Cen Project The Carnival Of Lost Souls - Progressive Voyages Review PV032

Cen Project - The Carnival Of Lost Souls Ptogressive Voyages Review PV032

Cen-ProjekT: The Carnival of Lost Souls

Progressive voyages review Pv032 

Multi-instrumentalist and ‘creator-extraordinaire’ Chris Engels has a lot on his musical plate these days.   Fronting two projects, one of which (simply titled ‘Engels’) is an outlet for his work which allows him to expand beyond traditional boundaries that a genre label can sometimes restrict; his other guise…. Cen-projekT (a moniker of C-hris EN-gels-projekt)…. is all Neo-prog.   It is THIS outlet where Engels produces his straight progressive rock fare; and what a feast it is.  With THIRTEEN albums released from March 2019 to the current date, there is something for everyone to enjoy in Cen-projekT’s vast discography.   And the most recent of these efforts.… ‘The Carnival of Lost Souls’…. stands out as a particularly bright jewel among them.  

Released on April 26, 2025, and with Engels playing ALL of the instruments except the bass (deftly handled by Wolfgang Kropf), this is a concept record based around the various performers and characters that would haunt a shiver-inducing, eerie old-world carnival ground.   We have almost all the performers and craft masters that one would expect to find at a carnival of this sort represented here.  And the result is remarkable…. what you will hear is evidence of a musician who has mastered his various crafts, both as a musician and as a songwriter.   

So, join me, won’t you?  Let’s “step right up”, take a walk through the fairground fog as it envelopes and shrouds the albums concepts (and characters) in mystery and wonder, and meet all of the players in this strange and creepy universe. 

‘Elias Blackwood’ (The Illusionist) - it all begins as one might expect…. With the sounds of a carnival, before then plummeting headlong into Neo-Prog excellence; keys and clean guitars set the theme of the track, as Elias welcomes us to his spectacle. The chorus, in particular, is spectacular and  gorgeous, and harkens to the soundscapes of Genesis and Yes…. But make no mistake at all: Engels doesn’t copy anyone; he is very adept at giving vent to his influences without simply imitating them.   The influences are there…. But they are phantoms.  The track is one of the shorter ones on the record, and fades into…

‘Victor Malveil’ (The Puppet Master) - a brief spoken word bit introduces the puppet master to the fray; his creepiness and foreboding carrying us to a more straight-ahead rock feel in the verses; short but powerful choruses remind me a bit of the band Ghost’s recent albums; and then we are sent into an excellent bridge section, heavily reliant on synths for both the rhythm and the melody, and very evocative of some of the better 70’s prog rock key solos.   Truly, the numerous shifts in tone and style here are dizzying and mesmerizing; there are so many changes in tone and mood in this track that it is truly an adventure to listen to.  

‘Isabella Thorn’ (The Bearded Lady) - we are brought to the next character through a simple acoustic guitar.  A slower feel to this song plays throughout…. And is hi-lighted by a some great flute work and choruses which SOAR in their anthemic resolve and really give the song its substance and beauty.  

‘Serephina Moon’ (The Fortune Teller) - a tectonic shift in mood occurs here, thanks to an array of computer-generated sounds which announce the arrival of the fortune teller.    This is one of the more laid-back, almost ballad-esque tracks, though it is not without its proggier side; the keys and guitar part aptly trading solo refrains.  More Genesis-style musings send the listener meandering through the carnival grounds; intent on learning their fate from Serephina.   The track, strangely,  ends in a rather alarmingly abrupt manner.  

‘Lillith Vale’ (The Contortionist) - yet another extreme shift in style here, an almost folk-like feel sets up this track, which laments Lillith Vale’s fate as one of the carnival’s lost souls.  This track is very slow and deliberate, with a lot of space in the music, and a heavy reliance on folk-prog and a “wee-whistle” to carry the song’s theme.  Midway, we hit yet another complete shift in style, to a Styx-like groove rock section before falling back into a straight groove and then a flute solo that sends us to a powerful conclusion.   

(I tell you all quite plainly: listening to this record is an ADVENTURE; I do not know of a release this year that makes as many stylistic twists and turns as this record does.  It is truly a wonder to behold, and so FUN to listen to.)

‘Gregor Titan Volkov’ (The Strongman) - one of the record’s hi-lights and, in my opinion, the best song on the album.   All of the styles on display thus far present themselves in tiny sections in the song’s first minute, before heading into the major theme of Gregor’s story…. Where we get an excellent mix of music akin to Hackett-era Genesis, complete with vocals which will remind you of Peter Gabriel.   I cannot, at this point, adequately chart the different stylistic and tonal shifts here…. It is just mind-bending how frequent they are, and it truly must be heard to be understood and appreciated.   But trust me…. The shifts, the styles, the moods…. They are ALL here, and they weave marvelously together and work very well.   I said this listen is an adventure, and I meant it.   All of the shifts finally resolve in an interesting ending, which hails Gregor only very briefly as a champion, before another sudden termination…. and a segue into….

‘Dante Blaze’ (The Fire Eater) - a xylophone/marimba/glockenspiel with accompanying wind instruments set the mood for our next character.    The song is, by and large, one of the more straightforward tracks, at least in the beginning.  Its strength lies in the vocal performance; gorgeous harmonization sung over great keys and fantastic guitars; and the track picks up pace significantly toward its conclusion before returning, as it began, to the mallet instruments.  

‘Evelyne Nocturne’ (The Ghostly Ballerina) - definitely the album’s “slow down” and completely brimming with melancholy and beauty, this is another one of the record’s standout tracks.   A resplendent chorus speaks of the sadness of Evelyne, a ballerina who is forever lost in memory and is cursed to spin in sorrow forevermore.  The music here is very subtle and services the mood and the theme of the track extremely well.    We then get the sounds of a traditional ballet wind-up box, which carries us to the song’s brief but powerful end. 

‘Lucian Graves’ (The Ringmaster) - this wouldn’t be a carnival without the presence of a Ringmaster.   And here he is, at the finale.   The musing, contemplative tone here, as the album concludes, is more of a warning for the listener; having heard the stories…. enter this carnival at your own risk, and know that, though fate is unknown, you may never leave.  The music then shifts to an almost operatic, symphonic-style which would be at home on an action-thriller soundtrack.   This is followed by a mix of excellent keys solos and symphonic rock; a return to the music which heralds the dire warning of the Ringmaster, before an extremely short folk-style riff closes the carnival for good. 

‘The Carnival of Lost Souls’ is one of the best, most unconventionally structured, fun, engaging and fresh concept progressive albums of 2025.    The only real fault I find in the album itself is the extremely abrupt nature in which many of the tracks end, which could be off-putting to certain listeners.  But, that aspect aside, this is a GEM of a record.   It is almost impossible to fully chart the variance of styles and influences on display throughout the album’s nine tracks, but I’ll give it a try….  From Neo-Prog, to avant-garde, to straight rock, to symphonic prog, to 70’s-era classic prog, to folk-prog; from Genesis to Styx to Steven Wilson to Ghost to Yes…. You will find bits of every one of these herein.   But don’t think that this means that this album is derivative of those…. Far from it.   Cen-projekT has managed to meld those styles into something unique to itself; it has almost, I dare to say, created its own genre of progressive rock.   It is simply fantastic, and it is a MUST HAVE; an essential part of any serious progressive rock lover’s catalogue.  

Info here:https://cen-projekt.bandcamp.com/album/carnival-of-lost-souls.

Author Chris Clark