I admit...when I first listened to the album I was slightly disappointed. I thought the same thing about it being a bit repetitive. The songs seemed a bit incomplete. However, with each repeat listen, I liked it more and more. Now I absolutely am in love with it! It's definitely an album that needs to be experienced on headphones or a good sound system. Only then do you notice all the layers and subtleties, and realize just how incredible the production is. Michael Cretu (the man behind Enigma) has utilized so many cutting edge sounds and effects to create a stunning voyage through space and the night sky. There are fewer vocals than previous albums, which is quite a contrast to Voyageur, the most pop-influenced album. This one plays out more like a soundtrack for the mind and soul - more similar to earlier albums. You won't find many standout sing-along songs, but if you love that mysterious Enigma atmosphere, you should really dig this. I'm not crazy about "Goodbye Milky Way," but the rest is incredible. "Feel Me Heaven" and "Dreaming of Andromeda" are probably my favorites, but most of the tracks are very close behind. I highly recommend giving this album repeated listenings before you pass judgment. It truly is amazing.

The sixth Enigma album, "A Posteriori," is another change in direction for this ambient studio group led by Michael Cretu. Having jettisoned the chanting monks from the previous album, "Voyageur," Cretu this time also omits the services of past singers Ruth-Ann and Andru Donalds, as well as, for the very first time, the sensual vocalising from wife Sandra (although there is a new woman named Louisa Stanley who makes a couple of cameo appearances on the disc, and of course Cretu himself still sings on the occasional song). It may take a few listens to fully appreciate (in my case, the third listen was the charm), but "A Posteriori" ultimately reveals itself as a very entrancing, hypnotic album filled with all the lush, rich ambient textures, sounds and atmospheres of previous Enigma albums. Cretu is still a master studio wizard, and he still weaves an intoxicating tapestry of sound and music. Highlights include the majestic sweep of such tracks as "Dreaming Of Andromeda," "Dancing With Mephisto," "20,000 Miles Over The Sea" and "Sitting On The Moon." And, as usual, Cretu's production work here is fantastic. Like all Enigma albums, "A Posteriori" works best late at night with the lights out, as you can lay back comfortably on your bed and just let the album wash over you. Elaborate and powerful, "A Posteriori" is another excellent offering from Michael Cretu's Enigma.

I was so excited over this new album because I am a big enigma fan. But after hearing this album, I must say that I am very disappointed. Where is enigma in this enigma album? Where are the lush sounds? Where are the female vocalists? Where are Sandra's whispers? Where are the great song interludes of e3? Where are the great melodies of e2 and e3? Where is the singing? Where did Ruth Ann go? Where are the lyrics? Where are the sounds of nature? Why is the album so techno like this? Where is the enigma I can listen to before I go to sleep? This is like the stuff I listen to when I am working out. I thought I was listening to Paul okenfold throughout this album or some other club music. The only semblance of enigma in this album is goodbye Milky Way. This is very disappointing. If you thought voyageur was a radical departure from what enigma meant to you, wait till you hear this album. At least voyageur had nice melodies and great vocals. Boom boom, voyageur, following the sun, and in the shadow and in the light were all great songs. This album has nothing to offer besides goodbye Milky Way. The rest you can hear while you're on the treadmill or bench-pressing. The music on this album is not bad. It's just overall monotonic, dull, repetitive, and colorless. Hello and welcome did not need to be on the album. It is out of place and boring as heck. Things get a bit less boring with the alchemist and feel me heaven because they are hypnotic and uplifting. Some have commented that Michael cretu is not about repeating the same stuff over again, and that's great. But there is good creativity and then there is mediocre creativity. E2 is not like e1, yet both are beautiful in their own unique way. E3 is not like the previous two, and yet it is almost better than them. Good creativity is always appreciated. In fact, e3 was the pinnacle of enigma's magic and creativity. Then came e4, which has only 2 memorable tracks (gravity of love and push the limits)--note that each of the first 3 enigma albums had SEVERAL memorable tracks. How many tracks from e6 will one remember a few years from now? Possibly one and that is goodbye Milky Way. The fans who appreciated voyageur will probably also remember invisible love; Other than that, everything on this album if easily forgettable.

Word for the wise: if you want to listen to a posteriori for what it is, then skip it and get a paul okenfauld cd or listen to hypnotized by okenfold. Better yet, get something by BT or Ian van dahl or something...Now if you want to listen to a posteriori for what enigma is, then brace yourself for a major disappointment.

Moreover, this album does not come across as a collaborative effort for 2 reasons:

1-enigma doesn't sing here. It's just cretu who sings. Michael cretu has a great voice and knows how to use it--think of why, beyond the invisible, the roundabout, out of the deep. However, if cretu is to present an enigma work, then he should include the vocals of other enigma members. Otherwise, he should go solo and present the album as a solo work. There are 3 lyrical songs on this album: sitting on the moon, invisible love, and goodbye Milky Way. The first one, sitting on the moon, pales next to why and out of the deep--two songs that were also sang by cretu alone. It is very popish and commercial. The second one has a nice haunting melody but has only 8 words worth of lyrics (rescue me, my love, my invisible love, follow you....); the third is great and has the hallmarks of enigma: spirituality, enchantment, melody, and mystery. Listening to this album leaves you begging for lyrics. You would listen and listen hoping for a whisper, a chant, and some lyrics. Of course enigma is not just about singing but also about music, and I enjoy that a lot. However, the instrumental tracks here are not soothing like the smell of desire or traces (both from e4).

The alchemist and Andromeda have a gorgeous rhythm and a beautifully haunting whaling sound to them; yet those two tracks are begging for lyrics. They would have been great if andru and Sandra's vocals were infused into them.

2-monotonality:
Dreaming of Andromeda and the alchemist are really one song. Eppur si muove and 20,000 miles are one song. The rest is just redundant, which leaves one wondering whether the artistic input of gad, Sandra, Donald's, and Ruth was included. It really seems that Michael cretu made this album as one long track on a single long summer afternoon; I am sure he worked on it more than that but that is the impression one gets even after several complete listens.

I am all for innovation. But make it good innovation. Otherwise, stick to what you do best. I feel that many people would be more than happy to hear a new enigma album that would apply the same tricks and sounds of e3, e1 and e2 to new melodies and new lyrics. Old good tricks are better than new mediocre tricks.

I keep editing this review because every time I listen to this album, in an attempt to appreciate it, I get more disappointment and feel a bitter yearning for the enigma of e1, e2, and e3--heck even enigma of e4 and e5 would have been great. Fortunately, e1, e2 and e3 are timeless so I can keep listening to them until enigma returns, or until Michael cretu quits the Look of Today and returns to the classic and timeless enigma he introduced to us and kept us yearning for.

Message for cretu: if you no longer have it in you, just go solo or stop. Nobody is perfect. Good writers stop when they have nothing good to write; it is called writers' block. Please do not tarnish the beautiful image of enigma with this trance/club/metro sexual lounge/club music; leave that stuff to the DJs, and at least spare us the sweet memory of the earlier albums.

I am giving this album one star because I am observing the high standards that Michael cretu has set up for enigma.

The Milky Way is staying; it's enigma that has left us...

Goodbye enigma

P.S:

to those who are giving this album 4 stars:

do you realize that the screen behind the mirror got 4 stars? when you give this album 4 stars, do you realize that you are equating it to the screen behind the mirror? and if you are, is it fair to do so? how can you equate the gravity of love, push the limits, silence must be heard and traces to the stuff on this album? please consider objectivity and SINCERITY in reviewing this album so that michael cretu would understand that his older work is indeed better; this in turn would hopefully influence his next enigma album. some of you criticize the album and then go ahead and give it 4 stars. this is ridiculous!!! please put your stars where your mouth is. if you give 4 stars whether the album is good or mediocre, then how do you expect the maker/artist to take your reviews seriously when he/she is making their next album?

thank you

Enigma, A.K.A. Michael Cretu, has finally given us a masterpiece nearly ten years in the making with "A Posteriori". Though I believe it is Enigma's last album, I am excited to say that everything ends the only way it could have started back in 1990: leaving the listener begging for more.

I was probably one of the few, or perhaps many, who was pissed off with 2003's "Voyageur". For starters, not only did it contradict the trademark ingredients of Enigma's style (ethereal movements punctuated by sexual undertones), but came off as an imitation. It had its moments, but when you find yourself juggling two singers in addition to your own, injecting lame lyrics into songs such as "Boum Boum", and letting the vocals dominate the musicianship altogether, you know you're going down hard. I was afraid that Cretu had forgotten what Enigma was all about, but after three long years, he's finally given devoted listeners an album worth meditating to, dancing to, and having sex to all over again.

What I like about "A Posteriori" is that it makes a logical progression from the mess that was "Voyageur" without disregarding everything and starting with a clean slate. There's only a hint of its predecessor in the opening track, which, Thank God, exhibits its roots with a plethora of Enigma staples such as ethnic tongues and the fading horn. After that, buckle up and get ready for an adventure. I never thought I would hear the same Enigma again, but Cretu masterfully creates something familiar and something new at the same time. The vocals are seriously overhauled this time around, so if you liked Andru Donalds and Ruth-Ann Boyle, you won't hear them on this go-around. For those who never liked Michael's singing, I assure you that it's not as bad as the last time. He chimes in here and there to prevent lagging, but he lets the instrumentation do most of the talking. Speaking of talking, did I forget to mention that Sandra drops in after a long absence to grace us with her wonderful voice yet again?? I swear she's been missing since "Enigma 3", but it's such a relief to hear her speak again, if not for just two songs.

In terms of mood, "A Posteriori" has it in spades. It's the first album since "Screen Behind the Mirror" to give me chills by its sheer scope alone. The second track, "Feel Me Heaven", conjures up images of flight and accelerating towards the unknown, and "Dancing With Mephisto" is by far one of the sexiest songs to emerge from Cretu's catalogue in over a decade. I was somewhat let down when I first heard "Hello and Welcome" a couple of months back, but fortunately this album contains a radically different version that moves with the flow instead of spoiling it. And I never thought I would say this, but Cretu puts out his best vocals, not to mention ambient strengths, on display with the closing track, "Goodbye Milky Way". These are just the highlights mind you; the remainder of the songs succeed in unison to plunge the listener into a grand arena of relaxation and primal urges. This album is definitely not to be missed.

When I mentioned that this could very well be Enigma's last album, I was only speculating, but given that the title means retrospection and past experiences, I wouldn't mind if this was Enigma's swansong, because it's a damn fine swansong. Although people don't read these reviews, I hope someone will be convinced by some means to give this one a spin in the future. Le Roi Est Mort, Vive Le Roi!

I was bitterly disappointed by the 5th release of Enigma 'Voyageur' that was released a few years back. I vowed to never listen to that album again after the 3rd try. I am a fan and lover of the first 4 albums and enjoyed Cretu's success and creativity of blending ethno-fusion, chants and native indian sounds and voices together into a wonderful concoction of world beats that could take you away from this reality to another dimension all together. I value Michel Cretu as a artist and creator and producer. He is talented and super wonderful mixing music together within his Enigma project and solo career.

So it was with bated breath and low expectations that I purchased this album not knowing what to expect and hoping that Cretu had heeded the majority of Enigma's fans' requests and pleadings. It is now my 4th listen to this album 'A Posteriori' and I am left with each listen that much more saddened and disappointed. I can state that this album is a much better sounding piece than 'Voyageur' was. I honestly feel the old Enigma sound is lost as Cretu continues to bring new sounds to his Enigma project. What this album lacked was the hauntingly seductive voice of his wife Sandra. Only 3 songs had lyrics and these were sung by Cretu himself.

I will continue to listen to the earlier Enigma, this album is okay, nothing special to write home about. 'Epper Si Muove' and 'Goodbye Milky Way' were my favourite songs as they showed glimpses and I mean mere glimpses of the Enigma we came to know and love. In the first song we momentarily heard the well know trumpets of Enigma. That brought a smile to my face.

Like several other reviewers have stated and I agree with them. It is time that Cretu puts Enigma to rest. Let us remember the 4 good albums of Enigma. There is no more need for Cretu to release new Enigma if each release will get worser than the last.

Overall this is a listenable album but I was disappointed. It is a album I will play rarely.