the ‘chess’ board as Maria Panasenko takes the lead on this standout, dynamic track – in my view, the dramatic pinnacle of the album. Maria’s performance, which rivals the technical mastery of Floor Jansen, bridges the gap between the ethereal and the explosive, navigating baroque-laden “fairy tale” passages and high-octane power rock with a versatility that recalls the operatic weight of Tarja and the crystalline shimmer of Simone Simons.
Alternating between the fragility of crystal and the sheer force of molten steel, she delivers a tour de force, marking this as a truly formidable chapter of the album. Musically, the piece blends symphonic prog, romantic neo-prog, and touches of symphonic metal without ever losing Karfagen’s melodic core.
For “The Shape of Love” Marco Glühmann (Sylvan) steps behind the microphone and injects a surge of signature neo-prog melodrama into this passage. His instantly recognisable voice – warm, soaring, and deeply expressive – becomes the emotional centre of the track, cutting beautifully through the expansive instrumental layers.
The piece recalls the sweeping atmosphere of Sylvan, the harmonic richness of RPWL, and moments of classic neo-prog without sounding derivative. The arrangement gradually builds from reflective atmospherics into a powerful crescendo, with guitars and keyboards intertwining elegantly around Glühmann’s magnificent vocal delivery.
“Carry On” first section pivots into an upbeat pop-rock territory with a nostalgic 80s feel and an infectious sing-along quality. Yogi Lang’s voice fits the composition perfectly: earnest, inviting, slightly melancholic, yet hopeful.
As the tempo recedes, Lang carries us on further, “beyond the mirror”, into a more somber space of modern neo-prog. His delivery recalls the meditative side of RPWL, but the arrangement itself leans toward classic symphonic prog rather than Floydian minimalism. This introspective turn is beautifully countered by the superior guitar work of Kalle Wallner, whose radiant leads draw the listener back into the light.
What makes “Carry On” particularly effective is its balance between accessibility and sophistication. The chorus is memorable without sacrificing harmonic richness, and the transitions between sections feel natural rather than demonstrative. There is a genuine sincerity here that elevates the track beyond homage-driven prog revivalism.
As we pass “Beyond the Mirror”, Per Malmberg takes centre stage here, handling vocals, guitars, and bass with effortless versatility and seeking answers to certain philosophical questions. His passionate voice, complemented by Antony, Olha Rostovska, Jannica Lund and Maria Panasenko, pushes the story forward with a uniquely buoyant energy. It gives the track a distinctly uplifting character.
Maria continues the narration on “How Fragile We Are”, beautifully supported by Olha’s ethereal harmonies, while Antony’s keyboards and vocal layers shape the track’s theatrical atmosphere. Together, they are weaving a poignant meditation on the fragility of our world. Yet, while the subject matter is delicate, their delivery remains strikingly powerful and resolute. Marek Arnold’s evocative soprano saxophone adds tender warmth throughout, countered by Kalle Wallner’s melodic guitar lines and Dmytro Ignatov’s acoustic textures, which together give the arrangement both intimacy and momentum. Beneath it all, Pascal Gutman’s fluid Chapman stick work and Alexandr Murenko’s restrained drumming provide a subtle yet powerful rhythmic foundation.
Tasked with bringing the main album to a truly majestic coda, ‘The Glass of Time Part 2’ is an instrumental masterwork and bears Kalugin’s unmistakable musical thumbprint. Part 2 revisits many of the same melodic and atmospheric ideas of Part 1 with greater weight and expressive depth, as though viewed through the accumulated experiences of the journey itself. The symmetry between the two pieces gives the album a strong cyclical structure. As the final notes resonate and the metaphorical curtain falls, the audience is left suspended in the emotional echoes of the first act, eagerly anticipating the drama yet to unfold in the upcoming sequel.
From here we have bonus tracks. “Under the Northern Lights” open the bonus chapter with symphonic intent, this short instrumental piece carries a distant echo of Mussorgsky’s “Promenade” from “Pictures at an Exhibition” or musical tone-painting by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Just as Rimsky-Korsakov used shimmering strings, glittering woodwinds, and unique modal scales to evoke fluid, magical phenomena – like the rolling ocean in “Scheherazade” – Kalugin employs cascading synthesizer textures and rich, shifting harmonies to capture the flickering, ethereal glow of the aurora borealis.
More introspective and atmospheric, “The Silent Compass” explores mood and texture rather than immediate melody. Roine Stolt, Roberto Diaz (Anima Mundi) and Max Velychko deliver beautifully refined guitar work, using sustained tones and subtle phrasing to create a dreamlike landscape. Echoes of Steve Hackett, Anthony Phillips, and classic Italian symphonic prog emerge throughout the piece. The track advances like an emotive journey through memory and uncertainty, rewarding repeated listens with remarkable depth and detail.
“Omni 45” title probably hints at Antony Kalugin’s reflections upon reaching a milestone moment this year. This instrumental piece offers a refreshing stylistic detour for OMNI II, blending jazz-fusion energy, melodic synth-pop textures, and symphonic prog elegance. Built around the interplay between Antony’s jubilant keys, Michel St-Père’s fluid guitar work and Pascal Gutman’s expressive Chapman stick, the track feels playful and atmospheric while still maintaining a strong rock backbone.
“We Live While We Remember” introduces Jean Pageau (Mystery) on vocals, and his performance is exceptional. Unlike the explosive theatricality he brought to “Unchained” on the first OMNI, here Pageau sounds restrained, intimate, and deeply reflective. With its profound soulful resonance, his dramatic phrasing carries genuine heartfelt gravity, especially against Pascal Gutman’s stick bass textures and Michel St-Père’s soaring guitar lines.
Closing the bonus chapter on a subdued and reflective note, “Shard of Silence” feels like the final fading echo of OMNI II – Act I. Brief yet remarkably atmospheric, the piece, built around Marek Arnold’s lyrical sax tones, distils many of the album’s recurring qualities – shimmering keyboards, delicate melodic phrasing, and quiet introspection – into a compact instrumental epilogue.
Production-wise, everything is polished and spacious, with clear separation and a modern sheen that perfectly suits the album’s theatrical ambitions. The arrangements are dense yet elegant, built upon layers of keys and vocals, melodic guitar and reed lines, and subtle dynamic shifts.
Where OMNI II truly excels is in its consistency and sincere clarity – it’s easy to sink into. While it rarely ventures into radically experimental territory or reaches the dramatic extremes of the genre, that restraint feels deliberate rather than limiting. Kalugin prioritizes atmosphere and lyrical flow over technical exhibitionism.
For the prog community, the most striking thing about OMNI II – Act I is how naturally it absorbs its influences. Listeners will undoubtedly hear traces of Genesis, Camel, The Flower Kings, Yes, RPWL, and Canterbury-era textures, but the album never feels like pastiche. Antony Kalugin has developed a compositional language that is now unmistakably his own: rich keyboard orchestrations, fervently resonant harmonic progressions, and cinematic pacing that transforms each track into part of a larger narrative arc.
For fans of melodic, immersive prog, “OMNI II The Glass of Time” is a deeply rewarding experience – another triumph for the prolific maestro Antony and his world-class ensemble of prog luminaries.
Highly Recommended
01 – The Glass of Time Part 1
02 – Frozen Rivers
03 – Shadowbound
04 – The Shape of Love
05 – Carry On
06 – Beyond the Mirror
07 – How Fragile We Are
08 – The Glass of Time Part 2
09 – Under the Northern Lights
10 – The Silent Compass
11 – Omni 45
12 – We Live While We Remember
13 – Shard of Silence
Roine Stolt (The Flower Kings / Transatlantic) vocals, guitars
Yogi Lang (RPWL) vocals
Marco Glühmann (Sylvan) vocals
Jean Pageau (Mystery) vocals
Per Malmberg (Salva) vocals, guitars
Michele St-Pere (Mystery / Huis)v ocals, guitars
Kalle Wallner (RPWL / Blind Ego) guitars
John Hackett – flute
Marek Arnold (Seven Steps to the Green Door) soprano sax
Pascal Gutman – Chapman Stick
Michael Stolt (The Flower Kings) bass
Rob Reed (Magenta, CYAN) keys, guitars
Roberto Diaz (Anima Mundi) guitars
Dmytro Ignatov – guitars
Maria Panasenko – vocals
Jannica Lund – vocals
Olha Rostovska – vocals
Max Velychko (Inside the Sound) guitars
Daniel Ilyin (Mind Rabbits) – violin
Alexandr Murenko – drums
Antony Kalugin – keys, bass pedals, percussion, vocals, programming, production
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