A promising album.
This curiously titled band is another from Poland where Prog appears to have taken a foothold in their consciousness; these guys have a similar sound to fellow countrymen, Believe and Satellite albeit with a smattering of Riverside and something with a heavier, modern twist making an appearance every now and then. This is their third studio album following ‘Endless Lunatic’ in 2005 and ‘Hideout’ three years later, with the band consisting of Krzysiek Drogowski (vocals), Radek Więckowski (drums), Czarek Bregier (guitars), Wojtek Tymiński (guitars) and Mariusz Zlółkowski (bass). The first of those does have a fairly strong accent that can be a little distracting.
I’m not previously acquainted with the band so undertook some research where I discovered them being described as heavy proggers as evidenced by covers of songs from System of the Down and Black Sabbath in their live set. I don’t know if they’ve made a conscious effort to rein in that side of their sound but based on this album that’s not the category I’d file them under. That having been said the album opens with ‘All Left Behind’ which has a decidedly modern feel and almost descends into Rap and Grunge at times. Despite the chorus being fabulously melodic I feared this review would turn out to be a chore, but as it turns out this track is not entirely representative of what else is on offer.
‘Enchanted’ has an Evanescence feel musically before it moves into neo-Prog territory so redolent of the Polish scene while the following ‘Summer Fuss’ has a similar aspect but with a faster tempo. ‘Carried by the Wind’ opens with a heavy riff before this stops and a strummed acoustic guitar takes the song on with a pleasing swagger. A nice arrangement on this song sees it build as the band mix up the ballad style sections with heavier interludes.
‘Resurrection’ uses a drum loop and a fine guitar refrain in its early stages before a delightful guitar solo takes over. The vocal arrangement is well created but unfortunately they inflict a heavy and screamed section on the listener which sounds as if it belongs to an entirely different song/band. ‘My Straight Path’ is another song with a toe tapping beat; the chorus reminds me of more recent Harem Scarem output in its structure. It’s a really nice song until they once again introduce screaming and a rather unpleasant crescendo passage. ‘The Mention’ features another strong guitar theme as well as some Talisman-like bass work. ‘Good Things are Worth Waiting For’ is another example of a song starting quickly them dropping back to something more sedate. ‘Hope’s Still Alive’ is heavy and angular and the opposite of the restrained ‘Happiness’ that closes the album with its drum and synth loops, reminiscent of Kraftwerk. The way the synth theme builds in the mix is extremely impressive.
So, this is a promising album but with some refinement required with the songwriting to iron out the quirky bits.
Gary Marshall
Subscribe to this comment's feed
