Record Reviews

LIZARD ~ HALF-LIFE AUDIO CAVE 2018/012 (Barcode: 5905669566650) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2018 Released: 2018 This is the seventh studio album by Polish Progressive Rock group LizardFind albums by this artist, which consists of vocalist / guitarist / composer / lyricist Damian BydlinskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Janusz TanistraFind albums by this artist, guitarist Daniel KurtykaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Pawel FabrowiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Mariusz SzulakowskiFind albums by this artist. Violinist Dominika RusinowskaFind albums by this artist appears as guest artist. The album presents just one, forty four minutes long track, composed and written (in Polish language) by Bydlinski. The music takes off with a lengthy instrumental intro which makes an attempt to leave the classic symphonic Neo-Prog format behind and partly cross over towards Jazz-Rock / Fusion, but once the vocals enter the stage, the Prog sound and feel are back at the helm. The concept album framework and slowly developing and repeating themes are deeply rooted in Prog and as a result the album offers a slick, melodic continuity, full of typical riffs and hooks, with some Fusion oriented instrumental passages. Overall the album is a pleasant, unchallenging musical journey into nostalgia, which is in complete contrast to the morose apocalyptic lyrics. The performances are all very professional and the production is exactly right for this kind of music and the album emerges as a typical Neo-Prog work, no different than hundreds of similar offerings recorded all over the world since the 1990s. Of course Prog Heads will find this album as good as Prog albums go, and people from outside of Poland might find it interesting to hear what is happing in Prog in Poland and surely won´t be disappointed, as this is after all a solid, well put together piece of music, which delivers exactly what is expected. This is definitely nothing to be ashamed of, but sadly neither something to be really proud of? Sadly Polish Prog is unable to shake off its past and develop a new direction, after spending the last few decades in a zombie vegetative state musically, supported by a shrinking, but fanatic fan base, in complete contrast to Polish Jazz, which is exploding with talent and creativity and serving as a beacon for the rest of the world. I´m just too old for this by now… been there… heard it all…

Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: 16/12/2018

CD 1 Digipak Recommend To A Friend

LIZARD ~ MASTER & M (REMASTERED) AUDIO CAVE 2019/014 (Barcode: 5905669566896) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock Recorded: 2012 - 2013 Released: 2019 This is a reissue of the fifth studio album by the Polish Prog group LizardFind albums by this artist, released originally in 2013. The band is led by the charismatic vocalist / guitarist / songwriter Damian BydlinskiFind albums by this artist, who composed all the music and wrote all the lyrics (in Polish), and includes also bassist Janusz TanistraFind albums by this artist, guitarist Daniel KurtykaFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Pawel FabrowiczFind albums by this artist and drummer Aleksander SzalajkoFind albums by this artist. The album presents just one concept suite, divided into five "chapters" loosely based on the influential Mikhail BulgakovFind albums by this artist´s novel "The Master and Margarita". This edition was newly remastered and adds one bonus track recorded live in 2015 during the bands 25th Anniversary celebration concert, which features drummer Mariusz SzulakowskiFind albums by this artist, who replaced Szalajko. The music is everything a Neo-Prog enthusiast dares to expect, including lush melodic themes, strong heavy riffs, lengthy instrumental improvisations and theatrical vocals – in short heaven on Prog earth. Everything works perfectly with no margin for error, with the instrumental parts perfectly stitched together and the vocals leading the proceedings being expressive enough to easily cross any language barriers, meaning that Prog lovers not speaking Polish can still fully enjoy the music as well. Like all Neo-Prog albums the music gets a bit repetitious in time, which is great if one enters the trans like state of mind that many Prog albums require in order to fully enjoy the music, but is luckily dynamic enough to keep the listener awake, in spite of the fact that rhythmically the music is completely uniform. But the instrumental performances and the vocal parts are all as good as one might expect within the genre´s limitations and overall the album is really great fun to listen to. With the vastly improved sound quality and clarity of the remaster, this is definitely worth investigating, especially in view of the fact that Prog sadly is a dying species these days.

Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: 17/01/2020

CD 1 Digipak Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend