'Ego' presses all of the right buttons.
Polish art rockers Millenium have built up an extensive discography over the past decade, along the way earning comparisons with Pink Floyd, The Alan Parsons Project and much of the UK neo-prog scene of the early 1980s. The brainchild of songwriter, producer and keyboardist Ryszard Kramarski their back catalogue now takes in ten studio albums and one live release, all of which have been released on Kramarski's own Lynx Music label.
As with many of their Eastern European contemporaries, the challenge for a band such as Millenium is breaking out of their home territory, something they certainly achieved to some degree with both 2008s 'Exist' and its equally well received follow-up 'Puzzles' from two years later. With 'Ego' seeking to build on this recent success they would seem to be well positioned to follow in the footsteps of bands such as Riverside and Satellite and increase their fan base amongst the prog rock aficionados across both Western Europe and North America.
Taking in just six tracks and with four of them extending to more than nine minutes and with suitably abstract yet intriguing cover artwork, 'Ego' certainly has the necessary prog rock foundations. The lyrics also hang around a loose concept that deals with topics related to human life in the modern world and the longing for what has already passed. Sparing yet effective use of female backing vocals, saxophone and trumpet embellish the already complex arrangements and certainly the listener is reminded of how a band such as Pink Floyd would seamlessly add these subtle yet important touches to their work. The core five piece band boast a versatile vocalist in Lukasz Galeziowski who seems equally comfortable with the urgent nature of 'Dark Secrets' and the hauntingly fragile 'When I Fall' as he does on the more mainstream rock approach of 'Born In 67'. Add in some sprightly guitar work from Piotr Plonka and suitably elaborate keyboard arrangements and 'Ego' presses all of the right buttons.
Dean Pedley
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