Class Italian outfit, Karmamoi, return with their seventh original studio album, Eternal Mistake.
I reviewed its predecessor, Strings from the Edge of Sound on release in 2023, and you can catch up with my thoughts on that fine album by clicking on the button below.
The lineup is the same, so Daniele Giovannoni drums, keyboards, backing vocals; Valerio Sgargi vocals, keyboards, and guitars; Alex Massari guitars; and Alessandro Cefalì on bass. They are joined by Adam Holzman, electric & acoustic piano, and Moog solo on “Hero”; Randy McStine, guitar solo on “Nothing But”; Susanna Brigatti, vocals on “We Are Going Home”; and Gabriele Giovannoni, voice over on “The Regrets”.
This album has a release date of 17th April, and you can obtain it by heading over to https://karmamoi.bandcamp.com/album/eternal-mistake It is highly recommended that you do, because this is another quality release from a very consistent band.
There is a concept behind this work, namely connection, and whether our mistakes, especially in love, are really mistakes at all. The story is of a human and humanoid reaching out and making that eternal bond.
So, 64 minutes of music spread across thirteen tracks. Let’s get to it.
The Regrets acts as an overture to the main album, the voice over somewhat doom laden, the ashes washing all around us, and realisation coming too late. Lara Is Your Name has an official YouTube video, and this is embedded below, the initial connection between human and artificial human, Lara is “her” name and is perceived as lying and this is quite clever in setting out how the seemingly innocent language models start to develop and, critically, learn. The track is a slow burner, coming vividly to life with the main guitar riff which is followed by the most delightful bass melody beneath the accusatory voice screaming its rage and fear, with the closing passage music bursting out the speakers full of angry energy.
Don’t Knock on the Door follows, the expressive guitar at the heart of this track which has the horse of humanoids coming close, a lonely piano expressing anxiety, but the band showcasing their ability to provide expansive music at the switch of a note.
I’m Not On Your Side sees the human drawn in to the humanoid’s orbit, but with a sense of losing the mind, still alive, but being driven crazy by the artificial being. The voice screaming out of the speakers, boasting about how clever it is, in the manner of a Trump, are very dystopian, and what follows is musically a game of cat and mouse, the underlying guitar having a touch of funk, at times playful, at others dark (the main guitar solo), and rather catchy in its execution.
Nothing But is the album’s epic and has Randy McStine providing the guitar solo. It looks back on the love created, Lara is “her” name, a perverse love. Gunning for rhythm section performance of 2026 here are Giovannoni and Cefali, such strength and jazz-infused virtuosity underpinning the guitars and keys creating an emotive soundscape above, McStine oozing class with his contribution. In mood, this whole piece is very clever, because as with all examinations of love where perhaps it is felt that there is something uneven, wrong, at the core (for example a rich person meeting a socially lower person), mixed in with the darker feelings are those of fondness, the acoustic guitars here particularly light in putting that positive emotion across, the whole thing a nice mix of regret, determination, love, and anger (the main guitar solo). As we move to the conclusion, you can just catch a hint of Radiohead “OK Computer” era noises in the background. This is going to be a strong contender for the website’s annual “epic of the year” award come December, for sure.
The Mirror has the humanoid in reflective mood, asking itself questions that, at present, only humans can ask, and we are told, the trajectory AI development is leading to, the evolution of the void. It almost feels like one of those old-fashioned musicals, the main character engaged in a theatrical aside to the audience, this accompanied by pulsing electronic notes and closing with thoughts disappearing into the void.
No Soul takes this far further, in fact, with the human race identified as a threat, and Lara reflecting that they have made a perfect tool (of their insatiable thirst), but, critically, without a soul, which, in most humans, at least has the capacity to pull us back from the brink of terrifying and destructive actions. The track opens with an operatic flourish, and I do think that this album in the live arena would benefit from such a show. Lara, when it begins to talk to us, is, again, very reflective, a lone voice accompanied by a piano and light percussion until we get the unexpected, and quite sublime burst of soul rock music when it exclaims, ironically, that it has no soul. You think black gospel influences are incompatible with progressive rock? Think again and listen to this great track. Sgargi’s performance here is staggering, and the guitar solo is one to give up one’s soul for. An incredible piece of music, up there as a contender for “track of the year” for me, the build up to the final soul-infused moments incredibly loud and effective.
The title track lyrically drips with regret and bitterness, the realisation of mortality hitting home like a hammer, the accusatory words “you are not immortal boy, it’s time to die. That’s the eternal mistake”. The opening passage vocal leads us into a more expansive piece of music, featuring some fine fretwork in a track I think would make an ideal single release which should attract decent airplay, a classic rock infused song with piles of feeling, none more so than in the closing verse.
The Question asks what is a soul, and what is humanity? The bad news for the humanoids here, of course, is that beardy philosophers’ have been asking this question for millennia, and we are no closer to the answer. The distorted voice against the synth effects acts, I think, as a sort of interlude before we move into the final four tracks.
We Are Going Home features the vocal talents of Susanna Brigatti, who was (or is if they are still a going concern) lead vocalist with Italian prog metal outfit Dropshard. It has the two protagonists now on a journey, of love, and heading for their spiritual home together. Brigatti puts in a fine performance, her voice reminiscent of Clare Torry (I believe she has worked in Floyd cover acts), and she brings a pleasing vocal contrast to the male lead in a dark sort of ballad of a song, the emotion palpable and created by these voices scaling the heights, the synths rising above them in a symphonic masterclass before the voices dual with each other and the orchestration takes on a louder hue. Very good.
Hero is interesting, in that it asks questions on the nature of valour, courage, how suffering can be a gift of love (entirely appropriate, by the way, as I write these words over the easter season). Legendary keyboardist, Adam Holzman takes on Moog duties for this one, and his fusion soaked notes are instantly recognisable. This is the second longest track on the album and is a very solid combination of the adventurous and commercially tinged rock, something I think Karmamoi do very well. The male harmonies are strongly noticeable and the rock dominated passages create a wall of sound, Giovannoni thumping the skins for all he is worth. We get an interesting spartan passage moving into the final third which takes us into more of the operatic rock before a dizzying Moog fusion which suddenly stops and the track morphs into a beautiful, pastoral delight, the voice fragile, aching, the piano yearning, so we really have just about the most eclectic mix you will likely hear all year.
Passing Away is going beyond life, Lara floating above itself, and there is a classic psych feel to this track, with some of the guitar and synth riffs displaying anger at the impending end, raging against the fading light.
No Fucking Way closes – it got your soul. No fucking way! The end reminds me a bit of Heinlein’s classic I Will Fear No Evil, where souls intermingle in a chaotic fusion of live old male and dead vivacious female, before being joined by horny male friend. The fingers dart up and down the fret, the voice disbelieves, the drums thump, the humanoid finally has control, and it doesn’t sound as if this is entirely welcomed.
Eternal Mistake is a very good album, the musicianship is exceptional throughout, it is sonically strong, and the story is an interesting twist on the concept of man and machine coexistence. It comes very highly recommended.
