Record Reviews
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  | AFTER… ~ HIDEOUT
OSKAR 1038 (Barcode: 5907811103829) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008
This is the second album by Polish Prog band After…Find albums by this artist, one of the second-wave Neo-Progressive bands to emerge on the local scene, which also includes the most popular Polish Prog band at the moment: RiversideFind albums by this artist. After… differs from most other bands in that category as it is almost free of the dreadful metal elements that dominate most other bands, often making their music unlistenable. Although they play hard and strong at times, their music is first and foremost melodic in nature, making them more similar to older Polish Prog bands, like QuidamFind albums by this artist. The first lineup of the group was fronted by a female vocalist, similar to what happened with Quidam.
The lineup that recorded this album features lead vocalist Krzysztof DrogowskiFind albums by this artist, guitarists Wojciech TyminskiFind albums by this artist and Czarek BregierFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Tomasz WisniewskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Mariusz ZiolkowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Radek WieckowskiFind albums by this artist. The album includes ten original songs, all credited as group compositions, with all lyrics by the vocalist except for one song where they were written by Tyminski. The lyrics are in English, which of course is most unfortunate, as they present a challenge as far as the quality of the text is concerned and even more so in its actual execution (i.e. pronunciation, accent, etc.) by the vocalist, which always becomes the weakest link on any Polish album sung in English. Obviously the hope of an international success clouds the minds of these young people to venture onto this treacherous path. In today´s condition the choice of Polish lyrics might have proven to be as wise if not wiser and certainly much more effective as far as the overall result is concerned.
But English lyrics aside, the album is a pretty solid piece of Neo-Prog, with some superb melodies, especially the ballads, and excellent instrumental performances by the band members and the vocalist. There are some great guitar solos, very good work by the keyboards, which provides the background, upon which the entire musical structure is built, and rock solid work by the rhythm section, which never misses a bit and has a great fat sound. There is both deep lyricism and strong somewhat heavier expressionism, but the band eschews any signs of Prog Metal, which is a relief.
Although not terribly innovative or groundbreaking, this is a solid Prog album, which most Neo-Prog fans around the world should be able to enjoy. It is certainly better than most releases in that genre, which seems to be going nowhere artistically in the last decade. At least there is some great music herein. Definitely worth investigating!
| | Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | LIZARD ~ W GALERII CZASU (21ST ANNIVERSARY EDITION)
AUDIO CAVE 2018/003 (Barcode: 5905669566469) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 1996 Released: 2018
This is a reissue of the debut album by the Polish Progressive Rock group LizardFind albums by this artist, newly remastered for this edition. At the time of the recording the lineup of the group included vocalist Damian BydlinskiFind albums by this artist, guitarist Miroslaw WorekFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Andrzej JanczaFind albums by this artist, bassist Janusz TanistraFind albums by this artist and drummer Mariusz SzulakowskiFind albums by this artist. The album presents six original compositions, three of which are multi-part mini suites. The music is composed by Bydlinski or co-composed / composed by him and / or other band members and all lyrics (in Polish) are by Bydlinski. This album was already reissued before with added bonus tracks.
Since Prog by definition includes a layer of improvisation it is therefore closely related musically to the Jazz / Fusion idioms. However, in contrast to Polish Jazz, which is a flourishing genre and often considered as perhaps the most creative on the international scale in the last two decades, Polish Prog never achieved the same success. The "original" wave of Prog (1960 / 1970s) almost completely missed Poland except for the Fusion oriented SBBFind albums by this artist and Pop / Rock oriented SkaldowieFind albums by this artist making fairly significant statements. The Neo-Prog (starting in 1990s) didn´t do much better overall, and with the exception of QuidamFind albums by this artist (debut album released in 1996), Lizard (debut album released in 1997) and RiversideFind albums by this artist (debut album released in 2004), not much else happened. All the above mentioned bands produced a series of albums, which over time showed a deterioration in their quality, and in time either disbanded or left the Prog idiom completely. Over time there were quite a few other bands out there, none of which made a truly significant statement, on the world scale.
To be perfectly honest, the Neo-Prog genre was a bad idea to start with anyway. It was a priori derivative, almost completely unoriginal and often criminally boring. The idea of bringing back to life a musical genre that burnt itself out during its original period of activity is by definition absurd. Having said all that, the early albums by the three abovementioned groups (Quidam, Lizard, Riverside), including this one, have their merits.
Musically "W Galerii Czasu" is an archetypal Neo-Prog album, with lengthy multi-part tracks, which offer several melody lines within one track and theatrical vocals. In this case the melodies are solid and interesting enough to make the album quite listenable. The instrumental work is fine, but not exceptional, well balanced and overall coherent. The vocals are somewhat monotonous and the vocal range is limited, but at least the vocalist sticks to singing in Polish, so the listener is not subjected to the bad English accent torture.
The album aged well and lost nothing of its initial fine form, but again Neo-Prog did not move an inch since its conception, so this is not surprising. Overall it is still a very good listening experience, especially for the Prog Heads that are still around. For the sake of nostalgia and the great remastered sound, I can wholeheartedly recommend it!
| | Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: 04/07/2018 | CD 1 Digipak Remastered Recommend To A Friend |
  | RIVERSIDE ~ ANNO DOMINI HIGH DEFINITION (SPECIAL EDITION)
INSIDEOUT 313 (Barcode: 5052205043806) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2009 Released: 2009
5th album (and their 4th studio effort) by the brilliant Polish Prog band RiversideFind albums by this artist, which consist of lead singer / bassist Mariusz DudaFind albums by this artist, guitarist Piotr GrudzinskiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Michal LapajFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr KozieradzkiFind albums by this artist. The album marks several new bold steps the band is taking in the process of its continuous development: longer tracks (two are over 10 minutes), the use of brass arrangements and one track being a three-part mini-suite. The sound is a bit harsher and metallic, but only at some points, as the album displays overall a great diversity and keeps changing moods and tempi rapidly. It is truly heartwarming to see this band grow and change with each release, eschewing stagnation and not fearing experimentation. Although some fans of the band received this album coldly, I´m pretty sure that in the long run they will discover its hidden beauty. After all there are truly just a few contemporary Prog bands, which can be put in the same league as Riverside. This edition of the album is expanded with a DVD of a live concert in Amsterdam, filmed a year earlier, which is also superb. It´s no wonder that Riverside is considered by many as the best Prog group of the first decade of the 21st Century – anybody listening to this music will simply have to agree.
| | Updated: 16/05/2023Posted: | CD+DVD 2 Recommend To A Friend |
  | RIVERSIDE ~ OUT OF MYSELF
LASER`S EDGE 1039 (Barcode: 763232103924) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2003 Released: 2004
Debut album by the sensational Polish Prog band [Riverside], which is undoubtedly one of the best new Prog releases in a long time. The band plays with a lot of energy and slightly Metal tendencies, but the overall result is very melodic and refreshing. Great instrumental work and good vocals (in English) make this album an outstanding acheivement for a debut by a young band. Can`t wait for their next one!
| | | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
  | RIVERSIDE ~ REALITY DREAM TRILOGY
MYSTIC (PL) 178 (Barcode: 5903427874894) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2003 - 2008 Released: 2011
This remarkable set (not a Box Set, as it´s not packaged in a box) presents the recorded account of the first five years in the history of the Polish Prog band RiversideFind albums by this artist, which is the only second-generation Neo-Prog Polish band to earn any international attention. It includes the band´s first three albums (hence trilogy) as well as EPs, singles and live recordings spanning this period. Packaged together into an impressive six CD digipak, this is definitely an awe inspiring bundle.
Riverside, who started their musical path in 2003, comprise of vocalist / bassist / lyricist Mariusz DudaFind albums by this artist, guitarist Piotr GrudzinskiFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Michal LapajFind albums by this artist and drummer Piotr KozieradzkiFind albums by this artist. The music they compose is jointly credited to the group. Their albums were all released on the international market (in Europe and US) and they are the only Polish Prog group to achieve such success. Even the group QuidamFind albums by this artist, their precursors and Polish Prog leaders during the preceding decade, did not manage to achieve similar success, even if they deserved it at least as much if not more.
I find Riverside to be a truly misinterpreted Prog group, since most fans and critics conveniently slot them inside the Prog Metal sub-genre, which is completely off the chart in their case. Although they do play heavily at times and the vocals are a bit over the top occasionally, they have absolutely nothing to do with Prog Metal and are mostly a Symphonic Prog group. Their music is beautifully melodic, often even lyrical (typical Polish form of lyricism) and God forbid almost romantic. Don’t be fooled by the guitar riffs and screams, listen to the melody enfolding and you´ll hear what I mean.
Riverside are also the most copied (mostly terribly badly) band in Poland and I suppose even outside the country´s borders. Their relative success pushed many bands to try and copy their characteristic patterns, without of course understanding their musical content and its structure. Absurdly, Riverside, although a great band, is a terrible role model, as it obviously is way beyond imitation. As a result the Polish Prog scene is now full of wannabe Riverside groups playing terrible, ear-hurting and brain-damaging Prog Metal; the price of success?
But this set is full of great music, from start to finish. Perhaps a bit too much to swallow in one go, but still a superb collection of great tunes and inspired performances. Of course the English lyrics sound pretty bad, but the music is so strong that it pushes the bad pronunciation aside, where it can be ignored. Why on earth Riverside decided not to sing in Polish (Quidam stared to sing in Polish) beats me, but this is the most common mistake of Polish bands, hence hardly surprising. Guys, get this: nobody listens to the lyrics in Prog, so you might as well sing in Martian. The vocals are simply a part of the music… oh well.
I suppose this set is mostly for people, who just discovered Riverside, or the real die-hard fans, which already have all this music anyway. In any case it absolutely belongs in the best music collections on this planet, like mine ;) So don´t you dare to miss it!
| | Updated: 21/09/2021Posted: | CD 6 Digipak Recommend To A Friend |
  | VOTUM ~ TIME MUST HAVE A STOP
PROGROCK 670 (Barcode: 837792009924) ~ POLAND ~ Progressive Rock
Recorded: 2007 Released: 2008
This is the debut album by Polish Prog Metal band VotumFind albums by this artist, one of several bands arriving on the scene, which tried to follow in the steps of the international success achieved by the Polish band RiversideFind albums by this artist. The lineup, which recorded this album, includes vocalist Maciej KosinskiFind albums by this artist, guitarists Alek SalamonikFind albums by this artist and Adam KaczmarekFind albums by this artist, keyboardist Zbigniew SzatkowskiFind albums by this artist, bassist Bartek TurkowskiFind albums by this artist and drummer Adam LukaszekFind albums by this artist. The album was released in US and Europe by indie labels, probably hoping to achieve success similar to that of Riverside releases. The album comprises of eight original songs, with all music credited to the entire group and the lyrics written by the vocalist.
However, although Riverside has its heavy and even somewhat metallic elements, it is very much a Prog ensemble, whereas Votum simply takes things much more aggressively towards Prog Metal, which makes listening to this album a real trial for the listeners ears. Some of the songs have a real melody at its core, but soon after the intro it gets completely bashed out by the heavy guitar riffs, repeated ad nauseam. All these riffs have been already perfected by many bands all over the world decades earlier and playing them again simply adds nothing remotely innovative or ambitious to the result, hence no progress is achieved whatsoever.
Of course the band uses English lyrics, which are a deadly trap for most bans originating outside the native English zone. The vocalist struggles with the language, rather than expressing his feelings in his native language, which would have only benefited the overall result. With the racket around nobody can hear the lyrics most of the time anyhow. In the quieter passages the English does sound pretty ridiculous. Kosinski has a great voice and a theatrical ability, qualities that make vocalist stand out, but he should stick to his mother tongue.
All in all this could have been a much better album if the band simply applied some moderation on the volume and repetition of "old tricks", trying to be truly progressive and innovative. They are talented players and have a great lead singer, and they write some sweet tunes, but nobody can actually hear the beauty of their music behind all that mayhem.
I have read many enthusiastic reviews of this album, which if truth be told means most people are deaf or terribly biased or both. My votum seperatum in the meantime is: "make it better next time". Hopefully their next release will be much more mature and they´ll manage to overcome all that aggression.
| | | CD 1 Recommend To A Friend |
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