"Simurgh" is a pleasant opening song. Traditional instruments mix with synthesisers as Denitza takes us on a moderate stroll through a magical forest. It is atmospheric, without being overpowering. It gives little clue what direction this album will take. Will it journey to the icy Northern wasteland of Arcana? Or will it travel to the New Age easy listening grassy tundra of Enya? Will it just pop down the shops for a packet of crisps? "Invocatio" is a minute and a half fragment that takes place in an ancient church. Denitza's voices takes centre stage, with minimal accompaniment. No doubt in a live performance this would be captivating, but on CD I find myself distracted by the flotsam and jetsam of everyday life.

Just when I was about to consign this album to the 'dinner party music for Pagans' category along comes "Hagia Sophia" which is the sound of an army storming the walls of your city. Huge drums are battered, while male and female vocals intertwine. This has the intensity of Collection D'Arnell Andrea – another Prikosvenie band I rate highly. Listening to this song is an intoxicating experience, sound tracking one of the more exciting flights of fancy in the cinema of your mind. Having escaped the fighting by the city walls you flee into the marketplace for "Vernal Garden". What sensual delights – horticultural or otherwise - take place there I'll leave to your imagination. Though the music pace may have dropped the intensity and colour of the images created has not.

"Fei" has a languid feel, with plenty of synthesiser giving this song a Dead Can Dance-feel. The viola de gamba recalls the violin lines of Seventh Harmonic. This piece is typical of the band's slower song, but it's when the band picks up the pace, such as "Los Ojos de la Mora" that my heart races with excitement. It's good to have variety as too much intensity can become exhausting. With its strong emphasis on ethnic percussion "Star of the Winds" calls to mind Rajna. While the first "Invocatio" was a transient experience, the addition of male vocals to "Invocatio II" makes things much more palatable. "Return to Outremer" brings the album to a nicely epic close.

If you're a fan of Dead Can Dance, Arcana, Collection D'Arnell Andrea or Seventh Harmonic and you want some more then you should investigate Irfan. They escape the jaws of New Age-mundane, offering a spiritual experience to the imaginative listener.