RE:SEARCH

A Polish band that I stumbled upon with the amazing music in their free downloads offered from their initial EP debut release back in 2007, the band has, in my opinion, never quite lived up to the tremendous potential of those first songs. They are good, they are polished, they have a formula, but their sound production and creative ideas have not progressed commensurately. Nice to hear a strong female vocalist in the mix, and lead singer Jakub Roszak has the gift of a distinctive voice but it just hasn't been used to its potential--he does not let loose and impress like he did on "Regret and Frightened Child" and "Enemy World Vision."

01. Rest Another Time" (5:04) Standard heavy prog opening turns interesting when all but bass and drums drop out while Jakub sings. Nice vocal. I just wish the heavier sections would do more, present more subtleties and flourishes. Choral vocals in third minute. Best part of the song is the extended bass focus in the fourth minute followed by Jakub's long vocal notes and some nice keyboard support. More of this, please! (8/10)

02. "Right Way" (4:51) piano and synth open this one, before drums and bass join in (with a disco beat!) almost giving it a Post Rock feel. Nice to hear Beata's female voice in the background--and, later, being used in some lead capacity. Some nice melodic lead guitar in the fourth minute followed by Jakub finally stretching out his voice. (8/10)

03. "The End Of Their World" (4:49) Jakub's laughs over the crystalline keyboard and the following semi-growls make this song slightly better than a standard heavy rock emission. (8/10)

04. "Roller Coaster" (5:04) nice piano base with brushed drums over which Beata sings a relaxed lead while Jakub backs her. Unfortunately, the lead melody in the verse sections sounds like Lisa Stansfield or Des'ree. The choruses with Jakub's emotional lead are good. (8/10)

05. "Heaven Is Here" (5:44) high octave guitar arpeggio is used for the first 30 seconds to start and found the song. When Jakub starts to sing at the end of the first minute, his whispery warble sets up nicely over a simple rhythm section and synth wash base. Guitar arpeggi return to the mix at 1:45, and then Beata takes turns alternating lead and background with Jakub. Nice atmosphere if fairly simple. The song ultimately fails due to its development being too much like metal by numbers--again, the power chords are too straightforward, too predictable, too simple. (7.5./10)

06. "Look In The Mirror" (4:47) opens with drums, bass and piano providing the foundation before Jakub enters at 0:35. Amazing how similar his voice/singing style are to that of URIAH HEEP's first vocalist, David Byron. Nice guitar solo toward the end. (7/10)

07. "Last Breath" (4:23) starts out as perhaps the heaviest song on the album, more in the vein of the sound that this band started with. 90 seconds into the song and nothing very interesting has happened--and then Jakub does some talk semi-growling with his own background track as the music stutter steps, and, later, creates some space for a background tremolo guitar solo to flit around. Return to the heavier section. Again, I keep waiting, hoping for Jakub to do something extraordinary (as I know he can). (8/10)

08. "Standby" (4:19) rock backbeat with piano and guitar interplay creating a melodic weave before Jakub enters. Piano is the dominant chord and melody holder here. Beata takes over the lead for the chorus. Nice! I like this one! Nice piano work. She even gets the song's solo--with her piano. Nice! (8.5/10)

09. "The Wisest Man On Earth" (7:32) a long, slow development of foreboding sound builds and marches through all obstacles for four and a half minutes before it relents in lieu of a slower, more spacious and atmospheric section. Guitar solo in the fifth minute builds into something more in the seventh minute. The crescendo of sound in the final minute is great followed by a nice, long 15-second decay. Best song on the album! Dark, Gothic, heavy prog as it should be. Reminds me of the FIELDS OF THE NEPHILIM. (9/10)

Still so much unfulfilled potential. Take more risks! Be not afraid to experiment, to make mistakes!

3.5 stars; a well made, nice sounding contribution to the heavier side of progressive rock but recommended only to those with specific interests into the Heavy Prog or Gothic Prog subgenres.