ON THE EDGE

Poland in the last years has been absolutely active in the musical area, especially in the Prog Rock area. There are tons of albums being released and bands beginning every year. I mentioned that in my Soma White review (progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=979959) a few months ago and since then I've received other three albums from the country. Some people say that Sweden is a place with 'special water' because of the quantity of bands that come from there. I say that Poland has even more special one.

Arlon was formed in 2009 by Paweł Zwirn (drums), he joined forces with Paweł Szykuła (vocals), Wiesław Rutka (guitars), Maciej Napieraj (bass) and Jacek Szott (keyboards and saxophones) and started to work on their first album On The Edge (2013) recently released by Pronet Records.

As soon as track one 'On The Edge' starts you can immediately hear Riverside's influence. The same kind of Heavy Prog that is full of melodic moments and good keyboards. In Arlon's case even better because Jacek Szott plays not only the keyboards but also saxophones. A very good opening track. 'Dream' keeps the Heavy Prog path with style. Paweł Szykuła vocals are something apart. Usually Prog bands don't have vocalists with lower pitch voices, but Paweł's voice is lower and it gives them a bit of character. The middle part brings solo moments: Jacek's keyboards, then a very nice bass solo by Maciej Napieraj and then the Wiesław Rutka guitars. Another great track.

'Everything For Her' is more of a ballad, with keyboards and acoustic guitars as the main voices. In the middle Paweł Zwirn's drums go a bit wild with guitars as the background. Jacek plays very well his role in the band, smart keyboards all around. Not just that, once again his saxophone makes the difference in the sound, even if it's just for a short period. The follow up track 'Lies' has bass and saxophone playing the main melody together right in the intro and then everything turn to be more somber for a second in a suspense soundtrack kind of mood. When the verses come we have a very heavy and syncopated riff. Pawel's vocals reminded me of Marillion s vocalist Steve Hogart a bit. Towards the end the synths announce a change in the pace of the song, now frantic.

When 'The Key' starts we have a mid-tempo track with great mood created by the keyboards. This one's very Riverside like, and maybe a bit too long. The next track, 'It's Your Day' has a very good riff in the intro, but soon the track follows a Marillion line. Then we have 'Equals', the only instrumental track on On The Edge (2013). 'Equals' is different than one could imagine. Arlon follows pretty much the exact path of the other tracks. Usually instrumental tracks are used as scapegoats for musicians to show off, here the band keeps itself on the rails.

'Can I' is the next track and it starts and if it wasn't by the saxophones I would say it's just the continuation of the previous track. Just around the second minute we have some change. But it's a bit too late already. By the time 'Was It Worth It' begins we already know what kind of track On The Edge (2013) will bring us. It's a mid-tempo melancholic track.

Arlon's first album On The Edge (2013) was a good surprise, beginning with the great artwork and cover. Although in some moments the band sounds a bit too much like their compatriots, Riverside the overall result is quite positive.

On The Edge (2013) will make every Heavy Prog fan satisfied as we have many interesting parts to make you listen the album again. Great debut.

(Originally posted on progshine.net)