...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


..::OPIS::..

It shall be confirmed beyond any doubt that the progressive metal album, “The Treachery of Senses,” released in 2012 by the Finnish progster bunch, ODDLAND, was one of the best prog-metal outings ever released in this country. Maybe it was not merely “one” of the best – but THE best. It was a baffling display of progressive brilliance to such a thrilling degree that I couldn’t even mind, in retrospect, that these proggy ruffians scooped the first prize in the Suomi Metal Star 2011 contest (in which my band at the time also participated). It was a title well deserved for this Turku-based prog squad! Now, the pedigree status of their haunting debut might be endangered, however. The thing is: ODDLAND just released their third studio album, “Vermilion”, via their new record label, Uprising! Records, on March 11th, 2022. Six years after their predominantly djenty sophomore album, “Origin” (2016), these prog magicians seem to return to the sonic realms of their debut – but with all the newfound songwriting wisdom acquired over the years. “Vermilion” is truly a mind-altering rollercoaster ride of meaty prog-grooves, aggressive metal riffs, and exciting new shades – such as the Latin vibes on “Vermilion Pt.4: Feed the Void.” In true prog fashion, the title track is split into five parts and the album-length is closer to the vinyl-era prog offerings than the long-winded, modern-day, digital prog monoliths. The new album is such a coherent, mind-bending endeavor in excellence that maybe it is the very album that will push their debut off the pedestal as the best Finnish prog-metal effort so far.

The five-chunk prog suite begins the album with the brief, introductory part, “Vermilion Pt.1: Arrival.” Classically-tinged piano leads to a nonchalant motif played in unison by the guitar and the clarinet against the atmospheric backdrop that would find a good home on any TESSERACT album, no doubt. The transition from the intro to the second part of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.2: Below,” is marked by a deliciously oriental motif, first played a few times with a sitar. Oh, yes! The second movement is layered thick with slow-burning prog mysticism. The vocalist, Sakari Ojanen, joins in on this track – and it needs to be said that he has nothing short of impressive style, balancing between the evil, heavy-metal grunts and the somewhat Devin Townsend -esque ”bel canto” crooning. If I was to describe the band to a newbie, I think “MESHUGGAH playing Miles Davis with Frank Sinatra on vocals” could hit quite close.

The third movement, “Vermilion Pt.3: The Walls of the Mind,” sneaks up on you with a cinematic piano intro that soon mutates into a hearty serving of djenty riff-mayhem before fading into the distance with a lengthy ambient coda. If there is one thing that you cannot really blame these metal rogues for, it is the lack of audacity to do whatever they like! It becomes even more apparent on the fourth part of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.4: Feed the Void.” You see, there are two things that usually don’t mix very well: Slavic melancholy and somewhat sun-dried Latin music vibes. ODDLAND shows here quite the contrary! The Latin feeling of the acoustic break, pronounced further by the reversed vocals channeling some Middle Eastern desert spirits, works wonders in their prog-metal framework!

The last movement of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.5: Emancipator,” is built upon a mesmerizing synth motif that resonates with the air of both TANGERINE DREAM and MARILLION. With the added flavors of the djenty guitar riffs, the versatile crooning of Ojanen, and some cinematic piano ornaments, the song is but a perfect closure to the epic.

After such an onslaught of pure prog-metal power, a breather is in order. Enter “Pathway.” It is an acoustic meditation that may trigger rather pleasant OPETH flashbacks here and there and leads to the primal MESHUGGAH-inspired riffage of “Resonance.” The brutal riffing is nicely balanced by the atmospheric verses. ODDLAND is one of those bands whose forté lies in the beauty of the contrast. It was apparent already on their debut, what with songs such as “In the Eyes of the Mourning” and “Sewers” – and with the gears of time, their undisputed talent for creating hauntingly contrasted musical pieces seems to only have grown better.

The album ends with another rollercoaster ride, the 6-minute riffathon, “Unity.” The song serves as yet another calling card for the band’s knack for writing strong melodies. On occasion, the melancholic twists and turns are slightly reminiscent of bands such as SOEN. Then again, I guess it is a trait that all Scandinavian metal bands have in common.

Formed in 2003 in Turku, Finland, ODDLAND has come a long way from the grunge leanings of their formative years to the shimmering prog of their latest offering. Ever since their magnificent debut, they have been worthy of joining the metal pantheon inhabited by greats such as PAIN OF SALVATION, MESHUGGAH, PERIPHERY, and Devin Townsend. Maybe it’s too early to hail “Vermilion” as the best prog-metal album ever released in Finland but, at least, it is sure to get us peevish metal fans and mischievous little prog-cherubims grinning like the Cheshire Cat. It does have all the makings of an album that might grow into a future classic one day.

Jani Lehtinen



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Vermilion Pt.1: Arrival
2. Vermilion Pt.2: Below
3. Vermilion Pt.3: The Walls Of The Mind
4. Vermilion Pt.4: Feed The Void
5. Vermilion Pt.5: Emancipator
6. Pathway
7. Resonance
8. Unity



..::OBSADA::..

Sakari Ojanen - vocals, guitars
Jussi Poikonen - guitars
Joni Palmroth - bass
Ville Viitanen - drums



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ao_roCBb2o



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

It shall be confirmed beyond any doubt that the progressive metal album, “The Treachery of Senses,” released in 2012 by the Finnish progster bunch, ODDLAND, was one of the best prog-metal outings ever released in this country. Maybe it was not merely “one” of the best – but THE best. It was a baffling display of progressive brilliance to such a thrilling degree that I couldn’t even mind, in retrospect, that these proggy ruffians scooped the first prize in the Suomi Metal Star 2011 contest (in which my band at the time also participated). It was a title well deserved for this Turku-based prog squad! Now, the pedigree status of their haunting debut might be endangered, however. The thing is: ODDLAND just released their third studio album, “Vermilion”, via their new record label, Uprising! Records, on March 11th, 2022. Six years after their predominantly djenty sophomore album, “Origin” (2016), these prog magicians seem to return to the sonic realms of their debut – but with all the newfound songwriting wisdom acquired over the years. “Vermilion” is truly a mind-altering rollercoaster ride of meaty prog-grooves, aggressive metal riffs, and exciting new shades – such as the Latin vibes on “Vermilion Pt.4: Feed the Void.” In true prog fashion, the title track is split into five parts and the album-length is closer to the vinyl-era prog offerings than the long-winded, modern-day, digital prog monoliths. The new album is such a coherent, mind-bending endeavor in excellence that maybe it is the very album that will push their debut off the pedestal as the best Finnish prog-metal effort so far.

The five-chunk prog suite begins the album with the brief, introductory part, “Vermilion Pt.1: Arrival.” Classically-tinged piano leads to a nonchalant motif played in unison by the guitar and the clarinet against the atmospheric backdrop that would find a good home on any TESSERACT album, no doubt. The transition from the intro to the second part of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.2: Below,” is marked by a deliciously oriental motif, first played a few times with a sitar. Oh, yes! The second movement is layered thick with slow-burning prog mysticism. The vocalist, Sakari Ojanen, joins in on this track – and it needs to be said that he has nothing short of impressive style, balancing between the evil, heavy-metal grunts and the somewhat Devin Townsend -esque ”bel canto” crooning. If I was to describe the band to a newbie, I think “MESHUGGAH playing Miles Davis with Frank Sinatra on vocals” could hit quite close.

The third movement, “Vermilion Pt.3: The Walls of the Mind,” sneaks up on you with a cinematic piano intro that soon mutates into a hearty serving of djenty riff-mayhem before fading into the distance with a lengthy ambient coda. If there is one thing that you cannot really blame these metal rogues for, it is the lack of audacity to do whatever they like! It becomes even more apparent on the fourth part of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.4: Feed the Void.” You see, there are two things that usually don’t mix very well: Slavic melancholy and somewhat sun-dried Latin music vibes. ODDLAND shows here quite the contrary! The Latin feeling of the acoustic break, pronounced further by the reversed vocals channeling some Middle Eastern desert spirits, works wonders in their prog-metal framework!

The last movement of the suite, “Vermilion Pt.5: Emancipator,” is built upon a mesmerizing synth motif that resonates with the air of both TANGERINE DREAM and MARILLION. With the added flavors of the djenty guitar riffs, the versatile crooning of Ojanen, and some cinematic piano ornaments, the song is but a perfect closure to the epic.

After such an onslaught of pure prog-metal power, a breather is in order. Enter “Pathway.” It is an acoustic meditation that may trigger rather pleasant OPETH flashbacks here and there and leads to the primal MESHUGGAH-inspired riffage of “Resonance.” The brutal riffing is nicely balanced by the atmospheric verses. ODDLAND is one of those bands whose forté lies in the beauty of the contrast. It was apparent already on their debut, what with songs such as “In the Eyes of the Mourning” and “Sewers” – and with the gears of time, their undisputed talent for creating hauntingly contrasted musical pieces seems to only have grown better.

The album ends with another rollercoaster ride, the 6-minute riffathon, “Unity.” The song serves as yet another calling card for the band’s knack for writing strong melodies. On occasion, the melancholic twists and turns are slightly reminiscent of bands such as SOEN. Then again, I guess it is a trait that all Scandinavian metal bands have in common.

Formed in 2003 in Turku, Finland, ODDLAND has come a long way from the grunge leanings of their formative years to the shimmering prog of their latest offering. Ever since their magnificent debut, they have been worthy of joining the metal pantheon inhabited by greats such as PAIN OF SALVATION, MESHUGGAH, PERIPHERY, and Devin Townsend. Maybe it’s too early to hail “Vermilion” as the best prog-metal album ever released in Finland but, at least, it is sure to get us peevish metal fans and mischievous little prog-cherubims grinning like the Cheshire Cat. It does have all the makings of an album that might grow into a future classic one day.

Jani Lehtinen



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Vermilion Pt.1: Arrival
2. Vermilion Pt.2: Below
3. Vermilion Pt.3: The Walls Of The Mind
4. Vermilion Pt.4: Feed The Void
5. Vermilion Pt.5: Emancipator
6. Pathway
7. Resonance
8. Unity



..::OBSADA::..

Sakari Ojanen - vocals, guitars
Jussi Poikonen - guitars
Joni Palmroth - bass
Ville Viitanen - drums



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ao_roCBb2o



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


..::OPIS::..

Devin Townsend's tenth solo record remains an absolute fan favorite to this day, a conceptual take of a nerdy alien tasked with finding the best cup of the coffee in the Universe, and being offended by the meager offerings put forward by Earth, summons his Ziltoidian warriors to attack and subjugate the planet. Most impressively, it's the one record Devin performed entirely on his own.



Curse you Devin Townsend! I do my best to limit a band's five star ratings and to avoid fanboyism, but this is the fourth classic by this modern genius. Ziltoid serves as the perfect close to the first chapter of his career, as it combines elements of the biting humor of Punky Bruster, the heaviness of Strapping Young Lad, and the ambiance of his solo work. His recent break from touring only enforces that stage one is complete. Ziltoid the Omniscient is a relief from the self-serious mentality that pervades prog metal and prog in general. Over a span of four months Devin wrote, recorded, and mixed the album by himself. Every instrument is either played or programmed by the Dev. The drum programming is near perfect, using Thomas Haake's Drumkit From Hell. The result is insanely technical drumming that alternates nicely between inhuman (duh) blastbeats, and mid-tempo crashes.
Ziltoid is a loose concept album that follows the story of the fourth-dimensional Ziltoid as he threatens the Earth for the perfect cup of coffee. He does so by pummeling the planet with his mighty guitar. The concept shifts several times to include the plight of Earth's hero Captain Spectacular, as well as to poke fun at his own career. Highlights are hard to pick out, as they're all magnificent. By Your Command sets the stage of the album by alternating tempos, moods, and vocals and Devin switches from shrieks to clean, airy vocals on a dime.Ziltoidia Attaxx! is one of the heaviest songs ever written by Devin, which is saying something. Despite the zany humor, songs like Solar Winds offer some soul-searching lyrics amongst the barrage of metal and wit. Every character is sung by Devin using different voices. Colour Your World is the climax of the concept, and it features Devin unleashing his incredible and unique scream as Ziltoid breaks down. The Greys is the perfect closer. It has wonderful vocals, monumental yet beautiful guitars, thunderous drums, and the trademark Devin ambiance.

This stands as Devin's most complex work yet, but it's also one of his most accessible. The varying moods, vocals, and melodies are dizzying. It isn't flawless, but it's topped my list of favorite 07 releases. With this release, Devin Townsend has crafted prog metal's Thick as a Brick. It is an irreverent concept album that mocks all other concept albums and the self-serious attitude that pollutes nearly all of progressive rock. Just remember, don't take it seriously, because Devin doesn't.

1800iareyay


This quotation taken from the most critically acclaimed album by Devin Townsend to date - Terria - may very well put his entire career in a nutshell for his many fans. Having created so much music throughout the last decade, Devin Townsend, or as his followers like to call him, 'Crazy Devy', could never be blamed for making his music sloppily, yet he always knew the best way to combine a thorough approach and a bit of humour in the process. Those who are familiar with any of his work do not need to be told that Devin has no problems with not taking himself too seriously, as Townsend's music always contains surprising, serendipitous twists, his lyrics possess a quality that often borders on the ridiculous and his on stage presence includes bizarre antics, such as insulting his fans in ways considered unacceptable by many "prog" musicians. His aficionados know better, however, than to be offended by Devin's remarks, as they have learned well to accept the duality of his extremely charismatic work and on stage presence.

Ziltoid The Omniscient is simultaneously a unique and an ordinary album for Devin Townsend. The first thing to notice is that no session musicians or group mates have been used for the recording process. When you listen to the album, remember that every note, voice and sound has been played, recorded and produced by the man himself. That should drop you a hint that this album may be considered the essence of his work, especially because several themes and parts of different composition have a strong sense of déjà vu about them, and a person familiar with Devin's work will notice affinities with his previous albums (both solo and as a member of Strapping Young Lad) as flashbacks are provoked in his memory. The compositions on the album vary greatly and range from short and heavy numbers closer to his SYL material, seemingly radio friendly, emotional and down-to-earth songs and great epics with changing themes and quirky, spacey melodies. The album, as one would expect from Devin, is achingly memorable (if talking about riffs and melodies, vocal lines and lyrics) and contains some of his catchiest material to date. However, while the music may not particularly flabbergast anyone who has before experienced Infinity, Synchestra and any of his SYL work, the lyrics department deserve their own place for description.

'Eccentric' and 'comic' are the first adjectives that instantly come to one's mind whilst describing this concept album's story and lyrical content. The story is irony-filled and could be considered a great parody of many things at once: the sympathetic character common to DT's albums, silly concepts in the Prog-Metal genre(Devin must be the only one in the 'scene' - if such even exists - who is fully aware that his story is not meant to be taken seriously), cheesy science fiction and Townsend's career as a whole. The entire story of a hostile omniscient alien Ziltoid threatening to destroy our planet is a daydream of a layabout who works at a coffee shop and entertains himself by imagining such ridiculous stories. In his dream Ziltoid The Omniscient (or, as proved later by the protagonist Captain Spectacular, The Nerd) finds an unusual excuse to make an attack by requesting the Earth's ultimate cup of coffee. Disappointed by the gift (Fetid! How dare they present this to me! Foul, they hide their finest bean. Attack! ), Devin proceeds to mercilessly decimate the planet's population. The story henceforth keeps getting progressively more difficult to follow until failure leads Ziltoid to bitter enlightenment about his role and existence. One has to listen to the album on his own to experience the story instead of reading about it in a review, hence my very brief description. Depending on your type of sense of humour, the concept may seem either hilarious, unusual or nonsensical.

In conclusion, Ziltoid The Omniscient is a delightful new release from Devin Townsend that should please every person who has already become a fan of his work. Furthermore, if you still have not introduced his music to yourself this may be the perfect album to do so, as the common traits of the man's music are all here, without making the album ordinary and predictable even for his standards. If, on the other hand, his previous work was not of any interest to you, it is very doubtful that this record will change your mind. All in all, when it comes to Progressive Metal that does not take itself too seriously, Townsend's new album is a winner this year, especially knowing that the latest Sigh album is unfortunately a dud.

It can be predicted that the artist's followers will receive his latest output very warmly, and silly lines such as I am so omniscient, if there were to be two omniscientses, I would be both! will turn classic extremely quickly. While I do not feel this album is exactly a masterpiece, it is completely worth your time all things considered.

Trickster F.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. ZTO 01:17
2. By Your Command 08:09
3. Ziltoidia Attaxx!!! 03:42
4. Solar Winds 09:46
5. Hyperdrive 03:47
6. N9 05:30
7. Planet Smasher 05:44
8. Omnidimensional Creator 00:48
9. Color Your World 09:44
10. The Greys 04:15
11. Tall Latte 01:03



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, production, mixing, engineering



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOzuSwrDjk



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

Devin Townsend's tenth solo record remains an absolute fan favorite to this day, a conceptual take of a nerdy alien tasked with finding the best cup of the coffee in the Universe, and being offended by the meager offerings put forward by Earth, summons his Ziltoidian warriors to attack and subjugate the planet. Most impressively, it's the one record Devin performed entirely on his own.



Curse you Devin Townsend! I do my best to limit a band's five star ratings and to avoid fanboyism, but this is the fourth classic by this modern genius. Ziltoid serves as the perfect close to the first chapter of his career, as it combines elements of the biting humor of Punky Bruster, the heaviness of Strapping Young Lad, and the ambiance of his solo work. His recent break from touring only enforces that stage one is complete. Ziltoid the Omniscient is a relief from the self-serious mentality that pervades prog metal and prog in general. Over a span of four months Devin wrote, recorded, and mixed the album by himself. Every instrument is either played or programmed by the Dev. The drum programming is near perfect, using Thomas Haake's Drumkit From Hell. The result is insanely technical drumming that alternates nicely between inhuman (duh) blastbeats, and mid-tempo crashes.
Ziltoid is a loose concept album that follows the story of the fourth-dimensional Ziltoid as he threatens the Earth for the perfect cup of coffee. He does so by pummeling the planet with his mighty guitar. The concept shifts several times to include the plight of Earth's hero Captain Spectacular, as well as to poke fun at his own career. Highlights are hard to pick out, as they're all magnificent. By Your Command sets the stage of the album by alternating tempos, moods, and vocals and Devin switches from shrieks to clean, airy vocals on a dime.Ziltoidia Attaxx! is one of the heaviest songs ever written by Devin, which is saying something. Despite the zany humor, songs like Solar Winds offer some soul-searching lyrics amongst the barrage of metal and wit. Every character is sung by Devin using different voices. Colour Your World is the climax of the concept, and it features Devin unleashing his incredible and unique scream as Ziltoid breaks down. The Greys is the perfect closer. It has wonderful vocals, monumental yet beautiful guitars, thunderous drums, and the trademark Devin ambiance.

This stands as Devin's most complex work yet, but it's also one of his most accessible. The varying moods, vocals, and melodies are dizzying. It isn't flawless, but it's topped my list of favorite 07 releases. With this release, Devin Townsend has crafted prog metal's Thick as a Brick. It is an irreverent concept album that mocks all other concept albums and the self-serious attitude that pollutes nearly all of progressive rock. Just remember, don't take it seriously, because Devin doesn't.

1800iareyay


This quotation taken from the most critically acclaimed album by Devin Townsend to date - Terria - may very well put his entire career in a nutshell for his many fans. Having created so much music throughout the last decade, Devin Townsend, or as his followers like to call him, 'Crazy Devy', could never be blamed for making his music sloppily, yet he always knew the best way to combine a thorough approach and a bit of humour in the process. Those who are familiar with any of his work do not need to be told that Devin has no problems with not taking himself too seriously, as Townsend's music always contains surprising, serendipitous twists, his lyrics possess a quality that often borders on the ridiculous and his on stage presence includes bizarre antics, such as insulting his fans in ways considered unacceptable by many "prog" musicians. His aficionados know better, however, than to be offended by Devin's remarks, as they have learned well to accept the duality of his extremely charismatic work and on stage presence.

Ziltoid The Omniscient is simultaneously a unique and an ordinary album for Devin Townsend. The first thing to notice is that no session musicians or group mates have been used for the recording process. When you listen to the album, remember that every note, voice and sound has been played, recorded and produced by the man himself. That should drop you a hint that this album may be considered the essence of his work, especially because several themes and parts of different composition have a strong sense of déjà vu about them, and a person familiar with Devin's work will notice affinities with his previous albums (both solo and as a member of Strapping Young Lad) as flashbacks are provoked in his memory. The compositions on the album vary greatly and range from short and heavy numbers closer to his SYL material, seemingly radio friendly, emotional and down-to-earth songs and great epics with changing themes and quirky, spacey melodies. The album, as one would expect from Devin, is achingly memorable (if talking about riffs and melodies, vocal lines and lyrics) and contains some of his catchiest material to date. However, while the music may not particularly flabbergast anyone who has before experienced Infinity, Synchestra and any of his SYL work, the lyrics department deserve their own place for description.

'Eccentric' and 'comic' are the first adjectives that instantly come to one's mind whilst describing this concept album's story and lyrical content. The story is irony-filled and could be considered a great parody of many things at once: the sympathetic character common to DT's albums, silly concepts in the Prog-Metal genre(Devin must be the only one in the 'scene' - if such even exists - who is fully aware that his story is not meant to be taken seriously), cheesy science fiction and Townsend's career as a whole. The entire story of a hostile omniscient alien Ziltoid threatening to destroy our planet is a daydream of a layabout who works at a coffee shop and entertains himself by imagining such ridiculous stories. In his dream Ziltoid The Omniscient (or, as proved later by the protagonist Captain Spectacular, The Nerd) finds an unusual excuse to make an attack by requesting the Earth's ultimate cup of coffee. Disappointed by the gift (Fetid! How dare they present this to me! Foul, they hide their finest bean. Attack! ), Devin proceeds to mercilessly decimate the planet's population. The story henceforth keeps getting progressively more difficult to follow until failure leads Ziltoid to bitter enlightenment about his role and existence. One has to listen to the album on his own to experience the story instead of reading about it in a review, hence my very brief description. Depending on your type of sense of humour, the concept may seem either hilarious, unusual or nonsensical.

In conclusion, Ziltoid The Omniscient is a delightful new release from Devin Townsend that should please every person who has already become a fan of his work. Furthermore, if you still have not introduced his music to yourself this may be the perfect album to do so, as the common traits of the man's music are all here, without making the album ordinary and predictable even for his standards. If, on the other hand, his previous work was not of any interest to you, it is very doubtful that this record will change your mind. All in all, when it comes to Progressive Metal that does not take itself too seriously, Townsend's new album is a winner this year, especially knowing that the latest Sigh album is unfortunately a dud.

It can be predicted that the artist's followers will receive his latest output very warmly, and silly lines such as I am so omniscient, if there were to be two omniscientses, I would be both! will turn classic extremely quickly. While I do not feel this album is exactly a masterpiece, it is completely worth your time all things considered.

Trickster F.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. ZTO 01:17
2. By Your Command 08:09
3. Ziltoidia Attaxx!!! 03:42
4. Solar Winds 09:46
5. Hyperdrive 03:47
6. N9 05:30
7. Planet Smasher 05:44
8. Omnidimensional Creator 00:48
9. Color Your World 09:44
10. The Greys 04:15
11. Tall Latte 01:03



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend - vocals, guitar, bass, keyboards, programming, production, mixing, engineering



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwOzuSwrDjk



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

TEMIC are just one album in, but to reach this point, this supergroup had to navigate quite the career maze. These guys have played with Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, Neal Morse, SHINING and Maraton. But it wasn’t until the world shut down in 2020, that keyboardist Diego Tejedia and guitarist Eric Gillette got around to starting a band together.

Their idea wasn’t exactly simple: orchestrate their love for high-energy electronica and killer melodies into a modern prog-metal band. But by recruiting vocalist Fredrik Klemp and Simen Sandnes on drums, Temic manage to pull that concept off

Terror Management Theory is layered with twists and turns. “Count Your Losses” crushes out tech riffs by the ton, while “Falling Away” drifts down a blackhole of starry-eyed synths. At the end of this labyrinthine album lies “Mothalah”, a seven-minute epic that never stops reaching for the sky, led by heroic falsetto.




In a year where the amount of new prog music released has been plentiful (if not overwhelming), TEMIC throws their hat in the ring with their initial album Terror Management Theory. The influx of new acts releasing their inaugural albums is a beacon of hope for the health and vibrancy of progressive music, especially within the intricate realms of progressive metal. It speaks to the genre’s ability to continuously evolve and attract fresh talent, ensuring that the spirit of innovation and boundary-pushing remains alive. Each new debut represents a unique perspective and a potential shift in the landscape of progressive metal, contributing to its ever-expanding tapestry. It’s a thrilling time for both artists and listeners, as these emerging acts bring a wave of creativity and enthusiasm that revitalizes and sustains the genre for future exploration and aural adventures.

Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) the mastermind behind the keyboard and soundscape design, and Eric Gillette (Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress), a virtuoso guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, have joined forces to craft a musical odyssey for their collaborative venture, Temic. The seeds of this partnership were planted back in 2016 when their respective bands were on tour. But it took the pandemic shutdown of 2020 for Tejeida and Gillette to channel their collective passion into something new. United by a shared vision to push the boundaries of progressive music, these two gifted musicians have committed to weaving a sonic tapestry that seamlessly blends Tejeida’s keyboard universe with Gillette’s guitar prowess. Their upcoming album, set to release on November 17, 2023, blends the intricate complexities of progressive rock and metal with the pulsating energy of electronic music. The band’s vision prioritizes the pulse as the focal point while ensuring that the vocal melody reigns supreme. Temic’s commitment to pushing musical boundaries and creating a unique sound experience is bound to captivate listeners as they strive to leave their mark on the progressive music scene. This is possible by the additions of Simen Sandnes (Shining) on drums and Frederik Kemp (Maraton) on vocals. You can watch The Prog Report’s interview with Tejeida and Gillette ((HERE)).

After the short introductory “TMT”, “Throught the Sands of Time” kicks off with the band going with a great riff showing off the tightness of Gillette and Sandnes. Then the ethyreal keys of Tejeida supplement the introduction to Kemps’ vocals. The rhythmic syncopation of the instrumentation is balanced by the smooth vocal melodies and harmonies. The breakdown features some of the unique sound structure of the keys which leads into a great short guitar solo. The chorus soars the song through the end. The next track, “Falling Away”, is the band’s second single released in August. This is best represented by the chorus where Kemp and Gillette harmonize between minor and major chords which give it a very uplifting mood with deep guitar chugging reminiscent of Devin Townsend-type wall of sound. Behind the soundboard is the esteemed Rich Mouser (Spock’s Beard, Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Native Construct), who does his usual masterful job of delivering a crisp and powerful mix.

“Count Your Losses” is the band’s first single (released in July) which Tejeida gets to flex his blend of keyboard sound spectrum to drive the song from beginning to end. By this point in the album, it is clear TEMIC has the ability to apply a wide variety of styles as they look to establish their sonic footprint. “Skeletons” closes out the front half of the album with, at this point, their most diverse song. The Dream Theater style intricate introduction leads to a very mellow verse, then dropping into an Robert Trujillo/Infectious Grooves funk style keys and bass line for the second verse. Then comes Gillette’s strongest guitar solo of the album as the rhythm section chugs along quickly transitioning to another funk groove with Tejeida showing off his solo chops. This sounds like it was born from their collective experience in Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress tour.

“Acts Of Violence” brings in the mellower side of the album. The simple arrangement at the beginning allows for Kemp’s dynamic and melodic vocals to be showcased. Sandnes also contributes to the mood with brushes as the song is grooving along. Suddenly, Tejeida slams down a rocking keyboard solo while the band kicks into rock mode for the remainder of the song as Gillette closes the song with his usual shredding chops. This leads into the album’s instrumental “Friendly Fire”. This delivers in every way one would expect from highly skilled musicians in their craft. Once again, the time of touring with Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress is evident in this track. There are some rhythmic segments as well as melodic soaring solos. “Paradigm” is characterized by Kemp’s powerful vocals. He showcases a full range of dynamic control which delivers a soaring chorus.

Coming down the home stretch, “Once More” starts out as a straightforward rocking track as Sandnes alternates between different types of drum styles to keep the music diverse. Surprisingly, rather than delivering another masterfully played solo, the band goes into a heavy breakdown segment which is a stark contrast from the beginning of the song. The final track “Mothallah” is the most recent single released in October. The arrangement set it up as a micro-epic (it ‘only’ clocks in at 7:27). It is a microcosm of the album as it is the perfect closing song. It starts out with heavy guitars and drums then immediately into a soft and ethereal first verse. The second verse increases the intensity as it goes into the anthem style chorus. Tejeida and Gillette get their opportunity to shine in their solos before the song closes with a choir backing the band.

In the tapestry of progressive metal’s current renaissance Terror Management Theory emerges as a diverse sonic adventure. With this release, TEMIC seeks to establish their unique sound and carve out their identity within a booming progressive metal scene. The album not only showcases the band’s top-notch musical chops but also serves as a testament to Mouser’s Jedi-like sound engineering mastery. Amidst the variety of influences from their past bands, TEMIC manages to craft a distinct narrative, with the echoes of their musical roots subtly woven into each track. As the progressive metal scene witnesses a surge of new talent, this places Temic in the discussion of the top new band releases of 2023, promising not just studio excellence, but also a live performance spectacle waiting to unfold.

Vic J Giol


I’m split on certain albums, and I end up reviewing them if the split leans towards positive. I’m feeling that way about the Temic debut, called Terror Management Theory. It released on November 17th through Season of Mist.

Temic comes from the Aztec Nahuatl language and means “dream”. The band hails from multiple countries and is the collaboration, essentially, between ex-Haken keyboardist Diego Tejeida and guitarist Eric Gillette of The Neal Morse Band. I assume they became friends while playing with Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress. Anyways, they bring with them Fredrik Bergersen of Maraton on vocals and Simen Sandnes of Shining and Arkentype on drums. Guests include Jacob Umansky on bass and both the Mosaic Gospel Choir and Garden State Threshold Choir.

The band’s sound revolves around the fusion of keyboard-heavy and electronic melodies with a modern progressive rock, bordering on metal. There are plenty of heavy riffs, but I would still call this prog rock, and it definitely does “rock”. This album has so much energy, sweet keyboard fireworks, giant guitar solos, and this unrelenting drive, save for a few ambient portions. Everything feels modern and shiny and smooth.

And I think that’s where I’m having trouble. Don’t get me wrong; I like this album, and it is rock solid overall. However, there’s something missing for me. Fredrik’s vocals are pretty, but I don’t think I’ve embraced them fully, and they match the music in feeling shiny and smooth. It’s almost like we needed some grit tossed in here somewhere, and as expressive as the vocals are, they never come across as emotional or engaging on a heart level. You never feel like you absolutely must know what this guy is singing about, you know?

Another thing about this album is the ever-present shadows of Haken and Neal Morse. Some of my least favorite sections are when the band clearly veers away from their main idea into attempts at grabbing the fans of those two bands. The band is at their best when dark riffs meet groovy and stylish keys and electronica. The instrumentation and performances here are certainly top notch, but the band constantly tries to walk a line that ends up hurting their identity.

Why an 8 still? I think plenty of people will disagree with my last couple paragraphs, and the album is clearly made by professionals to a high degree of quality. It’s a good album, and so I think it deserves the score. But I think the band has potential to create something even more interesting, either by leaning more heavily into their main fusion idea, or even by bringing in Aztec themes in keeping with their name. I would really like to hear that.

Again, the album is rock solid, though, and I like each song to some extent. “Through the Sands of Time” is an early favorite with its electronic stylishness and great guitars. The single “Count Your Losses” is a convincing track with a terrific chorus, both in vocals and keys. “Skeletons” is definitely a great tune, sounding almost inspired by John Carpenter with its haunting keys and sweet, sweet bass groove. I do think the first half of the album is the stronger half.

Ironically, the best song on the album, without a doubt, is the closer “Mothallah”. It feels dark and personal, but also epic somehow. Fredrik lays down his silkiest vocals on the album, the choirs both come into play with atmospheric perfection, and the chorus—that the band holds back for a while—is glorious. That song gives me goosebumps. I think more songs like this one are what I hope this band pursues.

Temic has the makings of something truly special. I just hope the band can let go of other projects long enough to recognize that. Still, this is a grooving, exciting record that celebrates progressive rock while injecting it with some new flair. I think people will like it, and I’m excited to see what the band might create in the future.

The Prog Mind



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. TMT 02:02
2. Through the Sands of Time 07:01
3. Falling Away 04:57
4. Count Your Losses 06:13
5. Skeletons 07:00
6. Acts of Violence 05:52
7. Friendly Fire 05:57
8. Paradigm 06:33
9. Once More 05:45
10. Mothallah 07:26



..::OBSADA::..

Fredrik Bergersen (Maraton, 22) - Vocals
Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress) - Guitars and Backing Vocals
Simen Sandnes (Shining, Arkentype) - Drums and Percussion
Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) - Keyboards and Sound Design

Guest musicians:
Jacob Umansky (USA) - Bass guitar on the whole album
Mosaic Gospel Choir (Norway) - Mothallah
Garden State Threshold Choir (USA) - Mothallah




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzMcZm2x8uI



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

TEMIC are just one album in, but to reach this point, this supergroup had to navigate quite the career maze. These guys have played with Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, Neal Morse, SHINING and Maraton. But it wasn’t until the world shut down in 2020, that keyboardist Diego Tejedia and guitarist Eric Gillette got around to starting a band together.

Their idea wasn’t exactly simple: orchestrate their love for high-energy electronica and killer melodies into a modern prog-metal band. But by recruiting vocalist Fredrik Klemp and Simen Sandnes on drums, Temic manage to pull that concept off

Terror Management Theory is layered with twists and turns. “Count Your Losses” crushes out tech riffs by the ton, while “Falling Away” drifts down a blackhole of starry-eyed synths. At the end of this labyrinthine album lies “Mothalah”, a seven-minute epic that never stops reaching for the sky, led by heroic falsetto.




In a year where the amount of new prog music released has been plentiful (if not overwhelming), TEMIC throws their hat in the ring with their initial album Terror Management Theory. The influx of new acts releasing their inaugural albums is a beacon of hope for the health and vibrancy of progressive music, especially within the intricate realms of progressive metal. It speaks to the genre’s ability to continuously evolve and attract fresh talent, ensuring that the spirit of innovation and boundary-pushing remains alive. Each new debut represents a unique perspective and a potential shift in the landscape of progressive metal, contributing to its ever-expanding tapestry. It’s a thrilling time for both artists and listeners, as these emerging acts bring a wave of creativity and enthusiasm that revitalizes and sustains the genre for future exploration and aural adventures.

Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) the mastermind behind the keyboard and soundscape design, and Eric Gillette (Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress), a virtuoso guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, have joined forces to craft a musical odyssey for their collaborative venture, Temic. The seeds of this partnership were planted back in 2016 when their respective bands were on tour. But it took the pandemic shutdown of 2020 for Tejeida and Gillette to channel their collective passion into something new. United by a shared vision to push the boundaries of progressive music, these two gifted musicians have committed to weaving a sonic tapestry that seamlessly blends Tejeida’s keyboard universe with Gillette’s guitar prowess. Their upcoming album, set to release on November 17, 2023, blends the intricate complexities of progressive rock and metal with the pulsating energy of electronic music. The band’s vision prioritizes the pulse as the focal point while ensuring that the vocal melody reigns supreme. Temic’s commitment to pushing musical boundaries and creating a unique sound experience is bound to captivate listeners as they strive to leave their mark on the progressive music scene. This is possible by the additions of Simen Sandnes (Shining) on drums and Frederik Kemp (Maraton) on vocals. You can watch The Prog Report’s interview with Tejeida and Gillette ((HERE)).

After the short introductory “TMT”, “Throught the Sands of Time” kicks off with the band going with a great riff showing off the tightness of Gillette and Sandnes. Then the ethyreal keys of Tejeida supplement the introduction to Kemps’ vocals. The rhythmic syncopation of the instrumentation is balanced by the smooth vocal melodies and harmonies. The breakdown features some of the unique sound structure of the keys which leads into a great short guitar solo. The chorus soars the song through the end. The next track, “Falling Away”, is the band’s second single released in August. This is best represented by the chorus where Kemp and Gillette harmonize between minor and major chords which give it a very uplifting mood with deep guitar chugging reminiscent of Devin Townsend-type wall of sound. Behind the soundboard is the esteemed Rich Mouser (Spock’s Beard, Neal Morse, Transatlantic, Native Construct), who does his usual masterful job of delivering a crisp and powerful mix.

“Count Your Losses” is the band’s first single (released in July) which Tejeida gets to flex his blend of keyboard sound spectrum to drive the song from beginning to end. By this point in the album, it is clear TEMIC has the ability to apply a wide variety of styles as they look to establish their sonic footprint. “Skeletons” closes out the front half of the album with, at this point, their most diverse song. The Dream Theater style intricate introduction leads to a very mellow verse, then dropping into an Robert Trujillo/Infectious Grooves funk style keys and bass line for the second verse. Then comes Gillette’s strongest guitar solo of the album as the rhythm section chugs along quickly transitioning to another funk groove with Tejeida showing off his solo chops. This sounds like it was born from their collective experience in Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress tour.

“Acts Of Violence” brings in the mellower side of the album. The simple arrangement at the beginning allows for Kemp’s dynamic and melodic vocals to be showcased. Sandnes also contributes to the mood with brushes as the song is grooving along. Suddenly, Tejeida slams down a rocking keyboard solo while the band kicks into rock mode for the remainder of the song as Gillette closes the song with his usual shredding chops. This leads into the album’s instrumental “Friendly Fire”. This delivers in every way one would expect from highly skilled musicians in their craft. Once again, the time of touring with Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress is evident in this track. There are some rhythmic segments as well as melodic soaring solos. “Paradigm” is characterized by Kemp’s powerful vocals. He showcases a full range of dynamic control which delivers a soaring chorus.

Coming down the home stretch, “Once More” starts out as a straightforward rocking track as Sandnes alternates between different types of drum styles to keep the music diverse. Surprisingly, rather than delivering another masterfully played solo, the band goes into a heavy breakdown segment which is a stark contrast from the beginning of the song. The final track “Mothallah” is the most recent single released in October. The arrangement set it up as a micro-epic (it ‘only’ clocks in at 7:27). It is a microcosm of the album as it is the perfect closing song. It starts out with heavy guitars and drums then immediately into a soft and ethereal first verse. The second verse increases the intensity as it goes into the anthem style chorus. Tejeida and Gillette get their opportunity to shine in their solos before the song closes with a choir backing the band.

In the tapestry of progressive metal’s current renaissance Terror Management Theory emerges as a diverse sonic adventure. With this release, TEMIC seeks to establish their unique sound and carve out their identity within a booming progressive metal scene. The album not only showcases the band’s top-notch musical chops but also serves as a testament to Mouser’s Jedi-like sound engineering mastery. Amidst the variety of influences from their past bands, TEMIC manages to craft a distinct narrative, with the echoes of their musical roots subtly woven into each track. As the progressive metal scene witnesses a surge of new talent, this places Temic in the discussion of the top new band releases of 2023, promising not just studio excellence, but also a live performance spectacle waiting to unfold.

Vic J Giol


I’m split on certain albums, and I end up reviewing them if the split leans towards positive. I’m feeling that way about the Temic debut, called Terror Management Theory. It released on November 17th through Season of Mist.

Temic comes from the Aztec Nahuatl language and means “dream”. The band hails from multiple countries and is the collaboration, essentially, between ex-Haken keyboardist Diego Tejeida and guitarist Eric Gillette of The Neal Morse Band. I assume they became friends while playing with Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress. Anyways, they bring with them Fredrik Bergersen of Maraton on vocals and Simen Sandnes of Shining and Arkentype on drums. Guests include Jacob Umansky on bass and both the Mosaic Gospel Choir and Garden State Threshold Choir.

The band’s sound revolves around the fusion of keyboard-heavy and electronic melodies with a modern progressive rock, bordering on metal. There are plenty of heavy riffs, but I would still call this prog rock, and it definitely does “rock”. This album has so much energy, sweet keyboard fireworks, giant guitar solos, and this unrelenting drive, save for a few ambient portions. Everything feels modern and shiny and smooth.

And I think that’s where I’m having trouble. Don’t get me wrong; I like this album, and it is rock solid overall. However, there’s something missing for me. Fredrik’s vocals are pretty, but I don’t think I’ve embraced them fully, and they match the music in feeling shiny and smooth. It’s almost like we needed some grit tossed in here somewhere, and as expressive as the vocals are, they never come across as emotional or engaging on a heart level. You never feel like you absolutely must know what this guy is singing about, you know?

Another thing about this album is the ever-present shadows of Haken and Neal Morse. Some of my least favorite sections are when the band clearly veers away from their main idea into attempts at grabbing the fans of those two bands. The band is at their best when dark riffs meet groovy and stylish keys and electronica. The instrumentation and performances here are certainly top notch, but the band constantly tries to walk a line that ends up hurting their identity.

Why an 8 still? I think plenty of people will disagree with my last couple paragraphs, and the album is clearly made by professionals to a high degree of quality. It’s a good album, and so I think it deserves the score. But I think the band has potential to create something even more interesting, either by leaning more heavily into their main fusion idea, or even by bringing in Aztec themes in keeping with their name. I would really like to hear that.

Again, the album is rock solid, though, and I like each song to some extent. “Through the Sands of Time” is an early favorite with its electronic stylishness and great guitars. The single “Count Your Losses” is a convincing track with a terrific chorus, both in vocals and keys. “Skeletons” is definitely a great tune, sounding almost inspired by John Carpenter with its haunting keys and sweet, sweet bass groove. I do think the first half of the album is the stronger half.

Ironically, the best song on the album, without a doubt, is the closer “Mothallah”. It feels dark and personal, but also epic somehow. Fredrik lays down his silkiest vocals on the album, the choirs both come into play with atmospheric perfection, and the chorus—that the band holds back for a while—is glorious. That song gives me goosebumps. I think more songs like this one are what I hope this band pursues.

Temic has the makings of something truly special. I just hope the band can let go of other projects long enough to recognize that. Still, this is a grooving, exciting record that celebrates progressive rock while injecting it with some new flair. I think people will like it, and I’m excited to see what the band might create in the future.

The Prog Mind



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. TMT 02:02
2. Through the Sands of Time 07:01
3. Falling Away 04:57
4. Count Your Losses 06:13
5. Skeletons 07:00
6. Acts of Violence 05:52
7. Friendly Fire 05:57
8. Paradigm 06:33
9. Once More 05:45
10. Mothallah 07:26



..::OBSADA::..

Fredrik Bergersen (Maraton, 22) - Vocals
Eric Gillette (The Neal Morse Band, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress) - Guitars and Backing Vocals
Simen Sandnes (Shining, Arkentype) - Drums and Percussion
Diego Tejeida (Devin Townsend, Mike Portnoy’s Shattered Fortress, ex-Haken) - Keyboards and Sound Design

Guest musicians:
Jacob Umansky (USA) - Bass guitar on the whole album
Mosaic Gospel Choir (Norway) - Mothallah
Garden State Threshold Choir (USA) - Mothallah




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzMcZm2x8uI



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


Wczoraj słuchałem na żywo...


..::OPIS::..

Finlandia to kraj na muzycznej mapie Europy, który często jest kojarzony z metalem, głównie z jego folkową lub blackową odmianą. Trend ten przełamuje czwórka dżentelmenów z zespołu Oddland, którzy to po wydaniu w 2010 roku dema Away From The Watching Eye i zwycięstwie w konkursie Suomi Metal Star w 2011 roku podpisali kontrakt z CM Records, dzięki czemu rok później światu ukazał się ich debiutancki album The Treachery of Senses.

Już pierwszy kontakt z tym wydawnictwem nie pozwala pozbyć się skojarzeń z gigantami progresywno-metalowej sceny. Pierwsze pojawiające się skojarzenie to Meshuggah. Szczególnie w rozpoczynającym album "Above and Beyond" słychać to wyraźnie. Nie jest to jednak przekopiowany bezczelnie styl zakręconych Szwedów. W muzyce Oddland można znaleźć więcej przestrzeni i złapać chwilkę (a nawet dwie) oddechu od "kanciastych" riffów à la Meshuggah.

Z drugiej strony zarówno partie wokalne Sakari Ojanena, jak i muzyka zawarta na płycie kojarzy mi się z dokonaniami Pain of Salvation. O ekipie Daniela Gildenlöwa pojawiają się wśród fanów progresywnego grania różne, często nieprzychylne opinie. Niektórzy zarzucają mu przekombinowanie, a nawet niesłuchalność kompozycji. W przypadku zespołu Oddland ten "pierwiastek bólu istnienia” wydaje się być bardzo trafiony i wyważony.

Takie a nie inne nazwy (w tym przypadku szwedzkich) zespołów, pojawiające się w tej recenzji, nie oznaczają bynajmniej, że Finowie nie posiadają własnego stylu. Przeciwnie, swoją muzyczną tożsamość udało im się zdobyć już przy tworzeniu debiutanckiego albumu! Nie staram się tu rzucać co chwilę tytułami poszczególnych utworów – nie ma to sensu, ponieważ cały album jest przystępny i melodyjny, ale nie prostacki. Jest tu ciężar, który przeplata się z bardzo lirycznymi fragmentami, czystym śpiewem, a nawet melorecytacją.

W dzisiejszych czasach powstaje mnóstwo albumów progresywno-metalowych. I po takim stwierdzeniu można spokojnie zacząć ubolewać, że nie wszystkim takim wydawnictwom należy się choćby jedno ciepłe słowo pochwały. Zdarza się przecież, że są to dźwięki, które wpadają jednym, a wypadają drugim uchem. Tak się jednak składa, że albumu The Treachery of Senses to stwierdznie w żadnym wypadku nie dotyczy.

Bartłomiej Tkaczyk


Zespół Oddland został okrzyknięty prawdziwym muzycznym wydarzeniem w rodzimej Finlandii. Debiutancki album „The Treachery of Senses” został zauważony przez samego Dana Swano, który uznał, że to muzyczni geniusze i sam wyprodukował tę płytę. I rzeczywiście, od strony produkcyjnej temu albumowi nic nie można zarzucić. Brzmi soczyście i klarownie. Oddland zbiera również znakomite recenzje w wielu czasopismach muzycznych, porównywany jest do Opeth, Pain of Salvation czy Katatonii. Czy rzeczywiście jest się czym zachwycać?

Przyznam, że mam z tym albumem problem. Faktycznie, realizacja bez zarzutu, jednak sama muzyka mnie nie przekonuje, a słucham tej płyty któryś raz z rzędu. Wokalnie przypomina mi połączenie głosów Daniela Gildenlowa z Pain of Salvation z Danem Swano, chociażby z Nightingale. Rzeczywiście, wyżej wymienione kapele z pewnością miały wpływ na twórczość młodych Finów. Na pewno też słychać tu Dark Suns, Opeth, lecz ma to charakter momentami doommetalowy. Z dziesięciu utworów zaciekawił mnie dopiero utwór nr 5 – „Past The Gates”. Poprzednie kompozycje były jak dla mnie kompletnie pozbawione wyrazu. Właściwie nie potrafię napisać nic pozytywnego o tych utworach, nie były tak złe, po prostu nic ciekawego, zarówno od strony melodycznej, instrumentalnej, klimatycznej - nie działo się. Wynudziłem się śmiertelnie. „Past The Gates” za to ma intrygującą atmosferę, ładną melodię, ciekawą fakturę. Niestety następny utwór to już kolejna przeciętność. Taka gra bez wyrazu, na pół gwizdka, przy czym dla mnie ograne patenty nużą już po kilku taktach. I tak ciągnie się ta płyta. Na szczęście nie jest długa i na pewno znajdą się osoby, które polubią ten materiał. Im płyta dłużej kręci się w odtwarzaczu, robi się bardziej Opethowo-Nightingelowska. Tyle, że cały czas czegoś tu brakuje. Ikry i magii. Jakieś to sztuczne i bez emocji, mimo że dźwięki dosyć przyjemne i lekko melancholijne. Utwór nr 8 – „Severs”, daje nadzieję, że tkwi jednak w zespole pewien potencjał. Ciekawa melodyka, interesujące wokale, nostalgiczny i nieco niepokojący klimat - wciągnęły mnie dziwnie hipnotycznym urokiem. Przedostatni „Lines of Silverblood” znów wzbudził we mnie ambiwalentne odczucia. Niby wszystko gra jak należy, ale cały czas czegoś brakuje. Spokojna, senna zwrotka i hardcorowa perkusja w refrenie. Nie żeby mnie to dziwiło, bo to intrygująca rzecz, tyle że jest to pozbawione charakteru. Debiutancki album Finów kończy najdłuższy utwór na płycie zatytułowany „Ire” i trwa ponad osiem minut. Cały czas jesteśmy w senno-rozmażonych, melancholijnych klimatach, może się to rzeczywiście podobać, ale nie wychodzi poza ramy przyzwoitości – muzycznej poprawności.

Reasumując, przeciętny album dobrze rokującego zespołu z potencjałem, który z pewnością jest do pokazania, ale jeszcze nie w pełni ukształtowany. Nie na tym albumie. To debiut i jak na początek nie jest źle, brakuje tego „czegoś”, postawienia przysłowiowej kropki nad „i”, tego spoiwa nadającego muzyce wyrazistości, bo faktycznie - pomysły są. Na początek można posłuchać.

Patryk Filipowicz


"The Treachery of Senses" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish, Turku based progressive metal act Oddland. The album was released through Century Media Records in April 2012. Oddland was formed in 2003 and released three demos, which preceed "The Treachery of Senses". The band won the "Suomi Metal Star" competition in 2011, which led to the deal with Century Media Records.
Oddland is rightfully labelled progressive metal, but they aren´t your typical Dream Theater clone progressive metal act. Lead vocalist/guitarist Sakari Ojanen isn´t a high pitched vocalist, but predominantly sings in mid-range. He is quite the skilled vocalist and he has a relatively unique sounding voice. The music is pretty heavy at times and the guitar riffs and rhythms can be relatively aggressive. But ultimately it´s dynamic music, and there are as many softer and not so loud sections as there are louder heavy ones featured on the album. It´s not ultra complex progressive metal, but it´s cleverly written and quite sophisticated. It´s music which requires a few listens to sink in, but given enough spins, "The Treachery of Senses" is quite the intriguing release.

The sound production is powerful, clear, and detailed (Dan Swanö is credited for mixing the album) and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, so all in all "The Treachery of Senses" is good quality progressive metal album with a lead vocalist providing the album with something a bit more unique than what many of their contemporaries put out. To my ears it´s not a perfect album as the band lose me a bit sometimes in the vocal melody department. It´s all nice and melodic, but it´s not always the melodies stick.

Umur


It took me more than a whole month to think about the things that I must write about the debut album "The Treachery of Senses" for the Finnish group "Oddland", and I really decided to write all of my mixed up thoughts about the genius structure of this fascinating debut album. The quality of the songwriting in this record made me feel like I am listening to the album number thirteen for a very mature and experienced band, that was one of the things that I expected while listening to the first track, but slowly after I started reading about the band I was really surprised because I just discovered that all of these experienced musical pieces are just the beginning of the journey for this band. If your ears are thirsty for new and talented progressive music, then you have to dig this release immediately.

If you have the ability to collect the sounds of Devin Townsend and Katatonia inside your head and mix them down with the progressive color of the bands Opeth and Pain Of Salvation, the resultant sound will be some tracks of this amazing record. The warmth of the vocals and the energy of the guitars are the two main elements that make the sound of these tracks bright and memorable, and the insane work of the drumming and the numb sound of the bass have helped to make the total sound of the tracks more stable and firm. Its really hard for me to describe every single thing I loved about this record because every tune and every touch has been made by the members has fitted the tracks perfectly. The ten tracks of this record are musically varietal for the fans of rock and metal music in general, some death metal materials existed within the riffs and the vocals and some rock materials also existed, so prepare your ears for some blowing melodies.

Some of the tracks that really caught my attention are "Sewers" and "In Endless Endeavour", maybe the secret behind loving these tracks is that they have a lot of Opeth feelings through the melodies and the performance, the old school progressive rock drumming and the calm middle ranges of the vocals reminded me a lot of the newest releases of Opeth. The complex progressive riffs in the tracks "Flooding Light" and "Aisle Of Array" give a real feeling that you are flying through a very windy atmosphere, the alternative performance between the clean guitar sections and the heavy distorted guitars have really effected my mind for weeks, creating very memorable moments of progressive music. The sick feelings that have been put in the music video of the track "In The Eyes Of The Mourning" have really fitted the total atmosphere of the track and they give a very great impression for me when I discover the talented music of this group, the warmth of the vocals and the complexity of the guitars have been mixed well to capture your attention from the first listen.

Century Media Records had a lot of winning cards to play this year, and I guess Oddland is one of the most winning cards that have been ever played in the field of progressive metal, especially when the veteran producer Dan Swanö describe this record “one of the best album I have mixed, ever!”. If you are ready to discover one of the best metal album of this year then you have to get your copy of this record immediately, and start discovering the twisted influences of Opeth and King Crimson and Pain of Salvation. I know the band hates the idea of adding some growling into these tracks (though they added some growling in the track Sewers), but I really wish to hear many styles of vocals in the next albums.

lordazmolozmodial



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Above And Beyond 4:46
2. Flooding Light 5:00
3. In The Eyes Of The Mourning 4:27
4. Aisle Of Array 4:43
5. Past The Gates 3:56
6. Still The Spirit Says 4:55
7. In Endless Endeavour 3:58
8. Sewers 5:18
9. Lines Of Silver Blood 5:31
10. Ire 8:10

Recorded At Fantom Studios, Tampere, August/October 2011.



..::OBSADA::..

Guitar - Jussi Poikonen
Guitar, Vocals - Sakari Ojanen
Bass Guitar - Joni Palmroth
Drums - Ville Viitanen

Saxophone - Mikko Viitanen (tracks: 2, 10)
Vocals - Kati Vanhanen (tracks: 8)
Vocals [Guest] - Akta Buli (tracks: 8)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G8wPbsJnWc



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI


Wczoraj słuchałem na żywo...


..::OPIS::..

Finlandia to kraj na muzycznej mapie Europy, który często jest kojarzony z metalem, głównie z jego folkową lub blackową odmianą. Trend ten przełamuje czwórka dżentelmenów z zespołu Oddland, którzy to po wydaniu w 2010 roku dema Away From The Watching Eye i zwycięstwie w konkursie Suomi Metal Star w 2011 roku podpisali kontrakt z CM Records, dzięki czemu rok później światu ukazał się ich debiutancki album The Treachery of Senses.

Już pierwszy kontakt z tym wydawnictwem nie pozwala pozbyć się skojarzeń z gigantami progresywno-metalowej sceny. Pierwsze pojawiające się skojarzenie to Meshuggah. Szczególnie w rozpoczynającym album "Above and Beyond" słychać to wyraźnie. Nie jest to jednak przekopiowany bezczelnie styl zakręconych Szwedów. W muzyce Oddland można znaleźć więcej przestrzeni i złapać chwilkę (a nawet dwie) oddechu od "kanciastych" riffów à la Meshuggah.

Z drugiej strony zarówno partie wokalne Sakari Ojanena, jak i muzyka zawarta na płycie kojarzy mi się z dokonaniami Pain of Salvation. O ekipie Daniela Gildenlöwa pojawiają się wśród fanów progresywnego grania różne, często nieprzychylne opinie. Niektórzy zarzucają mu przekombinowanie, a nawet niesłuchalność kompozycji. W przypadku zespołu Oddland ten "pierwiastek bólu istnienia” wydaje się być bardzo trafiony i wyważony.

Takie a nie inne nazwy (w tym przypadku szwedzkich) zespołów, pojawiające się w tej recenzji, nie oznaczają bynajmniej, że Finowie nie posiadają własnego stylu. Przeciwnie, swoją muzyczną tożsamość udało im się zdobyć już przy tworzeniu debiutanckiego albumu! Nie staram się tu rzucać co chwilę tytułami poszczególnych utworów – nie ma to sensu, ponieważ cały album jest przystępny i melodyjny, ale nie prostacki. Jest tu ciężar, który przeplata się z bardzo lirycznymi fragmentami, czystym śpiewem, a nawet melorecytacją.

W dzisiejszych czasach powstaje mnóstwo albumów progresywno-metalowych. I po takim stwierdzeniu można spokojnie zacząć ubolewać, że nie wszystkim takim wydawnictwom należy się choćby jedno ciepłe słowo pochwały. Zdarza się przecież, że są to dźwięki, które wpadają jednym, a wypadają drugim uchem. Tak się jednak składa, że albumu The Treachery of Senses to stwierdznie w żadnym wypadku nie dotyczy.

Bartłomiej Tkaczyk


Zespół Oddland został okrzyknięty prawdziwym muzycznym wydarzeniem w rodzimej Finlandii. Debiutancki album „The Treachery of Senses” został zauważony przez samego Dana Swano, który uznał, że to muzyczni geniusze i sam wyprodukował tę płytę. I rzeczywiście, od strony produkcyjnej temu albumowi nic nie można zarzucić. Brzmi soczyście i klarownie. Oddland zbiera również znakomite recenzje w wielu czasopismach muzycznych, porównywany jest do Opeth, Pain of Salvation czy Katatonii. Czy rzeczywiście jest się czym zachwycać?

Przyznam, że mam z tym albumem problem. Faktycznie, realizacja bez zarzutu, jednak sama muzyka mnie nie przekonuje, a słucham tej płyty któryś raz z rzędu. Wokalnie przypomina mi połączenie głosów Daniela Gildenlowa z Pain of Salvation z Danem Swano, chociażby z Nightingale. Rzeczywiście, wyżej wymienione kapele z pewnością miały wpływ na twórczość młodych Finów. Na pewno też słychać tu Dark Suns, Opeth, lecz ma to charakter momentami doommetalowy. Z dziesięciu utworów zaciekawił mnie dopiero utwór nr 5 – „Past The Gates”. Poprzednie kompozycje były jak dla mnie kompletnie pozbawione wyrazu. Właściwie nie potrafię napisać nic pozytywnego o tych utworach, nie były tak złe, po prostu nic ciekawego, zarówno od strony melodycznej, instrumentalnej, klimatycznej - nie działo się. Wynudziłem się śmiertelnie. „Past The Gates” za to ma intrygującą atmosferę, ładną melodię, ciekawą fakturę. Niestety następny utwór to już kolejna przeciętność. Taka gra bez wyrazu, na pół gwizdka, przy czym dla mnie ograne patenty nużą już po kilku taktach. I tak ciągnie się ta płyta. Na szczęście nie jest długa i na pewno znajdą się osoby, które polubią ten materiał. Im płyta dłużej kręci się w odtwarzaczu, robi się bardziej Opethowo-Nightingelowska. Tyle, że cały czas czegoś tu brakuje. Ikry i magii. Jakieś to sztuczne i bez emocji, mimo że dźwięki dosyć przyjemne i lekko melancholijne. Utwór nr 8 – „Severs”, daje nadzieję, że tkwi jednak w zespole pewien potencjał. Ciekawa melodyka, interesujące wokale, nostalgiczny i nieco niepokojący klimat - wciągnęły mnie dziwnie hipnotycznym urokiem. Przedostatni „Lines of Silverblood” znów wzbudził we mnie ambiwalentne odczucia. Niby wszystko gra jak należy, ale cały czas czegoś brakuje. Spokojna, senna zwrotka i hardcorowa perkusja w refrenie. Nie żeby mnie to dziwiło, bo to intrygująca rzecz, tyle że jest to pozbawione charakteru. Debiutancki album Finów kończy najdłuższy utwór na płycie zatytułowany „Ire” i trwa ponad osiem minut. Cały czas jesteśmy w senno-rozmażonych, melancholijnych klimatach, może się to rzeczywiście podobać, ale nie wychodzi poza ramy przyzwoitości – muzycznej poprawności.

Reasumując, przeciętny album dobrze rokującego zespołu z potencjałem, który z pewnością jest do pokazania, ale jeszcze nie w pełni ukształtowany. Nie na tym albumie. To debiut i jak na początek nie jest źle, brakuje tego „czegoś”, postawienia przysłowiowej kropki nad „i”, tego spoiwa nadającego muzyce wyrazistości, bo faktycznie - pomysły są. Na początek można posłuchać.

Patryk Filipowicz


"The Treachery of Senses" is the debut full-length studio album by Finnish, Turku based progressive metal act Oddland. The album was released through Century Media Records in April 2012. Oddland was formed in 2003 and released three demos, which preceed "The Treachery of Senses". The band won the "Suomi Metal Star" competition in 2011, which led to the deal with Century Media Records.
Oddland is rightfully labelled progressive metal, but they aren´t your typical Dream Theater clone progressive metal act. Lead vocalist/guitarist Sakari Ojanen isn´t a high pitched vocalist, but predominantly sings in mid-range. He is quite the skilled vocalist and he has a relatively unique sounding voice. The music is pretty heavy at times and the guitar riffs and rhythms can be relatively aggressive. But ultimately it´s dynamic music, and there are as many softer and not so loud sections as there are louder heavy ones featured on the album. It´s not ultra complex progressive metal, but it´s cleverly written and quite sophisticated. It´s music which requires a few listens to sink in, but given enough spins, "The Treachery of Senses" is quite the intriguing release.

The sound production is powerful, clear, and detailed (Dan Swanö is credited for mixing the album) and the musicianship is on a high level on all posts, so all in all "The Treachery of Senses" is good quality progressive metal album with a lead vocalist providing the album with something a bit more unique than what many of their contemporaries put out. To my ears it´s not a perfect album as the band lose me a bit sometimes in the vocal melody department. It´s all nice and melodic, but it´s not always the melodies stick.

Umur


It took me more than a whole month to think about the things that I must write about the debut album "The Treachery of Senses" for the Finnish group "Oddland", and I really decided to write all of my mixed up thoughts about the genius structure of this fascinating debut album. The quality of the songwriting in this record made me feel like I am listening to the album number thirteen for a very mature and experienced band, that was one of the things that I expected while listening to the first track, but slowly after I started reading about the band I was really surprised because I just discovered that all of these experienced musical pieces are just the beginning of the journey for this band. If your ears are thirsty for new and talented progressive music, then you have to dig this release immediately.

If you have the ability to collect the sounds of Devin Townsend and Katatonia inside your head and mix them down with the progressive color of the bands Opeth and Pain Of Salvation, the resultant sound will be some tracks of this amazing record. The warmth of the vocals and the energy of the guitars are the two main elements that make the sound of these tracks bright and memorable, and the insane work of the drumming and the numb sound of the bass have helped to make the total sound of the tracks more stable and firm. Its really hard for me to describe every single thing I loved about this record because every tune and every touch has been made by the members has fitted the tracks perfectly. The ten tracks of this record are musically varietal for the fans of rock and metal music in general, some death metal materials existed within the riffs and the vocals and some rock materials also existed, so prepare your ears for some blowing melodies.

Some of the tracks that really caught my attention are "Sewers" and "In Endless Endeavour", maybe the secret behind loving these tracks is that they have a lot of Opeth feelings through the melodies and the performance, the old school progressive rock drumming and the calm middle ranges of the vocals reminded me a lot of the newest releases of Opeth. The complex progressive riffs in the tracks "Flooding Light" and "Aisle Of Array" give a real feeling that you are flying through a very windy atmosphere, the alternative performance between the clean guitar sections and the heavy distorted guitars have really effected my mind for weeks, creating very memorable moments of progressive music. The sick feelings that have been put in the music video of the track "In The Eyes Of The Mourning" have really fitted the total atmosphere of the track and they give a very great impression for me when I discover the talented music of this group, the warmth of the vocals and the complexity of the guitars have been mixed well to capture your attention from the first listen.

Century Media Records had a lot of winning cards to play this year, and I guess Oddland is one of the most winning cards that have been ever played in the field of progressive metal, especially when the veteran producer Dan Swanö describe this record “one of the best album I have mixed, ever!”. If you are ready to discover one of the best metal album of this year then you have to get your copy of this record immediately, and start discovering the twisted influences of Opeth and King Crimson and Pain of Salvation. I know the band hates the idea of adding some growling into these tracks (though they added some growling in the track Sewers), but I really wish to hear many styles of vocals in the next albums.

lordazmolozmodial



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Above And Beyond 4:46
2. Flooding Light 5:00
3. In The Eyes Of The Mourning 4:27
4. Aisle Of Array 4:43
5. Past The Gates 3:56
6. Still The Spirit Says 4:55
7. In Endless Endeavour 3:58
8. Sewers 5:18
9. Lines Of Silver Blood 5:31
10. Ire 8:10

Recorded At Fantom Studios, Tampere, August/October 2011.



..::OBSADA::..

Guitar - Jussi Poikonen
Guitar, Vocals - Sakari Ojanen
Bass Guitar - Joni Palmroth
Drums - Ville Viitanen

Saxophone - Mikko Viitanen (tracks: 2, 10)
Vocals - Kati Vanhanen (tracks: 8)
Vocals [Guest] - Akta Buli (tracks: 8)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G8wPbsJnWc



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

Tony Fredianelli was by far one of the brighest stars from the Shrapnel catalogue, but for some mysterious reason he failed to cover himself with glories which went, more or less deservedly, to some of his colleagues and contemporaries like Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, and Yngwie Malmsteen, to give a few notable examples. For many his main contribution to the metal world remains his solo album, "Breakneck Speed" (1993), which took technical all-instrumental speed/thrash to its extreme and best, a feat achieved the same year by another up-and-coming at the time shredder, Toby Knapp, on the latter's album "Guitar Distortion" (this one comes more brutal with an overt shade of death metal).

If we compare the three acts that helped establish the careers of the three major performers of Shrapnel (Hawaii, Cacophony, and Apocrypha): Marty Friedman, Jason Becker and Toni Fredianelli, that is (we exclude Yngwie Malmsteen, of course, since he himself takes a whole chapter of guitar music history), we'll probably have to put Hawaii's "One Nation Underground" on top of the bills mostly due to its pioneering value as one of the first genuine speed/thrash metal albums ever recorded rather than for its musical or production merits. However, the album reviewed here comes a close second and well deservedly so. On the other hand, Apocrypha were the only act of the three to survive long enough as a unit to record three whole full-lengths.

"Area 54" is a sheer squasher, a steamroller which these ears are yet to come across. Certainly, we're not talking some ultra-heavy antediluvian doom metal in the vein of Candlemass here, nor any battle hymns ala Bolt Thrower. This is musical volcanism served in a very technical, sophisticated way which can only make one wonder at how perfect such a symbiosis is, and how listenable it has been made. The band already started down this road with the previous effort "The Eyes of Time", but the inconsistency in the songwriting department left a lot to be desired, and that same sloppiness in the songwriting must have been the main reason why many fans never bothered to check this album out. It also showed the other members of the band playing a more prominent role in the proceedings compared to the debut where their presence was reduced to mere humble assistants to Fredianelli's exploits.

The band literally reached their creative peak here and Fredianelli established himself as the undisputed master of the riff, unlike the other aforementioned guitar players for whom the focus has always been on the lead-driven shred. The man comes up with some of the heaviest, ship-sinking riffs to ever grace the music scene. The album effortlessly transcends the borders of the existing metal genres sounding heavy, power, thrash and speed metal at the same time, a feat achieved almost as seamlessly by another album that same year, Judas Priest's "Painkiller". It has such a wide appeal that one can only be perennially mystified as to why this effort never entered the blood system of many a metal fan around the world, and hadn't stayed there for good all these years.

The uncompromising nature of the album is boldly stated by the opening 'volcano' “Terrors Holding Onto You” which begins immediately with a shattering portion of super-heavy twisting riffs that march on with a flair of technicality the latter ably translated on the following “Catch 22”. The band’s fans have realized by now that the guys are not quite attracted by speed so it should come as no surprise the steadfast adherence to steam-rolling mid-paced riff-patterns even on short galvanizing thrashers like “A Night in Fog”. The collaboration between the musicians is admirable with Fredianelli sounding a bit subdued pulling out nice short lead sections wherever necessary: check out the one on “The Power Elite”, the latter number being a relatively laid-back one with a somewhat radio-friendly approach.

Fredianelli is eventually given a chance to display his wizardry on the short "masturbation" “Instrubation #3” which is mostly doomy jazz/funk-isms on a lead-driven base with a short virtuoso performance on the bass near the end; a strangely mellow cut compared to the surrounding material. And not only that, but it seems to have thrown its shadow on the title track after it which is a cool heavy ballad, but not much else. After the not very striking middle comes “Tiananmen Square” which is seismic power/thrash with lashing guitars, and the tad mellower “The Detriment of Man”. “Refuse the Offer That You Can’t Refuse” serves the only faster-paced moments on the album along with some great leads by the man, but its adventurous spirit isn’t quite matched by the closing “Born to This World” which is a radio-friendly slacker taking quite a few points away despite the inspired musicianship encountered and the cool memorable chorus.

The band members literally disappeared without a trace after this effort except Fredianelli, of course, and it’s another mystery why they hadn’t been claimed by any other acts, especially the singer Steve Plocica who is a true talent with a very emotional, high-pitched tember in the vein of Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore). His open attempts to emulate Rob Halford on the higher registers may sound a bit naïve, but most of the time he leads the show with panache and sounds equally as suitable for any metal genre.

Fredianelli gave himself another chance with his aforementioned solo album three years later, and gave speed/thrash a full-on instrumental template (along with Toby Knapp again) for other aggressive virtuosos to follow although very few were those tempted to capitalize on it so far. He himself never dared to achieve such a feat again. Apparently he had managed to fully satisfy his hunger for “breakneck speed”, something he was denied on the Apocrypha albums. I’m sure quite a few were the fans dismayed to see him joining the alternative rock outfit Third Eye Blind and sink into well-deserved oblivion, falling way behind all of the aforementioned guitarists who continued to cause waves more or less regularly with their skills. Will he manage to rise again for another portion of the good old same? Well, he’s not with The Blinds anymore, so who knows? Maybe he’s preparing for “Area 55” somewhere out there...

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Terrors Holding On To You 4:20
2. Catch 22 5:16
3. A Night In Fog 2:54
4. The Power Elite 4:16
5. Instrubation #3 2:52
6. Area 54 3:17
7. Tian'anmen Square 4:16
8. The Detriment Of Man 4:41
9. Refuse The Offer That You Can't Refuse 3:56
10. Born To This World 3:58



..::OBSADA::..

Dave Schiller - Drums
Chip Chrovian - Guitars (rhythm)
Tony Fredianelli - Guitars (lead), Guitars (rhythm), Vocals (backing)
Steve Plocica - Vocals (lead), Vocals (backing)
Breck Smith - Bass




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZomAJU8v1uI



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI



..::OPIS::..

Tony Fredianelli was by far one of the brighest stars from the Shrapnel catalogue, but for some mysterious reason he failed to cover himself with glories which went, more or less deservedly, to some of his colleagues and contemporaries like Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, and Yngwie Malmsteen, to give a few notable examples. For many his main contribution to the metal world remains his solo album, "Breakneck Speed" (1993), which took technical all-instrumental speed/thrash to its extreme and best, a feat achieved the same year by another up-and-coming at the time shredder, Toby Knapp, on the latter's album "Guitar Distortion" (this one comes more brutal with an overt shade of death metal).

If we compare the three acts that helped establish the careers of the three major performers of Shrapnel (Hawaii, Cacophony, and Apocrypha): Marty Friedman, Jason Becker and Toni Fredianelli, that is (we exclude Yngwie Malmsteen, of course, since he himself takes a whole chapter of guitar music history), we'll probably have to put Hawaii's "One Nation Underground" on top of the bills mostly due to its pioneering value as one of the first genuine speed/thrash metal albums ever recorded rather than for its musical or production merits. However, the album reviewed here comes a close second and well deservedly so. On the other hand, Apocrypha were the only act of the three to survive long enough as a unit to record three whole full-lengths.

"Area 54" is a sheer squasher, a steamroller which these ears are yet to come across. Certainly, we're not talking some ultra-heavy antediluvian doom metal in the vein of Candlemass here, nor any battle hymns ala Bolt Thrower. This is musical volcanism served in a very technical, sophisticated way which can only make one wonder at how perfect such a symbiosis is, and how listenable it has been made. The band already started down this road with the previous effort "The Eyes of Time", but the inconsistency in the songwriting department left a lot to be desired, and that same sloppiness in the songwriting must have been the main reason why many fans never bothered to check this album out. It also showed the other members of the band playing a more prominent role in the proceedings compared to the debut where their presence was reduced to mere humble assistants to Fredianelli's exploits.

The band literally reached their creative peak here and Fredianelli established himself as the undisputed master of the riff, unlike the other aforementioned guitar players for whom the focus has always been on the lead-driven shred. The man comes up with some of the heaviest, ship-sinking riffs to ever grace the music scene. The album effortlessly transcends the borders of the existing metal genres sounding heavy, power, thrash and speed metal at the same time, a feat achieved almost as seamlessly by another album that same year, Judas Priest's "Painkiller". It has such a wide appeal that one can only be perennially mystified as to why this effort never entered the blood system of many a metal fan around the world, and hadn't stayed there for good all these years.

The uncompromising nature of the album is boldly stated by the opening 'volcano' “Terrors Holding Onto You” which begins immediately with a shattering portion of super-heavy twisting riffs that march on with a flair of technicality the latter ably translated on the following “Catch 22”. The band’s fans have realized by now that the guys are not quite attracted by speed so it should come as no surprise the steadfast adherence to steam-rolling mid-paced riff-patterns even on short galvanizing thrashers like “A Night in Fog”. The collaboration between the musicians is admirable with Fredianelli sounding a bit subdued pulling out nice short lead sections wherever necessary: check out the one on “The Power Elite”, the latter number being a relatively laid-back one with a somewhat radio-friendly approach.

Fredianelli is eventually given a chance to display his wizardry on the short "masturbation" “Instrubation #3” which is mostly doomy jazz/funk-isms on a lead-driven base with a short virtuoso performance on the bass near the end; a strangely mellow cut compared to the surrounding material. And not only that, but it seems to have thrown its shadow on the title track after it which is a cool heavy ballad, but not much else. After the not very striking middle comes “Tiananmen Square” which is seismic power/thrash with lashing guitars, and the tad mellower “The Detriment of Man”. “Refuse the Offer That You Can’t Refuse” serves the only faster-paced moments on the album along with some great leads by the man, but its adventurous spirit isn’t quite matched by the closing “Born to This World” which is a radio-friendly slacker taking quite a few points away despite the inspired musicianship encountered and the cool memorable chorus.

The band members literally disappeared without a trace after this effort except Fredianelli, of course, and it’s another mystery why they hadn’t been claimed by any other acts, especially the singer Steve Plocica who is a true talent with a very emotional, high-pitched tember in the vein of Warrel Dane (Sanctuary, Nevermore). His open attempts to emulate Rob Halford on the higher registers may sound a bit naïve, but most of the time he leads the show with panache and sounds equally as suitable for any metal genre.

Fredianelli gave himself another chance with his aforementioned solo album three years later, and gave speed/thrash a full-on instrumental template (along with Toby Knapp again) for other aggressive virtuosos to follow although very few were those tempted to capitalize on it so far. He himself never dared to achieve such a feat again. Apparently he had managed to fully satisfy his hunger for “breakneck speed”, something he was denied on the Apocrypha albums. I’m sure quite a few were the fans dismayed to see him joining the alternative rock outfit Third Eye Blind and sink into well-deserved oblivion, falling way behind all of the aforementioned guitarists who continued to cause waves more or less regularly with their skills. Will he manage to rise again for another portion of the good old same? Well, he’s not with The Blinds anymore, so who knows? Maybe he’s preparing for “Area 55” somewhere out there...

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Terrors Holding On To You 4:20
2. Catch 22 5:16
3. A Night In Fog 2:54
4. The Power Elite 4:16
5. Instrubation #3 2:52
6. Area 54 3:17
7. Tian'anmen Square 4:16
8. The Detriment Of Man 4:41
9. Refuse The Offer That You Can't Refuse 3:56
10. Born To This World 3:58



..::OBSADA::..

Dave Schiller - Drums
Chip Chrovian - Guitars (rhythm)
Tony Fredianelli - Guitars (lead), Guitars (rhythm), Vocals (backing)
Steve Plocica - Vocals (lead), Vocals (backing)
Breck Smith - Bass




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZomAJU8v1uI



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

1992 was the year when it became very clear that classic metal had finally lost the battle with the groove, alternative and grunge epidemic. Not that it took too long for it to fall from grace; it’s amazing how quickly the new vogues were picked by the masses; it takes a longer time for a snake to shed its skin, or for a drunkard to take a leak outside the bar in the snow on New Year’s Eve. Shame, real shame… Anyway, those who voted to remain faithful to the old school had to create their own imaginary worlds where Slayer and Destruction were still the stars of the show, and Pantera’s “Power Metal” was followed by “Speed Metal”. This potential slip into surreality provided a temporary “shelter” for the shrinking retro speed/thrash metal fanbase, and also for those who challenged the new canons by playing god… sorry, good classic metal, be it just for an isolated outburst of defiance.

Surrealist couldn’t have chosen their name more appropriately although leaks from the past into the aggro/post-thrashy hegemony were still possible back then, albeit on a much more irregular basis. They not only stood against the new world order, but also took the responsibilities of The Almighty and usurped his reign here on Earth. It turned out it was just an innocent game, and they were forgiven in the short run; but who were these lads, where did they come from, and how did they summon all this courage to rise against all leaders, real, surreal, and all the rest?

It all started a few years back, from a small provincial town in Wisconsin, where five guys got together and decided to play their favourite brand of music which in their case was the good old thrash/crossover, fast simplistic stuff “sheltered” under the moniker Massakist, played just for the fun of it. They must have found portions of the divine presence within them earlier since their 1991 EP showed a considerable step forward with longer, more complex compositions also introducing mellower progressive power metal tendencies to “disturb” the hard-hitting thrash base, something like a more aggressive Liege Lord’s “Master Control”, or a more progressive Reverend’s “Play God” (from where they may have also borrowed the idea about The Lord’s impersonation). Well conformed with the more demanding tastes for more proficiently executed music at the time, this effort was also the stepping stone the guys needed to be catapulted into the surreal world of Retrothrashland, a mythical place where old and new classic speed/thrash metal defenders joined forces to oppose to the modern metal dictatorship during this tumultuous decade. Feeling quite safe among their newly found comrades, the band recaptured all their lost confidence and here they were, playing gods before long, the result of this comeuppance being this a bit over half hour of pure metal brilliance.

Yes, this album is that short, and could also pass for a long EP. Whichever way you look at it, though, there’s no denying the fact that it remains one of the finest efforts to honour the old school from the 90’s. The band have made one step forward in terms of musicianship making their one and only opus a more concise form of the intricate mastery unleashed on works like Toxik’s “Think This”, Sieges Even’s ”Life Cycle”, and Obliveon’s “From This Day Forward”. Unfortunately, chased tirelessly by the post-thrashy police, the guys could only produce that much. The beginning of the opening “False Illumination” goes beyond surreal; the guys are definitely not playing god there with tormented shouts and screams piling on top of heavy steam-roller riffage coming straight from the pits of Hell; a most unusual introduction followed by screamy leads those in turn replaced by spastic fast-paced passages which grow into something beautifully dramatic in the middle; enter the excellent clean high-pitched vocals bringing a lot of emotion into the already poignant delivery, and the picture is complete. “A Time for Sighs” would make anyone “sigh” left and right, but will also bang the heads big time with a portion of crushing violent riffs which shift into calmer, balladic motifs in the middle until impetuous gallops wrapped it on, not without another exiting stunt of the already heard agonizing screams and shouts which sound more horrifying here, possibly coming from a dungeon deep underground, or from some medieval torture chamber/cabinet.

Infernal stuff so far, and “Liquid Destiny” has no choice but to open the pit wider with twisted screamy lead sections, quiet mid-drama, and brilliant technical, vortex-like riffage in the second half which will make even Coroner sit and listen in wonder. Follows the ode to Dr. Kevorkian, a mythical figure, the supposed leader of Retrothrashland, the composition logically carrying the man’s name; no progressive/technical, all-instrumental thrash lost on this one expectedly the guys leaving their souls here with a myriad of stylish serpentine riff-patterns twisting and turning into all possible directions known to mankind creating a strong hallucinogenic effect the latter relieved by the short balladic exit. They have preserved some pyrotechnics, after all, for the next “See Life” which also “sees” the really good singer back to lead a hectic, jumpy speed/thrashing cannonade which gives way to a serene acousitc passage where the man pulls out a standout dramatic performance worthy of Buddy Lackey (Psychotic Waltz). The serenity continues with the short acoustic ballad “Dreams of an End” which grows into the ambient, orchestral instrumental “Voices Broken”, a strange, somewhat underwhelming epitaph regardless of the re-emergence of the tormented, unintelligible “broken” voices that give a conceptual conclusion to possibly the shortest conceptual effort in metal history.

The finale leaves something to be desired, but in the end this is a surreal work of art so one should always expect the unexpected, and in all honesty this last track does serve as a cool atmospheric inclusion enhancing the album’s outlandish appeal. The band do make a statement with exemplary musicianship which fondly binds them with the German progressive/technical thrash metal wave that sprung up at around the same time, and in the overall compositional layout they resemble one particular representative of it, the Psychotic Waltz/Deathrow collaboration End Amen (“Your Last Orison”, 1992). That act also uses atmospheric, instrumental non-metal cuts to a sinister dramatic effect, but at least they have a healthy 40-min of music offered apart from them. The listener may feel a bit disappointed again for not having to savour more of this great music, but this is what it is, and this work will still remain in the annals of metal as one of the most original releases of technical/progressive thrash of the 90’s, and not only. Having in mind that most of the progressive metal acts from The States had mutated beyond their complex meanderings at that time, this band can be respected even more for its bold stance in a period when the only feedback they would have received from the majority would be just a bit more than total indifference bordering on the derogatory (“Classic thrash?! Progressive/technical at that!? This is surreal! … And playing gods! Get them the hell out of here!”). Yes, sadly there was hardly any interest in divine musical revelations during these inquisitional times.

There are two versions of this effort circulating around the Net; one is without the “Broken Voices” piece, and this is also how it is featured on the band’s official site run by the guitar layer Eric Basler who also looks after the Massakist page. I guess the presence of this hellish number may have come as too much for the more faint of heart who would be having nightmares for months on end at the tiny notion of what may be going on in this surreal metal cabinet of Dr. Kaligari… sorry, Kevorkian.

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

Surrealist
1. False Illumination 6:16
2. Voices Broken 2:50
3. A Time Of Sighs 3:45
4. Acapella Diablo 1:00
5. Liquid Destiny 3:43
6. Shiny Thing 0:40
7. Dr. Kevorkian 4:19
8. Entropic Surreality 1:19
9. Sea Life 5:26
10. Dreams Of An End 3:05

Massakist
11. Of All That Is Seen 4:08
12. Darkly The Turn 6:35
13. Triskaidekaphobia 4:37
14. The Storyteller 7:08

Tracks 10-14 are from the Massakist - 'Of All That Is Seen... And Unseen' E.P. released in 1991.



..::OBSADA::..

Eric Basler - guitar
Jason Riley - guitar
Steve Cozzuol - vocals
Jason Koslucher - bass
Dan Scott - drums

Tracks 11-14:
Chris Triphan - bass
Randy Owen - drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO0xcOpno0




SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

1992 was the year when it became very clear that classic metal had finally lost the battle with the groove, alternative and grunge epidemic. Not that it took too long for it to fall from grace; it’s amazing how quickly the new vogues were picked by the masses; it takes a longer time for a snake to shed its skin, or for a drunkard to take a leak outside the bar in the snow on New Year’s Eve. Shame, real shame… Anyway, those who voted to remain faithful to the old school had to create their own imaginary worlds where Slayer and Destruction were still the stars of the show, and Pantera’s “Power Metal” was followed by “Speed Metal”. This potential slip into surreality provided a temporary “shelter” for the shrinking retro speed/thrash metal fanbase, and also for those who challenged the new canons by playing god… sorry, good classic metal, be it just for an isolated outburst of defiance.

Surrealist couldn’t have chosen their name more appropriately although leaks from the past into the aggro/post-thrashy hegemony were still possible back then, albeit on a much more irregular basis. They not only stood against the new world order, but also took the responsibilities of The Almighty and usurped his reign here on Earth. It turned out it was just an innocent game, and they were forgiven in the short run; but who were these lads, where did they come from, and how did they summon all this courage to rise against all leaders, real, surreal, and all the rest?

It all started a few years back, from a small provincial town in Wisconsin, where five guys got together and decided to play their favourite brand of music which in their case was the good old thrash/crossover, fast simplistic stuff “sheltered” under the moniker Massakist, played just for the fun of it. They must have found portions of the divine presence within them earlier since their 1991 EP showed a considerable step forward with longer, more complex compositions also introducing mellower progressive power metal tendencies to “disturb” the hard-hitting thrash base, something like a more aggressive Liege Lord’s “Master Control”, or a more progressive Reverend’s “Play God” (from where they may have also borrowed the idea about The Lord’s impersonation). Well conformed with the more demanding tastes for more proficiently executed music at the time, this effort was also the stepping stone the guys needed to be catapulted into the surreal world of Retrothrashland, a mythical place where old and new classic speed/thrash metal defenders joined forces to oppose to the modern metal dictatorship during this tumultuous decade. Feeling quite safe among their newly found comrades, the band recaptured all their lost confidence and here they were, playing gods before long, the result of this comeuppance being this a bit over half hour of pure metal brilliance.

Yes, this album is that short, and could also pass for a long EP. Whichever way you look at it, though, there’s no denying the fact that it remains one of the finest efforts to honour the old school from the 90’s. The band have made one step forward in terms of musicianship making their one and only opus a more concise form of the intricate mastery unleashed on works like Toxik’s “Think This”, Sieges Even’s ”Life Cycle”, and Obliveon’s “From This Day Forward”. Unfortunately, chased tirelessly by the post-thrashy police, the guys could only produce that much. The beginning of the opening “False Illumination” goes beyond surreal; the guys are definitely not playing god there with tormented shouts and screams piling on top of heavy steam-roller riffage coming straight from the pits of Hell; a most unusual introduction followed by screamy leads those in turn replaced by spastic fast-paced passages which grow into something beautifully dramatic in the middle; enter the excellent clean high-pitched vocals bringing a lot of emotion into the already poignant delivery, and the picture is complete. “A Time for Sighs” would make anyone “sigh” left and right, but will also bang the heads big time with a portion of crushing violent riffs which shift into calmer, balladic motifs in the middle until impetuous gallops wrapped it on, not without another exiting stunt of the already heard agonizing screams and shouts which sound more horrifying here, possibly coming from a dungeon deep underground, or from some medieval torture chamber/cabinet.

Infernal stuff so far, and “Liquid Destiny” has no choice but to open the pit wider with twisted screamy lead sections, quiet mid-drama, and brilliant technical, vortex-like riffage in the second half which will make even Coroner sit and listen in wonder. Follows the ode to Dr. Kevorkian, a mythical figure, the supposed leader of Retrothrashland, the composition logically carrying the man’s name; no progressive/technical, all-instrumental thrash lost on this one expectedly the guys leaving their souls here with a myriad of stylish serpentine riff-patterns twisting and turning into all possible directions known to mankind creating a strong hallucinogenic effect the latter relieved by the short balladic exit. They have preserved some pyrotechnics, after all, for the next “See Life” which also “sees” the really good singer back to lead a hectic, jumpy speed/thrashing cannonade which gives way to a serene acousitc passage where the man pulls out a standout dramatic performance worthy of Buddy Lackey (Psychotic Waltz). The serenity continues with the short acoustic ballad “Dreams of an End” which grows into the ambient, orchestral instrumental “Voices Broken”, a strange, somewhat underwhelming epitaph regardless of the re-emergence of the tormented, unintelligible “broken” voices that give a conceptual conclusion to possibly the shortest conceptual effort in metal history.

The finale leaves something to be desired, but in the end this is a surreal work of art so one should always expect the unexpected, and in all honesty this last track does serve as a cool atmospheric inclusion enhancing the album’s outlandish appeal. The band do make a statement with exemplary musicianship which fondly binds them with the German progressive/technical thrash metal wave that sprung up at around the same time, and in the overall compositional layout they resemble one particular representative of it, the Psychotic Waltz/Deathrow collaboration End Amen (“Your Last Orison”, 1992). That act also uses atmospheric, instrumental non-metal cuts to a sinister dramatic effect, but at least they have a healthy 40-min of music offered apart from them. The listener may feel a bit disappointed again for not having to savour more of this great music, but this is what it is, and this work will still remain in the annals of metal as one of the most original releases of technical/progressive thrash of the 90’s, and not only. Having in mind that most of the progressive metal acts from The States had mutated beyond their complex meanderings at that time, this band can be respected even more for its bold stance in a period when the only feedback they would have received from the majority would be just a bit more than total indifference bordering on the derogatory (“Classic thrash?! Progressive/technical at that!? This is surreal! … And playing gods! Get them the hell out of here!”). Yes, sadly there was hardly any interest in divine musical revelations during these inquisitional times.

There are two versions of this effort circulating around the Net; one is without the “Broken Voices” piece, and this is also how it is featured on the band’s official site run by the guitar layer Eric Basler who also looks after the Massakist page. I guess the presence of this hellish number may have come as too much for the more faint of heart who would be having nightmares for months on end at the tiny notion of what may be going on in this surreal metal cabinet of Dr. Kaligari… sorry, Kevorkian.

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

Surrealist
1. False Illumination 6:16
2. Voices Broken 2:50
3. A Time Of Sighs 3:45
4. Acapella Diablo 1:00
5. Liquid Destiny 3:43
6. Shiny Thing 0:40
7. Dr. Kevorkian 4:19
8. Entropic Surreality 1:19
9. Sea Life 5:26
10. Dreams Of An End 3:05

Massakist
11. Of All That Is Seen 4:08
12. Darkly The Turn 6:35
13. Triskaidekaphobia 4:37
14. The Storyteller 7:08

Tracks 10-14 are from the Massakist - 'Of All That Is Seen... And Unseen' E.P. released in 1991.



..::OBSADA::..

Eric Basler - guitar
Jason Riley - guitar
Steve Cozzuol - vocals
Jason Koslucher - bass
Dan Scott - drums

Tracks 11-14:
Chris Triphan - bass
Randy Owen - drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbO0xcOpno0



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Bardzo dobra płyta. Niby nie ma tu wiele proga, ale chyba ten gatunek muzyczny nie był w zamyśle twórców najważniejszy. Po krótkim intro składającym się z fal radiowych mamy na zmianę szybkie i wolne metalowe granie, ale w stylu, w którym grał tylko Voivod. Bardzo ciekawa atmosfera pasuje na tym krążku, klimat wybitnie pasuje do okładki. Od zawsze moim ulubionym utworem z tej płyty był The Prow. Pewnie dlatego, że najbardziej przebojowy:) Ale Panorama, Clouds In My House, Angel Rat czy Golem wcale nie są gorsze. W ogóle cała płyta trzyma jeden równy poziom. To co mnie zachwycało zawsze na tym albumie to refreny w piosenkach. Jakoś takie nietypowe, choc bardzo logicznie wynikające z kompozycji. Tutaj świetnym przykładem byłby Clouds In My House, który jest oparty na topornym riffie, a w refrenie mamy bardzo ciekawą melodię, taką niepokojącą. Do tego utworu był tez teledysk, jeśli ktoś wcześniej nie słyszał, to polecam znaleźć na youtube. Bardzo dobra, równa płyta. Nie majstersztyk, ale solidne 4,5.

Rafał Ziemba


Nie wiem jak Wam, ale mi zawsze ciężko było nadążyć za Voivod i jeszcze trudniej wgryźć się w ich sztukę. Tym bardziej, że jak już człowiek oswoił się z jedną płytą, to na następnej czekała go zupełna zmiana. Wydany w 1991 roku „Angel Rat” jest albumem znacznie mniej technicznym niż „Nothingface” i takim lżejszym, przystępniejszym. Mimo to jak zawsze zagadkowym i wielowarstwowym.

Przede wszystkim piosenki są prostsze, czasem nawet nieco popowe, głównie ze względu na śpiew. Taki „Twin Dummy” sprawia wrażenie telewizyjnego przeboju z lat osiemdziesiątych i daleko mu do thrash metalowej zadziorności. Więcej energii znajdziemy w najbardziej przebojowych „Panorama”, „The Prow” czy "The Outcast", lecz cechą charakterystyczną całej płyty jest raczej dużo progresji, rockowej psychodeli i odpływów w niezbadanych kierunkach, jak w numerze tytułowym czy „Nuace Fractal”. Wszystko zdaje się jednak być takie ulotne i eteryczne jak rozpływający się w chmurach „Clouds In My House”. Dlatego, żeby wyłapać głębie tych utworów nie wystarczy pobieżne przesłuchanie. Voivod otwiera się powoli i daje się odkrywać wiele razy zanim ujawni wszystkie swoje atuty.

Mimo tego, że w muzyce można wiele usłyszeć to same kawałki jakoś nie do końca do mnie przemawiają. Są jakieś takie oddalone, jakby zaśpiewane na pół gwizdka. Cała płyta sprawia wrażenie ospałej. Wrażenie zapewne osiągnięte celowo, ale słuchając często wydaje mi się, że czegoś tutaj brakuje. Nie przez cały czas, ale w dużych fragmentach. No, ale to już pewnie kwestia gustu. Może „Angel Rat” nie jest szczytowym osiągnięciem Voivod, ale i tak na pewno są osoby, które go kochają.

Wujas


Funny how one of the most streamlined Voivod albums is also considered their deepest foray into prog-rock. Also funny how so many people hated this album when it was released in 1991, but now admit liking it. That's okay.some of the best albums are the ones that take a long time to sink in. I loved 'Angel Rat' from the beginning, but was still shocked at the direction they took, especially considering the last we'd heard from them was the cold tech-fest of 'Nothingface'. Where that album was incredibly ambitious, painstakingly thought-out and sonically antiseptic, 'Angel Rat' exudes a natural, earthy flow. Helped by the tight yet expansive production job of master Terry Brown (yes, THAT Terry Brown), 'Angel Rat' is a triumph.
Gone are the difficult rhythms, the cybernetic coldness replaced by wide, warm vistas of guitar, subtle beds of keyboards and Away's maturation as a drummer of pure feel and deep-pocket groove. Opening track "Panorama" reflects these traits, a straightforward plunge into cerebral rock. Masterfully crafted, its deceptively simple arrangement is bulked up considerably by the infectious rhythmic drive and Snake's (finally) human vocal approach. "Clouds In My House" brings the prog in, with a gorgeous backdrop of shadowy keyboards laying down its foundation. Rhythms are driving and smooth, with a wonderful tone to Blacky's bass. At this point it becomes quite clear that no other metal band had ever progressed so far in so short a time. To think that the churning noise of 'Rrroooaaarrr' was only 6 short years before 'Angel Rat', and that all 4 members made this evolution together.you see how 'Angel Rat' is a very special album in the band's discography.

"The Prow" is next. Capable of conjuring deep emotional reaction, this deceptively simple song is spiced with a shimmering mid-section and a compelling nautical vibe. Purely passionate performances from all members. There's a lot to say about its superbly crafted 3:30 running time, but let me only point out Away's hi-hat/snare syncopation--a joy to listen to every time. (An underrated master of his instrument.) From here the album scatters in a variety of directions, from more straightforward moments like "Best Regards", "Twin Dummy" and "The Outcast" (all of them having their own character) to spacious epics (in scope, not in elapsed time) like "Angel Rat" and "Freedoom". Piggy's guitar work is compact and relativity conservative, but when he shines, he's a neon star exploding. Check out his deceptively simple "lead" at the end of "Best Regards": one caterwauling note-bend that finally dissolves into space. Intuition on the level of David Gilmour. Blacky's bass is a crisp punch during this entire sequence. This song is one of his best moments; it's sad this was to be his final album with the band.

Though they're fairly short (3:35 and 4:37, respectively), "Angel Rat" and "Freedoom" are the prog highlights on the album. The title track is sympathetic and edgy, making smart use of dynamics and getting the most out of their studio and producer. "Freedoom" is a cosmic chill-out that ends up exploding in an "Astronomy Domine" fashion in its climax. And then there's the sad tale of "Golem" (dominated by Blacky's simple-but-effective bass lines) and the science-fact lesson of "Nuage Fractal", both deep-album tracks that keep the album moving with considerable momentum. Things come to an end with the urgent "None Of The Above", which swings the folk-tale musings and science-fiction delving back to the real world. A driving, rhythmic, pulsing song, the album ends almost like it began.

'Angel Rat' is Voivod's ultimate triumph. It shows a band that has learned much from the experimental and complex material of albums previous. It is masterfully written and suberly performed, a clutch of songs maintaining the spirit of discovery and progression they've always strived towards, with emphasis on studio creation, songcraft and aural escapism. Everything the band had been working toward comes to fruition on 'Angel Rat'. It was a commercial failure upon release, but seems to be enjoying a resurrection as an "ahead-of-its-time" prog-metal classic these days. Long may it fly out of the cut- out bins.

slipperman


This is the first Voivod album that I have discovered and I must say that I am blown away with this spaced up metal release! It's very hard to describe their type of music in some words, but "Angel Rat" is strongly Rush oriented, one reason could be that Terry Brown had recorded it. The opening song "panorama" is very accesible for this band, most of their songs are very complicated to understand at the first listening, but with this song they had broken this rule! The whole album sounds like Rush on speed, but don't forget the voice Denis Belanger, which is just state of art! Well, I still enjoy the whole album when I hear it, but there is one song that sets a bit apart from the others, that's the title track. Unbelievable atmospheric, spaced-up, melodic prog song. In the beginning days of Voivod, their name stand for alien-themed, punk-styled thrash metal, since "Killing Technology" the things turned into more psychedelic kind of hard rock/metal ('til "Nothingface" all was a little bit Pink Floyd influenced, for example they also coverd a song from PF on Nothingface), but "Angelrat" was the most melodic and accesible work to date by this band and showed their faible for Rush progressive sounds, mixed together with fast heavy metal power. Those, who think this sounds interestening, should watch out for "Angel Rat" and Voivod in general. I highly recommend this album as a fan of metal & progressive rock!

Marc Baum



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Shortwave Intro 0:25
2. Panorama 3:10
3. Clouds In My House 4:47
4. The Prow 3:30
5. Best Regards 3:52
6. Twin Dummy 2:52
7. Angel Rat 3:35
8. Golem 4:33
9. The Outcast 3:17
10. Nuage Fractal 3:43
11. Freedoom 4:37
12. None Of The Above 4:08



..::OBSADA::..

Denis Bélanger - vocals
Denis D'Amour - guitar, keyboards
Michel Langevin - drums, cover concept
Jean-Yves Thériault - bass guitar, keyboards

Additional musicians:
Ray Coburn - keyboards
Ivan Doroschuk - additional keyboards on track 9




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q8nQF1pDiM



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Bardzo dobra płyta. Niby nie ma tu wiele proga, ale chyba ten gatunek muzyczny nie był w zamyśle twórców najważniejszy. Po krótkim intro składającym się z fal radiowych mamy na zmianę szybkie i wolne metalowe granie, ale w stylu, w którym grał tylko Voivod. Bardzo ciekawa atmosfera pasuje na tym krążku, klimat wybitnie pasuje do okładki. Od zawsze moim ulubionym utworem z tej płyty był The Prow. Pewnie dlatego, że najbardziej przebojowy:) Ale Panorama, Clouds In My House, Angel Rat czy Golem wcale nie są gorsze. W ogóle cała płyta trzyma jeden równy poziom. To co mnie zachwycało zawsze na tym albumie to refreny w piosenkach. Jakoś takie nietypowe, choc bardzo logicznie wynikające z kompozycji. Tutaj świetnym przykładem byłby Clouds In My House, który jest oparty na topornym riffie, a w refrenie mamy bardzo ciekawą melodię, taką niepokojącą. Do tego utworu był tez teledysk, jeśli ktoś wcześniej nie słyszał, to polecam znaleźć na youtube. Bardzo dobra, równa płyta. Nie majstersztyk, ale solidne 4,5.

Rafał Ziemba


Nie wiem jak Wam, ale mi zawsze ciężko było nadążyć za Voivod i jeszcze trudniej wgryźć się w ich sztukę. Tym bardziej, że jak już człowiek oswoił się z jedną płytą, to na następnej czekała go zupełna zmiana. Wydany w 1991 roku „Angel Rat” jest albumem znacznie mniej technicznym niż „Nothingface” i takim lżejszym, przystępniejszym. Mimo to jak zawsze zagadkowym i wielowarstwowym.

Przede wszystkim piosenki są prostsze, czasem nawet nieco popowe, głównie ze względu na śpiew. Taki „Twin Dummy” sprawia wrażenie telewizyjnego przeboju z lat osiemdziesiątych i daleko mu do thrash metalowej zadziorności. Więcej energii znajdziemy w najbardziej przebojowych „Panorama”, „The Prow” czy "The Outcast", lecz cechą charakterystyczną całej płyty jest raczej dużo progresji, rockowej psychodeli i odpływów w niezbadanych kierunkach, jak w numerze tytułowym czy „Nuace Fractal”. Wszystko zdaje się jednak być takie ulotne i eteryczne jak rozpływający się w chmurach „Clouds In My House”. Dlatego, żeby wyłapać głębie tych utworów nie wystarczy pobieżne przesłuchanie. Voivod otwiera się powoli i daje się odkrywać wiele razy zanim ujawni wszystkie swoje atuty.

Mimo tego, że w muzyce można wiele usłyszeć to same kawałki jakoś nie do końca do mnie przemawiają. Są jakieś takie oddalone, jakby zaśpiewane na pół gwizdka. Cała płyta sprawia wrażenie ospałej. Wrażenie zapewne osiągnięte celowo, ale słuchając często wydaje mi się, że czegoś tutaj brakuje. Nie przez cały czas, ale w dużych fragmentach. No, ale to już pewnie kwestia gustu. Może „Angel Rat” nie jest szczytowym osiągnięciem Voivod, ale i tak na pewno są osoby, które go kochają.

Wujas


Funny how one of the most streamlined Voivod albums is also considered their deepest foray into prog-rock. Also funny how so many people hated this album when it was released in 1991, but now admit liking it. That's okay.some of the best albums are the ones that take a long time to sink in. I loved 'Angel Rat' from the beginning, but was still shocked at the direction they took, especially considering the last we'd heard from them was the cold tech-fest of 'Nothingface'. Where that album was incredibly ambitious, painstakingly thought-out and sonically antiseptic, 'Angel Rat' exudes a natural, earthy flow. Helped by the tight yet expansive production job of master Terry Brown (yes, THAT Terry Brown), 'Angel Rat' is a triumph.
Gone are the difficult rhythms, the cybernetic coldness replaced by wide, warm vistas of guitar, subtle beds of keyboards and Away's maturation as a drummer of pure feel and deep-pocket groove. Opening track "Panorama" reflects these traits, a straightforward plunge into cerebral rock. Masterfully crafted, its deceptively simple arrangement is bulked up considerably by the infectious rhythmic drive and Snake's (finally) human vocal approach. "Clouds In My House" brings the prog in, with a gorgeous backdrop of shadowy keyboards laying down its foundation. Rhythms are driving and smooth, with a wonderful tone to Blacky's bass. At this point it becomes quite clear that no other metal band had ever progressed so far in so short a time. To think that the churning noise of 'Rrroooaaarrr' was only 6 short years before 'Angel Rat', and that all 4 members made this evolution together.you see how 'Angel Rat' is a very special album in the band's discography.

"The Prow" is next. Capable of conjuring deep emotional reaction, this deceptively simple song is spiced with a shimmering mid-section and a compelling nautical vibe. Purely passionate performances from all members. There's a lot to say about its superbly crafted 3:30 running time, but let me only point out Away's hi-hat/snare syncopation--a joy to listen to every time. (An underrated master of his instrument.) From here the album scatters in a variety of directions, from more straightforward moments like "Best Regards", "Twin Dummy" and "The Outcast" (all of them having their own character) to spacious epics (in scope, not in elapsed time) like "Angel Rat" and "Freedoom". Piggy's guitar work is compact and relativity conservative, but when he shines, he's a neon star exploding. Check out his deceptively simple "lead" at the end of "Best Regards": one caterwauling note-bend that finally dissolves into space. Intuition on the level of David Gilmour. Blacky's bass is a crisp punch during this entire sequence. This song is one of his best moments; it's sad this was to be his final album with the band.

Though they're fairly short (3:35 and 4:37, respectively), "Angel Rat" and "Freedoom" are the prog highlights on the album. The title track is sympathetic and edgy, making smart use of dynamics and getting the most out of their studio and producer. "Freedoom" is a cosmic chill-out that ends up exploding in an "Astronomy Domine" fashion in its climax. And then there's the sad tale of "Golem" (dominated by Blacky's simple-but-effective bass lines) and the science-fact lesson of "Nuage Fractal", both deep-album tracks that keep the album moving with considerable momentum. Things come to an end with the urgent "None Of The Above", which swings the folk-tale musings and science-fiction delving back to the real world. A driving, rhythmic, pulsing song, the album ends almost like it began.

'Angel Rat' is Voivod's ultimate triumph. It shows a band that has learned much from the experimental and complex material of albums previous. It is masterfully written and suberly performed, a clutch of songs maintaining the spirit of discovery and progression they've always strived towards, with emphasis on studio creation, songcraft and aural escapism. Everything the band had been working toward comes to fruition on 'Angel Rat'. It was a commercial failure upon release, but seems to be enjoying a resurrection as an "ahead-of-its-time" prog-metal classic these days. Long may it fly out of the cut- out bins.

slipperman


This is the first Voivod album that I have discovered and I must say that I am blown away with this spaced up metal release! It's very hard to describe their type of music in some words, but "Angel Rat" is strongly Rush oriented, one reason could be that Terry Brown had recorded it. The opening song "panorama" is very accesible for this band, most of their songs are very complicated to understand at the first listening, but with this song they had broken this rule! The whole album sounds like Rush on speed, but don't forget the voice Denis Belanger, which is just state of art! Well, I still enjoy the whole album when I hear it, but there is one song that sets a bit apart from the others, that's the title track. Unbelievable atmospheric, spaced-up, melodic prog song. In the beginning days of Voivod, their name stand for alien-themed, punk-styled thrash metal, since "Killing Technology" the things turned into more psychedelic kind of hard rock/metal ('til "Nothingface" all was a little bit Pink Floyd influenced, for example they also coverd a song from PF on Nothingface), but "Angelrat" was the most melodic and accesible work to date by this band and showed their faible for Rush progressive sounds, mixed together with fast heavy metal power. Those, who think this sounds interestening, should watch out for "Angel Rat" and Voivod in general. I highly recommend this album as a fan of metal & progressive rock!

Marc Baum



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Shortwave Intro 0:25
2. Panorama 3:10
3. Clouds In My House 4:47
4. The Prow 3:30
5. Best Regards 3:52
6. Twin Dummy 2:52
7. Angel Rat 3:35
8. Golem 4:33
9. The Outcast 3:17
10. Nuage Fractal 3:43
11. Freedoom 4:37
12. None Of The Above 4:08



..::OBSADA::..

Denis Bélanger - vocals
Denis D'Amour - guitar, keyboards
Michel Langevin - drums, cover concept
Jean-Yves Thériault - bass guitar, keyboards

Additional musicians:
Ray Coburn - keyboards
Ivan Doroschuk - additional keyboards on track 9




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Q8nQF1pDiM



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Izraelski Orphaned Land obchodzi w tym roku 20 – lecie swojego istnienia. I choć do bardzo płodnych kapel może nie należy (artyści mają na swoim koncie dopiero cztery pełnowymiarowe albumy), zaliczam go do grupy najbardziej oryginalnych współczesnych zespołów parających się ciężkim, metalowym graniem. Już sam fakt zaszufladkowania muzyki granej przez Orphaned Land nastręcza spore problemy i wymusza użycie przynajmniej kilku łatek

Jedno jest pewne. Wydanym siedem lat temu – nie boję się tego powiedzieć – absolutnie znakomitym Mabool, podnieśli sobie muzyczną poprzeczkę niezwykle wysoko. Jednocześnie skręcili tym wydawnictwem w kierunku bardziej progresywno – metalowego grania. Etykieta ta jest jednak zbyt skromniutka dla twórczości tej izraelskiej ekipy. Bo ich granie mieści i doom, i death metal oraz to, co ich szczególnie wyróżnia – muzykę folkową. Muzykę opartą na bliskowschodniej tradycji. Muzykę czerpiącą zarówno z kultury żydowskiej, jak i arabskiej. Nieprzypadkowo zatem wielu określa ich mianem mistrzów metalu orientalnego. I wydaje się, że etykieta ta jest niezwykle trafna. Muzycy bowiem nie grają metalu ozdabiając go od czasu do czasu jakąś orientalną figurą. Ich granie, od początku do końca, zdominowane jest bliskowschodnią, muzyczną tradycją i to zarówno w warstwie instrumentalnej, jak i wokalnej. A co najciekawsze – przy tej okazji, zupełnie nie traci na metalowym ciężarze. Eklektyzm – to jeden z wyróżników Orphaned Land. No bo czegóż my tu nie mamy?! Męskie i żeńskie wokalizy, growl, folkowe zaśpiewy, recytacje w języku hebrajskim, niecodzienne instrumentarium, akustyczne dźwięki przeplatające się z rzeźnickimi niemalże riffami, krótsze i dłuższe, prawie progresywne, formy… Chwilami trudno nad tym zapanować. Może też i trudno pokochać od pierwszego usłyszenia. Ale ich muzyka z każdym przesłuchaniem daje z siebie coraz więcej, tym bardziej, że wbrew pozorom, granie to jest momentami bardzo śpiewne, a wiele melodii z tego albumu jest po prostu znakomitych.

Postacią wysuwającą się na pierwszy plan tej Osieroconej Krainy (jakże wymowna nazwa, podkreślająca korzenie grupy) jest Kobi Fahri – śpiewający, growlujący, recytujący, dośpiewujący w chórkach – a towarzyszy mu kwartet muzyków grupy oraz cała gama gości ze Stevenem Wilsonem (Porcupine Tree) na czele, który nie tylko album zmiksował, ale też i zagrał na nim na instrumentach klawiszowych.

The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR jest klasycznym koncept albumem opowiadającym o odwiecznej walce światła z ciemnością. Konceptem niosącym także pewne przesłanie swoją szatą graficzną. Na okładce połączono znaki hebrajskie i arabskie a kontrowersyjne zdjęcie zdobiące tył książeczki przedstawia zespół z symboliką nawiązującą do trzech wielkich współczesnych religii: judaizmu, chrześcijaństwa i islamu. To faktycznie album, w którym warstwa literacka i muzyczna są nierozerwalnie ze sobą związane, jednak i bez literackiego konceptu możemy docenić aranżacyjny kunszt, pomysłowość i niecodzienną oryginalność.

Niech was tylko nie zrazi rozpoczynający całość i promujący album Sapari, dla mnie wcale nie najlepsza rzecz na płycie. Zdecydowanie lepiej prezentuje się już kolejny, From Broken Vessels, łączący demoniczny growl, cięte riffy i połamaną progmetalową rytmikę z rozbrajająco ujmującym refrenem. Praktycznie mówi bardzo dużo o muzyce z The Never Ending… Są jednak tu i rzeczy o wiele prostsze w wyrazie, jak delikatna folkowa pieśń Bereft In The Abyss oparta na akustycznych dźwiękach gitary, czy utrzymany w podobnym tonie His Leaf Shall Not Wither. Do największych jednak fragmentów, tej umiejętnie stworzonej całości, zaliczyć jednak wypada The Path Part 1 - Treading Through Darkness (choćby za ładne harmonie wokalne), New Jerusalem, następujący po nim Vayehi Or oraz genialny wręcz The Warrior, mający w sobie moc patetycznego, progmetalowego epiku (to mój ubiegłoroczny numer 1 w kategorii… metalowej ballady). A jest też dla przykładu taki Olat Ha'tamid najzgrabniej łączący ze sobą dwa, jakże różne muzycznie, światy: metalowy i orientalny. Długo by pisać o bogactwie tego albumu; dobrej muzyki najlepiej jest jednak jak najszybciej posłuchać. Do czego gorąco zachęcam.

Mariusz Danielak


Sześć lat zajęło muzykom Orphaned Land nagranie nowego albumu. Można było więc domniemywać, że materiał będzie dopieszczony w najdrobniejszych szczegółach. I jest – przynajmniej w pewnym sensie. Z jednej strony dostaliśmy bowiem album nagrany z niesamowitym rozmachem, wielopłaszczyznowy i łączący, skrajne niekiedy, style muzyczne, bogaty w detale i zabierający słuchacza w muzyczną podróż. Z drugiej strony jednak, krążek wyszedł potwornie długi (siedemdziesiąt osiem minut, (sic!)), a przez to trochę jakby rozwodniony, stylowo uderza bardziej w folk niż prog i niestety trochę przynudza i dłuży się. W porównaniu do poprzednika stracił na wyrazistości i mocy i to dość znacznie. Pierwsze kilka podejść zakończyło się u mnie fiaskiem – nie byłem w stanie dotrwać do końca albumu. I dopiero mocne spięcie pośladów pozwoliło przebić się przez wszystkie piętnaście utworów. Nie było łatwo. Z czasem, co prawda, kolejne okrążenia przychodziły z większą łatwością, ale nie wyobrażam sobie, bym potrafił zabrać się za płytę z marszu. Niemniej jednak, kiedy już znajdę w sobie dość sił i animuszu by zmierzyć się z krążkiem, ten potrafi odwdzięczyć się kilkoma, naprawdę dobrymi, momentami. Już bowiem na sam początek dostajemy kawałek bardzo przebojowy (co jest pewnym wyróżnikiem na tle całości) i świeży, który bardzo szybko wbija się do łba i zachęca do nucenia pod nosem. Kolejny godny uwagi, piąty na płycie, „The Path, Pt. 2 – The Pilgrimage to or Shalem” oferuje ciekawe partie gitar i naprawdę, naprawdę dobrą solówkę, „The Warrior”, mimo pokracznego początku, okazuje się podniosły i przejmujący, z czasem rozkręca się i dryfuje w stronę muzyki filmowej, z partiami wokalnymi a’la chór Aleksandrowa. I znowu dostajemy niezłą solówkę, co w sumie nie powinno dziwić, bo że muzycy potrafią grać, było jasne już wcześniej. „Disciples of the Sacred Oath, Pt. 2” rozkręca się dość późno, ale gdy już się rozkręci potrafi być przyjemny. Za to, co zaraz napiszę demo mnie pewnie zabije, ale zaryzykuję – warto: „Vayehi Or” – jest w tym utworze coś bardzo gotyckiego, chłodnego i niepokojącego, coś co sprawia, że mam ochotę słuchać go na okrągło. Kolejny utwór zatytułowany „M I ?” to bardzo liryczna, smutna i pełna żalu ballada, jedna z lepszych, jakie ostatnio słyszałem. A na koniec wyliczanki perełka, która temu, starającemu się wyglądać dojrzale i poważnie, wydawnictwu, dorysowuje wąsy i zaczernia zęba; aż musiałem rzucić okiem na teksty, by się upewnić, że się nie przesłyszałem. „Codeword: Uprising” jest kawałkiem dobrym, dość żwawym i energicznym – rzekłbym nawet przebojowym. Wszystko jednak o kant dupy potłuc przez jedną linijkę w tekście: „We are the terrorists of light” – ja wiem, że kapelka chce być po dobrej stronie mocy, ale „terrorists of light”? No bez jaj, nawet najczarniejsi szataniści nie brzmią tak zabawnie ze swoimi inwokacjami i przechwałami, jacy to oni straszni są. Można sobie to było podarować i kilku uśmiechów półgębkiem uniknąć. Podsumowując: płyta da się lubić, ale trochę jej do poprzedniczki brakuje. Dobra i nic więcej.

deaf



Day after day, in every news program on this planet, the Middle-East conflict is a major topic and it is one of the reasons the world we all live in is a world apart. For decades every attempt to make peace between Israel and the Arabian world has remained futile and the death toll keeps rising. Where politicians have failed, a mere metal band daringly labelling its style “Jewish Muslim Metal” or “Middle Eastern Progressive Metal” has actually achieved the unimaginable and united Israeli and Arabian people in spite of all their cultural, religious and political differences and conflicts!

Israel's ORPHANED LAND is probably the only band from this country that has managed to succeed at building up a huge following among Muslims and Arabian people. These fans communicate freely via the band’s social networking pages, some of them even proudly bearing ORPHANED LAND tattoos, even though that puts them at huge risk in their home countries! Unfortunately, the ongoing political and military struggles still prevent ORPHANED LAND from playing in the home countries of its Arabian fans and friends.

As recent movies like “A Headbanger’s Journey” and “Global Metal” (in which ORPHANED LAND was featured) showed: the loudest, heaviest and most controversial music on earth can act as a universal language, bridging between opposites and overcoming all the obstacles that exist in our hearts and minds. The African musician Fela Kuti once said: "music is the weapon of the future" - ORPHANED LAND is the living proof of that!

With its brand-new, fourth album, entitled “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR”, an opus that took five years of hard work, ORPHANED LAND has created an epic manifest beyond any political or religious agenda. Vocalist Kobi Farhi states: “As people that were born into the tragedy of our region, we have always been devoted to creating harmony between conflicts, a musical heaven on earth, a tango between God & Satan. Even in the album’s artwork we combined Hebrew and Arabic, regardless of the fight between Jews and Muslims. I found a Jordanian guy, specialized in calligraphic artwork. He took letters from Hebrew and Arabic and moulded them in his art to create a symbol of peace. Same goes for our band photo, where we portrayed a synergy between the three monotheistic religions, that believe in the same God and yet, ridiculously have been killing each other for centuries "in the name of God" and turned the holy land into an orphaned land. Naturally we continued this idea of union on a musical level as well and the result is as always crazy, it's a miracle – in our concerts: our Jewish fans sing in Arabic and our Muslim fans sing in

Hebrew, brave friendships have spawned and our Middle Eastern metal music destroys all this political witchcraft we have been trapped in for so long. This is a musical journey of hope in lands of war, creating heaven on earth, building a new Jerusalem.”

ORPHANED LAND spent over 600 hours in the studio cooperating with The Arabic Orchestra of Nazareth, using multilingual vocals (e.g. English, Hebrew, Arabic, Yemenite), countless Oriental as well as other traditional instruments such as: saz, santur, arabian flutes, middle-eastern percussions, cumbus, bouzouki, violins, various kinds of guitars, piano and last but not least, the excellent production skills of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Opeth) who played keyboards and mixed the album. The result is simply one of the most diverse and atmospheric albums the music world has ever seen, heard and felt.

“The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR” is a sophisticated concept album taking ORPHANED LAND’s unique brand of exotic, heavy music to soaring new heights in terms of complexity and catchiness. It is exactly this duality that makes “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR” so special: you can delve into the profound arrangements or you can simply enjoy its accessible melodies and captivating riffs. The album itself is musically and lyrically divided into three parts providing a structure that is essential to fully understand the highly elaborate story of “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR”.

In his much-lauded book “Heavy Metal Islam”, author Mark Levine named ORPHANED LAND as the most influential metal band in the Middle East. Now it is time to go beyond that and tell the world that after Bay Area thrash, Norwegian black metal, Finnish folk, and Swedish death metal - The time has come for Middle Eastern metal to take over!



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Sapari 04:03
2. From Broken Vessels 07:36
3. Bereft In The Abyss 02:44
4. The Path, Pt. 1 - Treading Through Darkness 07:26
5. The Path, Pt. 2 - The Pilgrimage To Or Shalem 07:45
6. Olat Ha'tamid 02:37
7. The Warrior 07:11
8. His Leaf Shall Not Wither 02:31
9. Disciples Of The Sacred Oath II 08:30
10. New Jerusalem 06:59
11. Vayehi Or 02:40
12. M I ? 03:27
13. Barakah 04:12
14. Codeword: Uprising 05:24
15. In Thy Never Ending Way 05:09



..::OBSADA::..

Kobi Farhi - vocals, backing vocals, death growls, chants, spoken reading
Yossi Sassi - lead guitar, clean guitars, acoustic guitars, classic guitars, saz, bouzouki, oud, chumbush, backing vocals
Matti Svatitzki - rhythm guitar, clean guitars, acoustic guitars
Uri Zelcha - bass, fretless bass

Session musicians & guests:
Avi Diamond - Drums
Steven Wilson - Keyboards
Shlomit Levi - Female Vocals
Avi Agababa - Percussions
Avner Gavrieli - Piano (Song 15)
Nizar Radwan & Srur Saliba - Violins
Alfred Hagar - Nay & Kawala Flutes
Yonatan Danino - Shofar
Shmuel Ruzbahan - Santur




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ7A53rRhDA



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Izraelski Orphaned Land obchodzi w tym roku 20 – lecie swojego istnienia. I choć do bardzo płodnych kapel może nie należy (artyści mają na swoim koncie dopiero cztery pełnowymiarowe albumy), zaliczam go do grupy najbardziej oryginalnych współczesnych zespołów parających się ciężkim, metalowym graniem. Już sam fakt zaszufladkowania muzyki granej przez Orphaned Land nastręcza spore problemy i wymusza użycie przynajmniej kilku łatek

Jedno jest pewne. Wydanym siedem lat temu – nie boję się tego powiedzieć – absolutnie znakomitym Mabool, podnieśli sobie muzyczną poprzeczkę niezwykle wysoko. Jednocześnie skręcili tym wydawnictwem w kierunku bardziej progresywno – metalowego grania. Etykieta ta jest jednak zbyt skromniutka dla twórczości tej izraelskiej ekipy. Bo ich granie mieści i doom, i death metal oraz to, co ich szczególnie wyróżnia – muzykę folkową. Muzykę opartą na bliskowschodniej tradycji. Muzykę czerpiącą zarówno z kultury żydowskiej, jak i arabskiej. Nieprzypadkowo zatem wielu określa ich mianem mistrzów metalu orientalnego. I wydaje się, że etykieta ta jest niezwykle trafna. Muzycy bowiem nie grają metalu ozdabiając go od czasu do czasu jakąś orientalną figurą. Ich granie, od początku do końca, zdominowane jest bliskowschodnią, muzyczną tradycją i to zarówno w warstwie instrumentalnej, jak i wokalnej. A co najciekawsze – przy tej okazji, zupełnie nie traci na metalowym ciężarze. Eklektyzm – to jeden z wyróżników Orphaned Land. No bo czegóż my tu nie mamy?! Męskie i żeńskie wokalizy, growl, folkowe zaśpiewy, recytacje w języku hebrajskim, niecodzienne instrumentarium, akustyczne dźwięki przeplatające się z rzeźnickimi niemalże riffami, krótsze i dłuższe, prawie progresywne, formy… Chwilami trudno nad tym zapanować. Może też i trudno pokochać od pierwszego usłyszenia. Ale ich muzyka z każdym przesłuchaniem daje z siebie coraz więcej, tym bardziej, że wbrew pozorom, granie to jest momentami bardzo śpiewne, a wiele melodii z tego albumu jest po prostu znakomitych.

Postacią wysuwającą się na pierwszy plan tej Osieroconej Krainy (jakże wymowna nazwa, podkreślająca korzenie grupy) jest Kobi Fahri – śpiewający, growlujący, recytujący, dośpiewujący w chórkach – a towarzyszy mu kwartet muzyków grupy oraz cała gama gości ze Stevenem Wilsonem (Porcupine Tree) na czele, który nie tylko album zmiksował, ale też i zagrał na nim na instrumentach klawiszowych.

The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR jest klasycznym koncept albumem opowiadającym o odwiecznej walce światła z ciemnością. Konceptem niosącym także pewne przesłanie swoją szatą graficzną. Na okładce połączono znaki hebrajskie i arabskie a kontrowersyjne zdjęcie zdobiące tył książeczki przedstawia zespół z symboliką nawiązującą do trzech wielkich współczesnych religii: judaizmu, chrześcijaństwa i islamu. To faktycznie album, w którym warstwa literacka i muzyczna są nierozerwalnie ze sobą związane, jednak i bez literackiego konceptu możemy docenić aranżacyjny kunszt, pomysłowość i niecodzienną oryginalność.

Niech was tylko nie zrazi rozpoczynający całość i promujący album Sapari, dla mnie wcale nie najlepsza rzecz na płycie. Zdecydowanie lepiej prezentuje się już kolejny, From Broken Vessels, łączący demoniczny growl, cięte riffy i połamaną progmetalową rytmikę z rozbrajająco ujmującym refrenem. Praktycznie mówi bardzo dużo o muzyce z The Never Ending… Są jednak tu i rzeczy o wiele prostsze w wyrazie, jak delikatna folkowa pieśń Bereft In The Abyss oparta na akustycznych dźwiękach gitary, czy utrzymany w podobnym tonie His Leaf Shall Not Wither. Do największych jednak fragmentów, tej umiejętnie stworzonej całości, zaliczyć jednak wypada The Path Part 1 - Treading Through Darkness (choćby za ładne harmonie wokalne), New Jerusalem, następujący po nim Vayehi Or oraz genialny wręcz The Warrior, mający w sobie moc patetycznego, progmetalowego epiku (to mój ubiegłoroczny numer 1 w kategorii… metalowej ballady). A jest też dla przykładu taki Olat Ha'tamid najzgrabniej łączący ze sobą dwa, jakże różne muzycznie, światy: metalowy i orientalny. Długo by pisać o bogactwie tego albumu; dobrej muzyki najlepiej jest jednak jak najszybciej posłuchać. Do czego gorąco zachęcam.

Mariusz Danielak


Sześć lat zajęło muzykom Orphaned Land nagranie nowego albumu. Można było więc domniemywać, że materiał będzie dopieszczony w najdrobniejszych szczegółach. I jest – przynajmniej w pewnym sensie. Z jednej strony dostaliśmy bowiem album nagrany z niesamowitym rozmachem, wielopłaszczyznowy i łączący, skrajne niekiedy, style muzyczne, bogaty w detale i zabierający słuchacza w muzyczną podróż. Z drugiej strony jednak, krążek wyszedł potwornie długi (siedemdziesiąt osiem minut, (sic!)), a przez to trochę jakby rozwodniony, stylowo uderza bardziej w folk niż prog i niestety trochę przynudza i dłuży się. W porównaniu do poprzednika stracił na wyrazistości i mocy i to dość znacznie. Pierwsze kilka podejść zakończyło się u mnie fiaskiem – nie byłem w stanie dotrwać do końca albumu. I dopiero mocne spięcie pośladów pozwoliło przebić się przez wszystkie piętnaście utworów. Nie było łatwo. Z czasem, co prawda, kolejne okrążenia przychodziły z większą łatwością, ale nie wyobrażam sobie, bym potrafił zabrać się za płytę z marszu. Niemniej jednak, kiedy już znajdę w sobie dość sił i animuszu by zmierzyć się z krążkiem, ten potrafi odwdzięczyć się kilkoma, naprawdę dobrymi, momentami. Już bowiem na sam początek dostajemy kawałek bardzo przebojowy (co jest pewnym wyróżnikiem na tle całości) i świeży, który bardzo szybko wbija się do łba i zachęca do nucenia pod nosem. Kolejny godny uwagi, piąty na płycie, „The Path, Pt. 2 – The Pilgrimage to or Shalem” oferuje ciekawe partie gitar i naprawdę, naprawdę dobrą solówkę, „The Warrior”, mimo pokracznego początku, okazuje się podniosły i przejmujący, z czasem rozkręca się i dryfuje w stronę muzyki filmowej, z partiami wokalnymi a’la chór Aleksandrowa. I znowu dostajemy niezłą solówkę, co w sumie nie powinno dziwić, bo że muzycy potrafią grać, było jasne już wcześniej. „Disciples of the Sacred Oath, Pt. 2” rozkręca się dość późno, ale gdy już się rozkręci potrafi być przyjemny. Za to, co zaraz napiszę demo mnie pewnie zabije, ale zaryzykuję – warto: „Vayehi Or” – jest w tym utworze coś bardzo gotyckiego, chłodnego i niepokojącego, coś co sprawia, że mam ochotę słuchać go na okrągło. Kolejny utwór zatytułowany „M I ?” to bardzo liryczna, smutna i pełna żalu ballada, jedna z lepszych, jakie ostatnio słyszałem. A na koniec wyliczanki perełka, która temu, starającemu się wyglądać dojrzale i poważnie, wydawnictwu, dorysowuje wąsy i zaczernia zęba; aż musiałem rzucić okiem na teksty, by się upewnić, że się nie przesłyszałem. „Codeword: Uprising” jest kawałkiem dobrym, dość żwawym i energicznym – rzekłbym nawet przebojowym. Wszystko jednak o kant dupy potłuc przez jedną linijkę w tekście: „We are the terrorists of light” – ja wiem, że kapelka chce być po dobrej stronie mocy, ale „terrorists of light”? No bez jaj, nawet najczarniejsi szataniści nie brzmią tak zabawnie ze swoimi inwokacjami i przechwałami, jacy to oni straszni są. Można sobie to było podarować i kilku uśmiechów półgębkiem uniknąć. Podsumowując: płyta da się lubić, ale trochę jej do poprzedniczki brakuje. Dobra i nic więcej.

deaf



Day after day, in every news program on this planet, the Middle-East conflict is a major topic and it is one of the reasons the world we all live in is a world apart. For decades every attempt to make peace between Israel and the Arabian world has remained futile and the death toll keeps rising. Where politicians have failed, a mere metal band daringly labelling its style “Jewish Muslim Metal” or “Middle Eastern Progressive Metal” has actually achieved the unimaginable and united Israeli and Arabian people in spite of all their cultural, religious and political differences and conflicts!

Israel's ORPHANED LAND is probably the only band from this country that has managed to succeed at building up a huge following among Muslims and Arabian people. These fans communicate freely via the band’s social networking pages, some of them even proudly bearing ORPHANED LAND tattoos, even though that puts them at huge risk in their home countries! Unfortunately, the ongoing political and military struggles still prevent ORPHANED LAND from playing in the home countries of its Arabian fans and friends.

As recent movies like “A Headbanger’s Journey” and “Global Metal” (in which ORPHANED LAND was featured) showed: the loudest, heaviest and most controversial music on earth can act as a universal language, bridging between opposites and overcoming all the obstacles that exist in our hearts and minds. The African musician Fela Kuti once said: "music is the weapon of the future" - ORPHANED LAND is the living proof of that!

With its brand-new, fourth album, entitled “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR”, an opus that took five years of hard work, ORPHANED LAND has created an epic manifest beyond any political or religious agenda. Vocalist Kobi Farhi states: “As people that were born into the tragedy of our region, we have always been devoted to creating harmony between conflicts, a musical heaven on earth, a tango between God & Satan. Even in the album’s artwork we combined Hebrew and Arabic, regardless of the fight between Jews and Muslims. I found a Jordanian guy, specialized in calligraphic artwork. He took letters from Hebrew and Arabic and moulded them in his art to create a symbol of peace. Same goes for our band photo, where we portrayed a synergy between the three monotheistic religions, that believe in the same God and yet, ridiculously have been killing each other for centuries "in the name of God" and turned the holy land into an orphaned land. Naturally we continued this idea of union on a musical level as well and the result is as always crazy, it's a miracle – in our concerts: our Jewish fans sing in Arabic and our Muslim fans sing in

Hebrew, brave friendships have spawned and our Middle Eastern metal music destroys all this political witchcraft we have been trapped in for so long. This is a musical journey of hope in lands of war, creating heaven on earth, building a new Jerusalem.”

ORPHANED LAND spent over 600 hours in the studio cooperating with The Arabic Orchestra of Nazareth, using multilingual vocals (e.g. English, Hebrew, Arabic, Yemenite), countless Oriental as well as other traditional instruments such as: saz, santur, arabian flutes, middle-eastern percussions, cumbus, bouzouki, violins, various kinds of guitars, piano and last but not least, the excellent production skills of Steven Wilson (Porcupine Tree, Opeth) who played keyboards and mixed the album. The result is simply one of the most diverse and atmospheric albums the music world has ever seen, heard and felt.

“The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR” is a sophisticated concept album taking ORPHANED LAND’s unique brand of exotic, heavy music to soaring new heights in terms of complexity and catchiness. It is exactly this duality that makes “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR” so special: you can delve into the profound arrangements or you can simply enjoy its accessible melodies and captivating riffs. The album itself is musically and lyrically divided into three parts providing a structure that is essential to fully understand the highly elaborate story of “The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR”.

In his much-lauded book “Heavy Metal Islam”, author Mark Levine named ORPHANED LAND as the most influential metal band in the Middle East. Now it is time to go beyond that and tell the world that after Bay Area thrash, Norwegian black metal, Finnish folk, and Swedish death metal - The time has come for Middle Eastern metal to take over!



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Sapari 04:03
2. From Broken Vessels 07:36
3. Bereft In The Abyss 02:44
4. The Path, Pt. 1 - Treading Through Darkness 07:26
5. The Path, Pt. 2 - The Pilgrimage To Or Shalem 07:45
6. Olat Ha'tamid 02:37
7. The Warrior 07:11
8. His Leaf Shall Not Wither 02:31
9. Disciples Of The Sacred Oath II 08:30
10. New Jerusalem 06:59
11. Vayehi Or 02:40
12. M I ? 03:27
13. Barakah 04:12
14. Codeword: Uprising 05:24
15. In Thy Never Ending Way 05:09



..::OBSADA::..

Kobi Farhi - vocals, backing vocals, death growls, chants, spoken reading
Yossi Sassi - lead guitar, clean guitars, acoustic guitars, classic guitars, saz, bouzouki, oud, chumbush, backing vocals
Matti Svatitzki - rhythm guitar, clean guitars, acoustic guitars
Uri Zelcha - bass, fretless bass

Session musicians & guests:
Avi Diamond - Drums
Steven Wilson - Keyboards
Shlomit Levi - Female Vocals
Avi Agababa - Percussions
Avner Gavrieli - Piano (Song 15)
Nizar Radwan & Srur Saliba - Violins
Alfred Hagar - Nay & Kawala Flutes
Yonatan Danino - Shofar
Shmuel Ruzbahan - Santur




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZ7A53rRhDA



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Devin Townsend na albumie Empath serwuje bardzo odważne połączenie muzyki metalowej z bogatą orkiestracją i elektronicznymi samplami. Na tym albumie znajdziemy wszystko to, co składało się na twórczość Devina przez ostatnie 25 lat – a więc od pojawienia się na albumie Sex and Religion Steve Vaia, przez Strapping Young Lad, ostatnio wygaszony Devin Townsend Project czy nawet Casualities of Cool. Co czyni Empath wyjątkową pozycją w dyskografii Devina?

Artysta nazwał album „Empath”, ponieważ utwory na nim zawarte traktują o stanach wewnętrznych, które odczuwamy podczas odsłuchu albumu. Teoria ta uzasadnia nazwanie krążka „Empath”. W końcu empatia to umiejętność postrzegania świata przez pryzmat czyjegoś stanu emocjonalnego. Takie „wejście w jego buty”. Postrzegam Devina jako artystę bardzo samokrytycznego, wiecznie poszukującego nowej wersji siebie. Przede wszystkim, Devin Townsend jest według mnie artystą niezwykle kreatywnym. W tym, co tworzy, zawsze jest wiele ukrytych znaczeń. Dlatego też Empath to bardzo złożony album.

Album, który spełnia wszystkie przesłanki albumu koncepcyjnego – mamy tutaj spójność warstwy muzycznej z tekstową i graficzną. Nie jest to jednak patetyczny, przeładowany koncept w stylu dawnych wypustów Yes, raczej współczesna interpretacja tej formy wydawniczej. Pęwną trudność w klasyfikacji dostarczają tutaj materiały dodatkowe z wersji deluxe, którą kupiłem. Drugi krążek zawiera wersje demo utworów nie tylko z Empath. Produkcyjnie jest to nieco bardziej surowo brzmiąca płyta, na której znajdziemy więcej elementów elektronicznych i sampli.

Genesis Devina Townsenda
Empath, oprócz tego o czym napisałem wyżej, jest płytą o procesie twórczym, kreatywności. I świadczy o tym zarówno biała okładka, symbolika kwiatu lotosu jak i artwork ze środka wydawnictwa. Wyspa reprezentuje osobę, otoczoną morzem – kreatywną pustką, którą Devin powoli zabudowuje wraz z trwaniem tej płyty. Pustka odzwierciedlona jest również we frontowej części okładki albumu Empath.
Pierwsze dźwięki otwierającego Empath utworu „Castaway” zdają się to tylko potwierdzać – dźwięki morza, gitara z silnym efektem pogłosu a później instrumenty strunowe kojarzące się z Hawajami. Devin po mistrzowsku buduje tutaj kolejne plany dźwiękowe. Nabudowuje atmosferę dźwiękami ogniska, niezauważalnie przechodzi w utwór Genesis, gdzie wprowadza element śpiewu chóralnego i dopiero po takim wprowadzeniu otrzymujemy wszystkie kolory Devina Townsenda.

W Genesis Devin porusza oczywiście tematykę stworzenia świata – który jest piękny jak obraz z wnętrza wydawnictwa, ale jest również zamieszkały przez potwory. Koncepcja ta została doskonale przeniesiona na warstwę soniczną, gdzie dźwięki natury przeplatają się z ciężką instrumentacją, chórami i samplami a wykorzystanie efektów modulacyjnych wzmacnia tylko efekt synergii. Sposób, w jaki Devin Townsend łączy bogatą orkiestrację z metalem jest po prostu nie do podrobienia. Ciężkie instrumentarium, blasty i szeroka paleta technik wokalnych przeplatające się z odgłosami zwierząt, chórem i żywymi instrumentami orkiestrowymi tworzą przepiękny dialog, bogaty zarówno w elementy melodyczne (ale również i dysonanse), jak i silne akcenty rytmiczne. Genesis to jeden z najpiękniejszych utworów otwierających album, jak dane mi było słyszeć w ostatnich kilku latach. To pokaz kunsztu muzycznego (w sensie warsztatowym), producenckiego i kompozytorskiego. A dalej nie jest wcale gorzej.

Rzecz zapomniana: dramaturgia
Właściwe ułożenie utworów na albumie jest sprawą niezwykle istotną. Bardzo ciężko słucha się przecież albumów które utrzymują stałe metrum, stałą strukturę kompozycyjną kolejnych utworów czy nie daj boże stałą dynamikę. Niektrórzy artyści z pierwszych stron Teraz Rocka nie przykładają uwagi nawet do tonacji, serwując słuchaczowi stały zestaw dźwięków które zmieniają tylko kolejność. Czy jest lepszy przepis na zanudzenie słuchacza?

Devin Townsend prezentuje tutaj wzorową postawę w budowaniu dramaturgii na albumie Empath. Kolejne segmenty płyty budują napięcie, by później je rozładować. Zaczynamy delikatnie, a pierwsze uderzenie dostajemy gdzieś w 3 minucie, ale na prawdziwie mocny fragment czekamy jeszcze 2 minuty. Te gęstsze fragmenty są zresztą umiejętnie przeplatane elektroniką, orkiestracjami czy inymi cudami. Zwieńczeniem albumu jest ponad 20 minutowa kompozycja „Singularity”, która podkreśla dramaturgię oraz konceptualność Empath. Utwór ten został skomponowany przy udziale Mike Kenallyego oraz Morgana Ågrena – muzyków, którzy związani są w ten czy inny sposób z Frankiem Zappą. I to jest kolejny fenomenalny punkt na Empath, doskonałe kompozycyjne zwieńczenie tego albumu.

Devin Townsend – Empath: perła produkcji
To, jak Empath jest zmiksowany i zmasterowany jest kolejnym poziomem geniuszu. Devin przyzwyczaił nas na Devin Townsend Project do ściany dźwięku – zabiegu produkcyjnego polegającego na zwielokrotnieniu ścieżek instrumentalnych, dzięki czemu te brzmią monumentalnie. Podobny efekt otrzymujemy na najnowszym krążku artysty, ale to co wzbudza mój szczery podziw to… dynamika. Tak, połączenie przedziwne – dynamika i ściana dźwięku. Ale taki właśnie jest Empath. Powolne budowanie natężenia – jak w końcówce „Sprite”, czy kontrasty dynamiki w „Borderlands”. Jeśli wrzucić dowolny utwór z krążka do DAW – zauważymy, że nawet w najgęstszych i najgłośniejszych momentach zostawiono kilka decybeli „zapasu”. To wszystko sprawia, że odsłuch Empath jest zupełnie wyjątkowym doświadczeniem.

Zresztą najlepszym dowodem na to jest prawie dwudziestosekundowe wybrzmienie we wspomnianym „Singularity” wieńczącym Empath. Zdecydowanie chciałbym usłyszeć w tym roku więcej tak świetnych albumów.

Marcin Marcinkiewicz



https://www.metalnews.pl/recenzje/to-jest-lebski-chlop-recenzja-devin-townsend-empath/



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Castaway 2:30
2. Genesis 6:05
3. Spirits Will Collide 4:39
4. Evermore 5:30
5. Sprite 6:37
6. Hear Me 6:30
7. Why? 4:59
8. Borderlands 11:02
9. Requiem 2:46
10. Singularity: Adrift 4:59
11. Singularity: I Am I 3:29
12. Singularity: There Be Monsters 4:37
13. Singularity: Curious Gods 3:08
14. Singularity: Silicone Scientists 2:55
15. Singularity: Here Comes The Sun! 4:22



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend: Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Morgan Ågren: Drums
Anup Sastry: Drums
Samus Paulicelli: Drums
Nathan Navarro: Bass
Mike Keneally: Additional guitars and keyboards
Anneke Van Giersbergen: Additional vocals on “Hear Me”, “Here Comes The Sun” and “King”
Che Aimee Dorval: Additional vocals on “Genesis”
Chad Kroeger: Additional vocals on “Hear Me”
Reyne Townsend: Additional Vocals
Steve Vai: Guitar Solo on “Here Comes The Sun”
Shaun Verault: Pedal Steel
Josefa Torres: Additional Vocals on “Sprite”
Ron Getgood: Spoken intro on ’Sprite’
Elliot Desgagnés: additional death metal vocals
Callum Marinho: Whistles




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKvbChCrLsM&list=OLAK5uy_kdKBsbD1ijv4SgbhTxyxiGfaLDBxJqnE0



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.


..::OPIS::..

Devin Townsend na albumie Empath serwuje bardzo odważne połączenie muzyki metalowej z bogatą orkiestracją i elektronicznymi samplami. Na tym albumie znajdziemy wszystko to, co składało się na twórczość Devina przez ostatnie 25 lat – a więc od pojawienia się na albumie Sex and Religion Steve Vaia, przez Strapping Young Lad, ostatnio wygaszony Devin Townsend Project czy nawet Casualities of Cool. Co czyni Empath wyjątkową pozycją w dyskografii Devina?

Artysta nazwał album „Empath”, ponieważ utwory na nim zawarte traktują o stanach wewnętrznych, które odczuwamy podczas odsłuchu albumu. Teoria ta uzasadnia nazwanie krążka „Empath”. W końcu empatia to umiejętność postrzegania świata przez pryzmat czyjegoś stanu emocjonalnego. Takie „wejście w jego buty”. Postrzegam Devina jako artystę bardzo samokrytycznego, wiecznie poszukującego nowej wersji siebie. Przede wszystkim, Devin Townsend jest według mnie artystą niezwykle kreatywnym. W tym, co tworzy, zawsze jest wiele ukrytych znaczeń. Dlatego też Empath to bardzo złożony album.

Album, który spełnia wszystkie przesłanki albumu koncepcyjnego – mamy tutaj spójność warstwy muzycznej z tekstową i graficzną. Nie jest to jednak patetyczny, przeładowany koncept w stylu dawnych wypustów Yes, raczej współczesna interpretacja tej formy wydawniczej. Pęwną trudność w klasyfikacji dostarczają tutaj materiały dodatkowe z wersji deluxe, którą kupiłem. Drugi krążek zawiera wersje demo utworów nie tylko z Empath. Produkcyjnie jest to nieco bardziej surowo brzmiąca płyta, na której znajdziemy więcej elementów elektronicznych i sampli.

Genesis Devina Townsenda
Empath, oprócz tego o czym napisałem wyżej, jest płytą o procesie twórczym, kreatywności. I świadczy o tym zarówno biała okładka, symbolika kwiatu lotosu jak i artwork ze środka wydawnictwa. Wyspa reprezentuje osobę, otoczoną morzem – kreatywną pustką, którą Devin powoli zabudowuje wraz z trwaniem tej płyty. Pustka odzwierciedlona jest również we frontowej części okładki albumu Empath.
Pierwsze dźwięki otwierającego Empath utworu „Castaway” zdają się to tylko potwierdzać – dźwięki morza, gitara z silnym efektem pogłosu a później instrumenty strunowe kojarzące się z Hawajami. Devin po mistrzowsku buduje tutaj kolejne plany dźwiękowe. Nabudowuje atmosferę dźwiękami ogniska, niezauważalnie przechodzi w utwór Genesis, gdzie wprowadza element śpiewu chóralnego i dopiero po takim wprowadzeniu otrzymujemy wszystkie kolory Devina Townsenda.

W Genesis Devin porusza oczywiście tematykę stworzenia świata – który jest piękny jak obraz z wnętrza wydawnictwa, ale jest również zamieszkały przez potwory. Koncepcja ta została doskonale przeniesiona na warstwę soniczną, gdzie dźwięki natury przeplatają się z ciężką instrumentacją, chórami i samplami a wykorzystanie efektów modulacyjnych wzmacnia tylko efekt synergii. Sposób, w jaki Devin Townsend łączy bogatą orkiestrację z metalem jest po prostu nie do podrobienia. Ciężkie instrumentarium, blasty i szeroka paleta technik wokalnych przeplatające się z odgłosami zwierząt, chórem i żywymi instrumentami orkiestrowymi tworzą przepiękny dialog, bogaty zarówno w elementy melodyczne (ale również i dysonanse), jak i silne akcenty rytmiczne. Genesis to jeden z najpiękniejszych utworów otwierających album, jak dane mi było słyszeć w ostatnich kilku latach. To pokaz kunsztu muzycznego (w sensie warsztatowym), producenckiego i kompozytorskiego. A dalej nie jest wcale gorzej.

Rzecz zapomniana: dramaturgia
Właściwe ułożenie utworów na albumie jest sprawą niezwykle istotną. Bardzo ciężko słucha się przecież albumów które utrzymują stałe metrum, stałą strukturę kompozycyjną kolejnych utworów czy nie daj boże stałą dynamikę. Niektrórzy artyści z pierwszych stron Teraz Rocka nie przykładają uwagi nawet do tonacji, serwując słuchaczowi stały zestaw dźwięków które zmieniają tylko kolejność. Czy jest lepszy przepis na zanudzenie słuchacza?

Devin Townsend prezentuje tutaj wzorową postawę w budowaniu dramaturgii na albumie Empath. Kolejne segmenty płyty budują napięcie, by później je rozładować. Zaczynamy delikatnie, a pierwsze uderzenie dostajemy gdzieś w 3 minucie, ale na prawdziwie mocny fragment czekamy jeszcze 2 minuty. Te gęstsze fragmenty są zresztą umiejętnie przeplatane elektroniką, orkiestracjami czy inymi cudami. Zwieńczeniem albumu jest ponad 20 minutowa kompozycja „Singularity”, która podkreśla dramaturgię oraz konceptualność Empath. Utwór ten został skomponowany przy udziale Mike Kenallyego oraz Morgana Ågrena – muzyków, którzy związani są w ten czy inny sposób z Frankiem Zappą. I to jest kolejny fenomenalny punkt na Empath, doskonałe kompozycyjne zwieńczenie tego albumu.

Devin Townsend – Empath: perła produkcji
To, jak Empath jest zmiksowany i zmasterowany jest kolejnym poziomem geniuszu. Devin przyzwyczaił nas na Devin Townsend Project do ściany dźwięku – zabiegu produkcyjnego polegającego na zwielokrotnieniu ścieżek instrumentalnych, dzięki czemu te brzmią monumentalnie. Podobny efekt otrzymujemy na najnowszym krążku artysty, ale to co wzbudza mój szczery podziw to… dynamika. Tak, połączenie przedziwne – dynamika i ściana dźwięku. Ale taki właśnie jest Empath. Powolne budowanie natężenia – jak w końcówce „Sprite”, czy kontrasty dynamiki w „Borderlands”. Jeśli wrzucić dowolny utwór z krążka do DAW – zauważymy, że nawet w najgęstszych i najgłośniejszych momentach zostawiono kilka decybeli „zapasu”. To wszystko sprawia, że odsłuch Empath jest zupełnie wyjątkowym doświadczeniem.

Zresztą najlepszym dowodem na to jest prawie dwudziestosekundowe wybrzmienie we wspomnianym „Singularity” wieńczącym Empath. Zdecydowanie chciałbym usłyszeć w tym roku więcej tak świetnych albumów.

Marcin Marcinkiewicz



https://www.metalnews.pl/recenzje/to-jest-lebski-chlop-recenzja-devin-townsend-empath/



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Castaway 2:30
2. Genesis 6:05
3. Spirits Will Collide 4:39
4. Evermore 5:30
5. Sprite 6:37
6. Hear Me 6:30
7. Why? 4:59
8. Borderlands 11:02
9. Requiem 2:46
10. Singularity: Adrift 4:59
11. Singularity: I Am I 3:29
12. Singularity: There Be Monsters 4:37
13. Singularity: Curious Gods 3:08
14. Singularity: Silicone Scientists 2:55
15. Singularity: Here Comes The Sun! 4:22



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend: Vocals, Guitars, Synths, Bass and Computer
Morgan Ågren: Drums
Anup Sastry: Drums
Samus Paulicelli: Drums
Nathan Navarro: Bass
Mike Keneally: Additional guitars and keyboards
Anneke Van Giersbergen: Additional vocals on “Hear Me”, “Here Comes The Sun” and “King”
Che Aimee Dorval: Additional vocals on “Genesis”
Chad Kroeger: Additional vocals on “Hear Me”
Reyne Townsend: Additional Vocals
Steve Vai: Guitar Solo on “Here Comes The Sun”
Shaun Verault: Pedal Steel
Josefa Torres: Additional Vocals on “Sprite”
Ron Getgood: Spoken intro on ’Sprite’
Elliot Desgagnés: additional death metal vocals
Callum Marinho: Whistles




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKvbChCrLsM&list=OLAK5uy_kdKBsbD1ijv4SgbhTxyxiGfaLDBxJqnE0



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Od lat uważam Leprous za coś absolutnie ożywczego na scenie szeroko rozumianej muzyki progresywno - metalowej. Za formację poszukującą, często podążającą pod prąd, nie idącą na kompromisy. Po totalnym zaintrygowaniu przy pierwszych dwóch płytach (Aeolia, Tall Poppy Syndrome), przyszły czasy niemalże zachwytu nad każdą płytą (Bilateral, Coal, The Congregation). A potem, gdy poprzeczka moich oczekiwań powędrowała niezwykle wysoko, grupa zaczęła wydawać rzeczy, przy których, podczas pierwszego odsłuchu, pojawiała się konstatacja, że „to już jednak nie to”. Rychło, po kolejnych odtworzeniach, muzyka zaczęła oddawać i ujawniać piękno, jakie może dać tylko ta grupa. Piękno ukryte w brudzie, szorstkości i niebanalności. Tak było przy Malinie, Pitfalls, Aphelion i tak jest też przy Melodies of Atonement, które zrazu chciałem odstawić na najwyższą półkę, aby dalej po nie nie sięgać. Dobrze, że tego nie zrobiłem, bo Leprous po raz kolejny potwierdził prostą, wręcz banalną i znaną od lat prawdę. Że dobra muzyka ujawnia swą siłę może nazbyt powolnie, jednak zostaje ze słuchaczem do końca życia.

To przede wszystkim album niezwykle emocjonalny i osobisty dla frontmana formacji, Einara Solberga i w warstwie lirycznej jest swoistą kontynuacją Pitfalls i Aphelion. Te płyty oddają jego zmaganie się z trudnymi, emocjonalnymi stanami, które tu, na albumie o dość wymownym tytule, Melodies of Atonement, znajdują pewne zwieńczenie, pokazując artystę, który przebrnął ciężką drogę, aby być tu, gdzie jest. W miejscu, gdzie na swój sposób, oczyszcza swą duszę.

A jak jest muzycznie? Jak to u nich, trudno ich pomylić z kimś innym. Wysoki głos Solberga, specyficzny ciężar gitarowych i poszatkowanych matematycznie riffów, dziwne metrum i mnóstwo niepokojącej elektroniki oraz… obowiązkowej wzniosłości. To z pewnością album zdecydowanie bardziej ostry i bezpośredni. A jednak znów wnoszący coś do ich muzycznego DNA. I już pierwsze dwie kompozycje to ujawniają (Silently Walking Alone, Atonement). Duszny, przerażający i nerwowy klimat, jakby atonalne dźwięki z rytmiką idącą pod prąd i unoszący się nad tym wszystkim absolutnie nie progresywny a… trip hopowy powiew! Jeszcze inne wątki przynosi Like a Sunken Ship, na początku trochę jazzowy, nieco schizofreniczny, eksperymentalny, z czasem ekstremalnie ciężki, podkreślony partiami growlu. Ten jazz jest też słyszalny w Faceless, dzięki wykorzystaniu kontrabasu, w nim jednak zwracają uwagę imponujące chóralne zaśpiewy… 170 fanów Leprous. Żeby było ciekawiej, taki Limbo, oparty na fajnym groovie, mógłby łatwo stać się utworem… rapowym.

Zaintrygowani? Cóż, najlepiej dotknąć tej muzyki osobiście i dać jej czas. Wielu odnajdzie tu wzniosłe i piękne refreny oraz energetyczny żar, który znajdzie ujście podczas koncertów. Odkryje też pewnie trip i hip hopowe, rapowe oraz jazzowe smaczki, które z czasem zgrabnie się ułożą w całość. Bo to kolejna ich bardzo dobra płyta. Mocno polecana.

Mariusz Danielak



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Silently Walking Alone 04:05
2. Atonement 04:49
3. My Specter 03:55
4. I Hear the Sirens 04:31
5. Like a Sunken Ship 04:04
6. Limbo 05:56
7. Faceless 06:25
8. Starlight 06:09
9. Self-Satisfied Lullaby 06:21
10. Unfree My Soul 05:21

11.Claustrophobic (Bonus Track) 03:13

Fan choir on Faceless organized by Einar Solberg and put together as a choir by David Castillo ·· The choir consists of 170 different solo performances that was recorded individually and submitted over a few weeks in March 2024. None mentioned none forgotten, so thanks to all participants!



..::OBSADA::..

Einar Solberg - vocals and keys
Tor Oddmund Suhrke - guitars
Robin Ognedal - guitars
Simen Børven - bass
Baard Kolstad - drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-po0_DnsJk



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Od lat uważam Leprous za coś absolutnie ożywczego na scenie szeroko rozumianej muzyki progresywno - metalowej. Za formację poszukującą, często podążającą pod prąd, nie idącą na kompromisy. Po totalnym zaintrygowaniu przy pierwszych dwóch płytach (Aeolia, Tall Poppy Syndrome), przyszły czasy niemalże zachwytu nad każdą płytą (Bilateral, Coal, The Congregation). A potem, gdy poprzeczka moich oczekiwań powędrowała niezwykle wysoko, grupa zaczęła wydawać rzeczy, przy których, podczas pierwszego odsłuchu, pojawiała się konstatacja, że „to już jednak nie to”. Rychło, po kolejnych odtworzeniach, muzyka zaczęła oddawać i ujawniać piękno, jakie może dać tylko ta grupa. Piękno ukryte w brudzie, szorstkości i niebanalności. Tak było przy Malinie, Pitfalls, Aphelion i tak jest też przy Melodies of Atonement, które zrazu chciałem odstawić na najwyższą półkę, aby dalej po nie nie sięgać. Dobrze, że tego nie zrobiłem, bo Leprous po raz kolejny potwierdził prostą, wręcz banalną i znaną od lat prawdę. Że dobra muzyka ujawnia swą siłę może nazbyt powolnie, jednak zostaje ze słuchaczem do końca życia.

To przede wszystkim album niezwykle emocjonalny i osobisty dla frontmana formacji, Einara Solberga i w warstwie lirycznej jest swoistą kontynuacją Pitfalls i Aphelion. Te płyty oddają jego zmaganie się z trudnymi, emocjonalnymi stanami, które tu, na albumie o dość wymownym tytule, Melodies of Atonement, znajdują pewne zwieńczenie, pokazując artystę, który przebrnął ciężką drogę, aby być tu, gdzie jest. W miejscu, gdzie na swój sposób, oczyszcza swą duszę.

A jak jest muzycznie? Jak to u nich, trudno ich pomylić z kimś innym. Wysoki głos Solberga, specyficzny ciężar gitarowych i poszatkowanych matematycznie riffów, dziwne metrum i mnóstwo niepokojącej elektroniki oraz… obowiązkowej wzniosłości. To z pewnością album zdecydowanie bardziej ostry i bezpośredni. A jednak znów wnoszący coś do ich muzycznego DNA. I już pierwsze dwie kompozycje to ujawniają (Silently Walking Alone, Atonement). Duszny, przerażający i nerwowy klimat, jakby atonalne dźwięki z rytmiką idącą pod prąd i unoszący się nad tym wszystkim absolutnie nie progresywny a… trip hopowy powiew! Jeszcze inne wątki przynosi Like a Sunken Ship, na początku trochę jazzowy, nieco schizofreniczny, eksperymentalny, z czasem ekstremalnie ciężki, podkreślony partiami growlu. Ten jazz jest też słyszalny w Faceless, dzięki wykorzystaniu kontrabasu, w nim jednak zwracają uwagę imponujące chóralne zaśpiewy… 170 fanów Leprous. Żeby było ciekawiej, taki Limbo, oparty na fajnym groovie, mógłby łatwo stać się utworem… rapowym.

Zaintrygowani? Cóż, najlepiej dotknąć tej muzyki osobiście i dać jej czas. Wielu odnajdzie tu wzniosłe i piękne refreny oraz energetyczny żar, który znajdzie ujście podczas koncertów. Odkryje też pewnie trip i hip hopowe, rapowe oraz jazzowe smaczki, które z czasem zgrabnie się ułożą w całość. Bo to kolejna ich bardzo dobra płyta. Mocno polecana.

Mariusz Danielak



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Silently Walking Alone 04:05
2. Atonement 04:49
3. My Specter 03:55
4. I Hear the Sirens 04:31
5. Like a Sunken Ship 04:04
6. Limbo 05:56
7. Faceless 06:25
8. Starlight 06:09
9. Self-Satisfied Lullaby 06:21
10. Unfree My Soul 05:21

11.Claustrophobic (Bonus Track) 03:13

Fan choir on Faceless organized by Einar Solberg and put together as a choir by David Castillo ·· The choir consists of 170 different solo performances that was recorded individually and submitted over a few weeks in March 2024. None mentioned none forgotten, so thanks to all participants!



..::OBSADA::..

Einar Solberg - vocals and keys
Tor Oddmund Suhrke - guitars
Robin Ognedal - guitars
Simen Børven - bass
Baard Kolstad - drums




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-po0_DnsJk



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Thy Catafalque to w zasadzie jednoosobowy (w pierwszych kilku latach działalności duet) projekt stacjonującego w Szkocji Węgra nazwiskiem Tamás Kátai. Osobnik ten tworzy dziwaczną w konstrukcjach acz niesamowicie nośną i "ambitnie przebojową" muzykę, będącą fuzją rozległych horyzontów muzyka. Nie znam pierwszych dwóch albumów ale między trzecim a czwartym (Róka hasa rádió) czy w ogóle piątym (Rengeteg) jest naprawdę spora różnica w podejściu do komponowania i układania numerów. Po wymienionym materiale Tamás nagrywa swoje absolutne opus magnum czyli "Sgùrr", będący jednym z lepszych materiałów metalowych w roku 2015. Rok później wychodzi spadek formy pod postacią "Mety", mającym przebłyski ale jednak zbyt rozwlekłym w stosunku do doskonałej poprzedniczki. No i wreszcie w tym roku czekamy na to, co przyniesie nam "Geometria" czyli ósmy, duży płyt projektu.

Muzyka Thy Catafalque to teoretycznie nie mająca prawa się udać mieszanka blacku, drum'n'bassowej elektroniki, sekcji smyczkowej, industrialnego metalu, czystych wokali, krzyków i przetworzonych skrzeków. Jak pierwszy raz usłyszałem "Oldódó formák a halál titokzatos birodalmában" (z węgierskiego "Rozpuszczalne formy w tajemniczego królestwa śmierci") to byłem totalnie zaskoczony jak to wszystko co wymieniłem powyżej można zlepić w jeden numer pozostający przy tym świetnym, spójnym utworem nie brzmiącym jak żart. Oczywiście w tej części twórczości którą znam ten avant-gardujący, progowy black metal podbity elektronicznymi przeszkadzajkami dominuje, bo też nie jest tak, że do każdego kawałka typ wpierdala smyczki i folkujące akustyki. Jednak wrażenie totalnego rozbuchania kompozycji i jednoczesnego, bardzo "przebojowego" sznytu jest często obecne podczas słuchania tej muzyki. Cholernie warty uwagi projekt a już na pewno najlepsze wydawnictwa, czyli "Sgùrr" i "Rengeteg".

Diabelski Dom



What a fantastic album. This is rapidly approaching the same status for me as the masterpiece that is Meta. One of the best artists making music right now in my opinion.



had to listen to this album a lot more than once to understand its expressive language: ferocious, hard and uncompromising - unlike previous two pieces, which were uberheavy too yet not so aggressive. So this page in Tamas' legacy takes you to the journey through some very cold, austere yet beautiful places, bringing your spirit closer to enlightenment.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Zúgó, Pt. 1
2. Alföldi kozmosz
3. Oldódó formák a halál titokzatos birodalmában
4. A hajnal kék kapuja
5. Élo lény
6. Jura
7. Sgùrr Eilde Mòr
8. Keringo
9. Zúgó, Pt. 2

The title Sgùrr of this album derives from the Scottish Gaelic and means 'the top of a mountain'.



..::OBSADA::..

Vocals, Strings, Electronics - Tamás Kátai
Double Bass - Balázs Hermann
Soprano Vocals [Soprano] –-Ágnes Sipos
Violin - Dimitris Papageorgiou
Vocals [Additional Vocals] - Zoltán Kónya
Narrator [Narration] - Viktória Varga




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXzCPgf4C-E



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Thy Catafalque to w zasadzie jednoosobowy (w pierwszych kilku latach działalności duet) projekt stacjonującego w Szkocji Węgra nazwiskiem Tamás Kátai. Osobnik ten tworzy dziwaczną w konstrukcjach acz niesamowicie nośną i "ambitnie przebojową" muzykę, będącą fuzją rozległych horyzontów muzyka. Nie znam pierwszych dwóch albumów ale między trzecim a czwartym (Róka hasa rádió) czy w ogóle piątym (Rengeteg) jest naprawdę spora różnica w podejściu do komponowania i układania numerów. Po wymienionym materiale Tamás nagrywa swoje absolutne opus magnum czyli "Sgùrr", będący jednym z lepszych materiałów metalowych w roku 2015. Rok później wychodzi spadek formy pod postacią "Mety", mającym przebłyski ale jednak zbyt rozwlekłym w stosunku do doskonałej poprzedniczki. No i wreszcie w tym roku czekamy na to, co przyniesie nam "Geometria" czyli ósmy, duży płyt projektu.

Muzyka Thy Catafalque to teoretycznie nie mająca prawa się udać mieszanka blacku, drum'n'bassowej elektroniki, sekcji smyczkowej, industrialnego metalu, czystych wokali, krzyków i przetworzonych skrzeków. Jak pierwszy raz usłyszałem "Oldódó formák a halál titokzatos birodalmában" (z węgierskiego "Rozpuszczalne formy w tajemniczego królestwa śmierci") to byłem totalnie zaskoczony jak to wszystko co wymieniłem powyżej można zlepić w jeden numer pozostający przy tym świetnym, spójnym utworem nie brzmiącym jak żart. Oczywiście w tej części twórczości którą znam ten avant-gardujący, progowy black metal podbity elektronicznymi przeszkadzajkami dominuje, bo też nie jest tak, że do każdego kawałka typ wpierdala smyczki i folkujące akustyki. Jednak wrażenie totalnego rozbuchania kompozycji i jednoczesnego, bardzo "przebojowego" sznytu jest często obecne podczas słuchania tej muzyki. Cholernie warty uwagi projekt a już na pewno najlepsze wydawnictwa, czyli "Sgùrr" i "Rengeteg".

Diabelski Dom



What a fantastic album. This is rapidly approaching the same status for me as the masterpiece that is Meta. One of the best artists making music right now in my opinion.



had to listen to this album a lot more than once to understand its expressive language: ferocious, hard and uncompromising - unlike previous two pieces, which were uberheavy too yet not so aggressive. So this page in Tamas' legacy takes you to the journey through some very cold, austere yet beautiful places, bringing your spirit closer to enlightenment.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Zúgó, Pt. 1
2. Alföldi kozmosz
3. Oldódó formák a halál titokzatos birodalmában
4. A hajnal kék kapuja
5. Élo lény
6. Jura
7. Sgùrr Eilde Mòr
8. Keringo
9. Zúgó, Pt. 2

The title Sgùrr of this album derives from the Scottish Gaelic and means 'the top of a mountain'.



..::OBSADA::..

Vocals, Strings, Electronics - Tamás Kátai
Double Bass - Balázs Hermann
Soprano Vocals [Soprano] –-Ágnes Sipos
Violin - Dimitris Papageorgiou
Vocals [Additional Vocals] - Zoltán Kónya
Narrator [Narration] - Viktória Varga




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXzCPgf4C-E



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



Miłośnicy niekonwencjonalnego progresywnego metalu zapraszam na ucztę!



..::OPIS::..

"Ten years away from the studio hasn’t extinguished Canvas Solaris’s schizophrenic fire. In fact, their return is heralded by a remarkably heaving low end, an uptick in intensity, and a meaner, nastier attack. There is much threat throughout the bulk of Chromosphere, revealing a Canvas Solaris that holds back nothing. Never has their delivery felt so monolithic. While there are the expected pockets of nuance and kaleidoscopic color, the band apparently were seething to return with a considerable vengeance. Since their first official recordings surfaced nearly 20 years ago, Canvas was a band fueled by the inspiration of metal and prog’s most astute risk-takers. With albums like The Atomized Dream (2008) and Irradiance (2010), they capped their first era with a sound that, despite numerous inspirations and forbears, was all their own. Now, throughout Chromosphere, their maturity bleeds through via stellar performance and masterful composition, but the abandon these six songs are performed with is on an intensity level usually reserved for newer, younger, hungrier units. The bluster of “Extrasolar Biosignature” and the erudition of “Black Drop Effect” are but two high points of an album that any fan of nerd-core tech-metal madness will revel in. Chromosphere is Canvas Solaris reignited and fully realized."

Jeff Wagner


Hey, this year is getting better and better… whether the return of the progressive all-instrumental wizards to the scene will remain the most memorable event from it, is debatable but one has to admit that the world is decidedly a better place to reside in with these magicians around. I initially thought that the reason for their split in 2011 was because they wanted to pay more attention to the other project they started, The Universe Divide, but no… nothing came out of that camp, save for an EP which actually appeared before the Canvas Solaris saga had dissolved.

Two years later the team is back on the field, but they took their time, working on this “Chromosphere”, a fabulous comeback stint and arguably their finest full-length release. There’s this nostalgic look back at the band’s very roots, the demo/promo/EP stage that is, as the delivery is more aggressive, with quite some time spent on prog-thrash territory. The centrepieces of the album are two gigantic compositions, the 11-min long saga “Extrasolar Biosignature” spearheading this marvelous enterprise, a labyrinthine multi-corner excursion, an immaculately-assembled mosaic of clever sharp rhythmic extrapolations which dance around each other in a courteous orderly manner, the elusive lead segments gliding above the dense rifforamas, the shadow of the guys’ idols Coroner rising high, and not only on the more impetuous faster-paced moments. The other giant, the 13.5-min odyssey “Zero Point Field”, is a more abstract fusion-esque tractate with quiet dreamy passages colliding with the more frequently present lead-driven ones, a patient slow-burning journey which gets aggravated by a dramatic speedy insertion in the second half, but largely this is a monolithic atmospheric take on the all-instrumental progressive metal idea.

The shorter numbers are volatile jumpy excursions “Hidden Sector” not hiding much from the spacey prog-metal arsenal, a ”calm semi-meditative/rougher nervier” juxtaposition, the more aggressive eruption at the end nearly causing a volcano, the mentioned disaster materializing in its fiery grandeur on the rowdy dynamic shredfest “Black Drop Effect”, a restless mood-changer with exquisite melodic lead guitar work. There’s nothing normal on “Renormalization”, either, this one an angry jumpy virtuoso-prone amalgam with more awe-inspiring lead exploits and sudden speedy rushes, the band moshing aggressively at every opportunity, including on the stupendous vortex-like masterpiece “False Vacuum”, an abstract atonal psychedelia which throws quite a bit of music at the dazed listener, the dense staccato riffage letting a couple of hallucinogenic keyboard tunes through, all pacifiers mortified on the intense thrashy skirmish later, the tussle won by the lead guitarist, the man occupying the second half to the point of saturation, thoroughly delighting the audience with his infectious hooks.

Yep, the Canvas Solaris experience is a thoroughly depleting one, even when it comes a decade after the preceding chapter. The magic’s there, the inspiration’s there, the compositional flair’s there… the energy’s there, too, even if not more accentuated on, the band feeling nostalgic about their youth, when thrash and death metal were blended into original complex, occasionally violent melees. This opus here is by no means a total recall of those times, no; in fact, the fan will easily recognize the band from the first few notes of the opening track… but these challenging soundscapes have been served with more bite, more edge and more speed, with this new sense of urgency that only enhances the guys’ staple mazey multi-tentacled delivery. It’s a more absorbing, more meandering album, compared to the preceding “Irradiance” which is a more compact, more concrete offering… it’s like the band really want to spend their time in the studio, to vent out their passion for playing intricately… it’s been a while, their hands have started itching, their minds have started bearing more shreddy and riffy fruit, those crying out for bigger expression. To the fans’ utter delight for sure, as the world really seems like a better place to be when you know that a bunch of musicians will always come to your rescue, whenever you get lost in a barely tolerable musical tedium.

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Extrasolar Biosignature 10:54
2. Hidden Sector 06:00
3. Zero Point Field 13:24
4. Black Drop Effect 04:26
5. Renormalization 06:19
6. False Vacuum 08:15



..::OBSADA::..

Nathan Sapp - 6 string lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars, synths, samples, and programming
Chris Rushing - 6 string lead and 7 string rhythm guitars
Gael Pirlot - 6 string fretted and fretless bass, additional synths
Hunter Ginn - drums and percussion

Guest Musicians:
Jimmy McCall - bass 4:17-4:38 in Extrasolar Biosignature
Ben Simpkins - guitar solo 1:17-1:40 in False Vacuum
Justin Prevatt - additional programming




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR3KzIplYbs



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



Miłośnicy niekonwencjonalnego progresywnego metalu zapraszam na ucztę!



..::OPIS::..

"Ten years away from the studio hasn’t extinguished Canvas Solaris’s schizophrenic fire. In fact, their return is heralded by a remarkably heaving low end, an uptick in intensity, and a meaner, nastier attack. There is much threat throughout the bulk of Chromosphere, revealing a Canvas Solaris that holds back nothing. Never has their delivery felt so monolithic. While there are the expected pockets of nuance and kaleidoscopic color, the band apparently were seething to return with a considerable vengeance. Since their first official recordings surfaced nearly 20 years ago, Canvas was a band fueled by the inspiration of metal and prog’s most astute risk-takers. With albums like The Atomized Dream (2008) and Irradiance (2010), they capped their first era with a sound that, despite numerous inspirations and forbears, was all their own. Now, throughout Chromosphere, their maturity bleeds through via stellar performance and masterful composition, but the abandon these six songs are performed with is on an intensity level usually reserved for newer, younger, hungrier units. The bluster of “Extrasolar Biosignature” and the erudition of “Black Drop Effect” are but two high points of an album that any fan of nerd-core tech-metal madness will revel in. Chromosphere is Canvas Solaris reignited and fully realized."

Jeff Wagner


Hey, this year is getting better and better… whether the return of the progressive all-instrumental wizards to the scene will remain the most memorable event from it, is debatable but one has to admit that the world is decidedly a better place to reside in with these magicians around. I initially thought that the reason for their split in 2011 was because they wanted to pay more attention to the other project they started, The Universe Divide, but no… nothing came out of that camp, save for an EP which actually appeared before the Canvas Solaris saga had dissolved.

Two years later the team is back on the field, but they took their time, working on this “Chromosphere”, a fabulous comeback stint and arguably their finest full-length release. There’s this nostalgic look back at the band’s very roots, the demo/promo/EP stage that is, as the delivery is more aggressive, with quite some time spent on prog-thrash territory. The centrepieces of the album are two gigantic compositions, the 11-min long saga “Extrasolar Biosignature” spearheading this marvelous enterprise, a labyrinthine multi-corner excursion, an immaculately-assembled mosaic of clever sharp rhythmic extrapolations which dance around each other in a courteous orderly manner, the elusive lead segments gliding above the dense rifforamas, the shadow of the guys’ idols Coroner rising high, and not only on the more impetuous faster-paced moments. The other giant, the 13.5-min odyssey “Zero Point Field”, is a more abstract fusion-esque tractate with quiet dreamy passages colliding with the more frequently present lead-driven ones, a patient slow-burning journey which gets aggravated by a dramatic speedy insertion in the second half, but largely this is a monolithic atmospheric take on the all-instrumental progressive metal idea.

The shorter numbers are volatile jumpy excursions “Hidden Sector” not hiding much from the spacey prog-metal arsenal, a ”calm semi-meditative/rougher nervier” juxtaposition, the more aggressive eruption at the end nearly causing a volcano, the mentioned disaster materializing in its fiery grandeur on the rowdy dynamic shredfest “Black Drop Effect”, a restless mood-changer with exquisite melodic lead guitar work. There’s nothing normal on “Renormalization”, either, this one an angry jumpy virtuoso-prone amalgam with more awe-inspiring lead exploits and sudden speedy rushes, the band moshing aggressively at every opportunity, including on the stupendous vortex-like masterpiece “False Vacuum”, an abstract atonal psychedelia which throws quite a bit of music at the dazed listener, the dense staccato riffage letting a couple of hallucinogenic keyboard tunes through, all pacifiers mortified on the intense thrashy skirmish later, the tussle won by the lead guitarist, the man occupying the second half to the point of saturation, thoroughly delighting the audience with his infectious hooks.

Yep, the Canvas Solaris experience is a thoroughly depleting one, even when it comes a decade after the preceding chapter. The magic’s there, the inspiration’s there, the compositional flair’s there… the energy’s there, too, even if not more accentuated on, the band feeling nostalgic about their youth, when thrash and death metal were blended into original complex, occasionally violent melees. This opus here is by no means a total recall of those times, no; in fact, the fan will easily recognize the band from the first few notes of the opening track… but these challenging soundscapes have been served with more bite, more edge and more speed, with this new sense of urgency that only enhances the guys’ staple mazey multi-tentacled delivery. It’s a more absorbing, more meandering album, compared to the preceding “Irradiance” which is a more compact, more concrete offering… it’s like the band really want to spend their time in the studio, to vent out their passion for playing intricately… it’s been a while, their hands have started itching, their minds have started bearing more shreddy and riffy fruit, those crying out for bigger expression. To the fans’ utter delight for sure, as the world really seems like a better place to be when you know that a bunch of musicians will always come to your rescue, whenever you get lost in a barely tolerable musical tedium.

Bayern



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Extrasolar Biosignature 10:54
2. Hidden Sector 06:00
3. Zero Point Field 13:24
4. Black Drop Effect 04:26
5. Renormalization 06:19
6. False Vacuum 08:15



..::OBSADA::..

Nathan Sapp - 6 string lead, rhythm, and acoustic guitars, synths, samples, and programming
Chris Rushing - 6 string lead and 7 string rhythm guitars
Gael Pirlot - 6 string fretted and fretless bass, additional synths
Hunter Ginn - drums and percussion

Guest Musicians:
Jimmy McCall - bass 4:17-4:38 in Extrasolar Biosignature
Ben Simpkins - guitar solo 1:17-1:40 in False Vacuum
Justin Prevatt - additional programming




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xR3KzIplYbs



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Rzadko można dziś znaleźć w metalu zespół, który naprawdę brzmi wyjątkowo.
Jasne, The Anchoret ma mnóstwo wyraźnych wpływów, ale robi też coś innego niż wszystkie i w większości przypadków robi to fachowo.



2023 has been a fantastic year for progressive music, especially for debut albums from promising and talented bands and artists like "Crowned Lands," "AVKRVST," "Lars Fredrik Frøislie," and "Tritop." However, none have impressed me as much as "The Anchoret" with their release, "It All Began with Loneliness."
What sets this album apart is its unique blend of melodic and experimental passages, incorporating sax, flutes, and clarinet seamlessly into the songs without sacrificing the genre's typical heaviness and aggression. Figuring out The Anchoret's main influences has been a challenge for me, as some tracks like "A Dead Man," "Buried," and "All Turns to Clay" remind me of Dream Theater, Riverside, and Opeth, but the majority, especially the instrumental sections, have an eclectic mix of elements reminiscent of King Crimson, Motorpsycho, Gentle Giant, and Steven Wilson's "The Raven That Refused to Sing."

One of the album's strongest points is its cohesiveness. Every song flows magnificently into the next, and the overall length of about 60 minutes is perfect to fully appreciate the talent and musicianship that The Anchoret brings to the table. While all members shine throughout the record, James Christopher Knoerl's drumming and Sylvain Auclair's vocals stand out and deserve special recognition.

"It All Began with Loneliness" breaks away from the repetitive and stagnant tendencies that sometimes plague the prog metal scene, offering a fresh and innovative approach. The Anchoret has proven that it is possible to bring new ideas and imagination to the genre, and that is why I consider this album a masterpiece of progressive metal music (5/5 stars).

gervelaz94



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. An Office For... 02:40
2. A Dead Man 06:32
3. Until The Sun Illuminates 06:40
4. Someone Listening? 08:05
5. Forsaken 07:26
6. Buried 04:28
7. All Turns to Clay 08:32
8. Unafraid 07:18
9. Stay 07:00



..::OBSADA::..

Eduard Levitsky - bass
Sylvain Auclair - vocals
Leo Estalles - guitars
James Christopher Knoerl - drums
Andy Tillison - keyboards, synthesizers

With:
Juan Ignacio Varela Espinoza - alto saxophone
Carina Bruwer - flute
Paulo Oliveira - flute (2)
Artem Koryapin - clarinet
Nimiwari - gospel vocals (2), additional vocals (7)
Reinaldo Ocando - percussion (5)
Thomson Knoles - additional keyboards (7)
David Gagné - additional keyboards (5), additional guitar (4)
Daniel Eliseev - additional guitar (8)
Ὀρφεύσ - Mellotron (9)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3b_GMUQvUo



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Rzadko można dziś znaleźć w metalu zespół, który naprawdę brzmi wyjątkowo.
Jasne, The Anchoret ma mnóstwo wyraźnych wpływów, ale robi też coś innego niż wszystkie i w większości przypadków robi to fachowo.



2023 has been a fantastic year for progressive music, especially for debut albums from promising and talented bands and artists like "Crowned Lands," "AVKRVST," "Lars Fredrik Frøislie," and "Tritop." However, none have impressed me as much as "The Anchoret" with their release, "It All Began with Loneliness."
What sets this album apart is its unique blend of melodic and experimental passages, incorporating sax, flutes, and clarinet seamlessly into the songs without sacrificing the genre's typical heaviness and aggression. Figuring out The Anchoret's main influences has been a challenge for me, as some tracks like "A Dead Man," "Buried," and "All Turns to Clay" remind me of Dream Theater, Riverside, and Opeth, but the majority, especially the instrumental sections, have an eclectic mix of elements reminiscent of King Crimson, Motorpsycho, Gentle Giant, and Steven Wilson's "The Raven That Refused to Sing."

One of the album's strongest points is its cohesiveness. Every song flows magnificently into the next, and the overall length of about 60 minutes is perfect to fully appreciate the talent and musicianship that The Anchoret brings to the table. While all members shine throughout the record, James Christopher Knoerl's drumming and Sylvain Auclair's vocals stand out and deserve special recognition.

"It All Began with Loneliness" breaks away from the repetitive and stagnant tendencies that sometimes plague the prog metal scene, offering a fresh and innovative approach. The Anchoret has proven that it is possible to bring new ideas and imagination to the genre, and that is why I consider this album a masterpiece of progressive metal music (5/5 stars).

gervelaz94



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. An Office For... 02:40
2. A Dead Man 06:32
3. Until The Sun Illuminates 06:40
4. Someone Listening? 08:05
5. Forsaken 07:26
6. Buried 04:28
7. All Turns to Clay 08:32
8. Unafraid 07:18
9. Stay 07:00



..::OBSADA::..

Eduard Levitsky - bass
Sylvain Auclair - vocals
Leo Estalles - guitars
James Christopher Knoerl - drums
Andy Tillison - keyboards, synthesizers

With:
Juan Ignacio Varela Espinoza - alto saxophone
Carina Bruwer - flute
Paulo Oliveira - flute (2)
Artem Koryapin - clarinet
Nimiwari - gospel vocals (2), additional vocals (7)
Reinaldo Ocando - percussion (5)
Thomson Knoles - additional keyboards (7)
David Gagné - additional keyboards (5), additional guitar (4)
Daniel Eliseev - additional guitar (8)
Ὀρφεύσ - Mellotron (9)




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3b_GMUQvUo



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Jako całość coś niesamowicie wyjątkowego!
Potężne brzmienie Fear Factory, gitary 'polane efektami' Davida Gilmore'a i brutalny komentarz społeczny Tool'a.



The fifth solo album from Devin Townsend, Terria was released in 2001 to wide acclaim, a more introspective album than its predecessor that pays tribute to his home country, Canada. A more melodic and atmospheric album, it would nonetheless feature a mature, understated performance from metal drumming legend Gene Hoglan, and absolutely striking artwork from Travis Smith.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Olives 3:21
2. Mountain 6:32
3. Earth Day 9:35
4. Deep Peace 7:35
5. Canada 6:53
6. Down And Under 3:43
7. The Fluke 7:16
8. Nobody's Here 6:54
9. Tiny Tears 9:13
10. Stagnant 5:25
11. Humble [Hidden Track] 5:29
Performer [Played On The Bonus Thing] - Mark Gordon, Matteo Caratozzollo



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend - guitar, vocals, ambience, samples, keyboards
Gene Hoglan - drums
Craig McFarland - fretless bass
Jamie Meyer - piano, keyboards



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA4igUGBbdM



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

Jako całość coś niesamowicie wyjątkowego!
Potężne brzmienie Fear Factory, gitary 'polane efektami' Davida Gilmore'a i brutalny komentarz społeczny Tool'a.



The fifth solo album from Devin Townsend, Terria was released in 2001 to wide acclaim, a more introspective album than its predecessor that pays tribute to his home country, Canada. A more melodic and atmospheric album, it would nonetheless feature a mature, understated performance from metal drumming legend Gene Hoglan, and absolutely striking artwork from Travis Smith.



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Olives 3:21
2. Mountain 6:32
3. Earth Day 9:35
4. Deep Peace 7:35
5. Canada 6:53
6. Down And Under 3:43
7. The Fluke 7:16
8. Nobody's Here 6:54
9. Tiny Tears 9:13
10. Stagnant 5:25
11. Humble [Hidden Track] 5:29
Performer [Played On The Bonus Thing] - Mark Gordon, Matteo Caratozzollo



..::OBSADA::..

Devin Townsend - guitar, vocals, ambience, samples, keyboards
Gene Hoglan - drums
Craig McFarland - fretless bass
Jamie Meyer - piano, keyboards



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DA4igUGBbdM



SEED 15:00-22:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

W progresywnym rocku nie poszukiwali oldskulowych, analogowych brzmień. To muzyka spod znaku maksymalnego chłodu, idealnie poszatkowanego rytmu, choć z miejscem na wzniosłe melodie, a nawet odrobinę przebojowości.
Poziom nieosiągalny dla większości kapel...



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Natural Disaster 06:06
2. Echoes 05:46
3. The Grey 06:07
4. Legion 06:00
5. Tender 04:37
6. War Of Being 11:02
7. Sirens 04:57
8. Burden 06:34
9. Sacrifice 09:34



..::OBSADA::..

Daniel Tompkins - lead vocals, backing vocals, engineering, concept
Acle Kahney - lead guitar, engineering, mixing, mastering, composition
James 'Metal' Monteith - rhythm guitar
Amos Williams - bass, growls, backing vocals, engineering, composition, concept, layout, design
Jay Postones - drums, percussion

Additional personnel:
Peter Miles - production, engineering, arranging, synth, sound design
Randy Slaugh - co-production, engineering, synth, sound design
Katherine Marsh - co-production, engineering, arranging, composition, backing vocals




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnkpPIupQxM



SEED 14:30-23:00.
POLECAM!!!

...SIŁA I PIĘKNO MUZYKI TKWIĄ W JEJ RÓŻNORODNOŚCI.



..::OPIS::..

W progresywnym rocku nie poszukiwali oldskulowych, analogowych brzmień. To muzyka spod znaku maksymalnego chłodu, idealnie poszatkowanego rytmu, choć z miejscem na wzniosłe melodie, a nawet odrobinę przebojowości.
Poziom nieosiągalny dla większości kapel...



..::TRACK-LIST::..

1. Natural Disaster 06:06
2. Echoes 05:46
3. The Grey 06:07
4. Legion 06:00
5. Tender 04:37
6. War Of Being 11:02
7. Sirens 04:57
8. Burden 06:34
9. Sacrifice 09:34



..::OBSADA::..

Daniel Tompkins - lead vocals, backing vocals, engineering, concept
Acle Kahney - lead guitar, engineering, mixing, mastering, composition
James 'Metal' Monteith - rhythm guitar
Amos Williams - bass, growls, backing vocals, engineering, composition, concept, layout, design
Jay Postones - drums, percussion

Additional personnel:
Peter Miles - production, engineering, arranging, synth, sound design
Randy Slaugh - co-production, engineering, synth, sound design
Katherine Marsh - co-production, engineering, arranging, composition, backing vocals




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnkpPIupQxM



SEED 14:30-23:00.
POLECAM!!!