FAITH

Belorussian ensemble IN SEARCH FOR was initially set up as a solo vehicle by composer and multi-instrumentalist Yann Zhenchak back in 2007. But as songs were written, developed and initially recorded by Yann himself, the idea to involve other musicians became more compelling. Eventually a band was formed, consisting of young and talented musicians, and several guest musicians were involved along the way too. The end result became this young outfit's debut album "Faith", initially released in Belarus in 2009 and reissued by Russia's MALS Records the following year.

"Faith" is a sincere and honest album that offers quite a lot of diversity, but for me it is found lacking in terms of finesse and identity. The flawed centerpiece aside, the songs are competently performed by competent musicians, and while the compositional aspect of this disc isn't too impressive according to my standards, there's nothing really wrong with them either, other than the fact that none of them manage to make a great impression. Personally, I'd suspect that young metal fans who would like to explore a metal act keen on adding in art rock-inspired motifs might be a key audience for this band. But they as well as others should take the time to sample this material prior to a possible purchase.

Fantastic heavy prog from Byelorussia! This one can concur easily with the famous Swedish Pain of Salvation. Some other comparisons like Norwegian Magic Pie, Brazilian Vitrea or Polish Riverside also pop in mind. However, I find In Search For quite stronger then their Polish peers. Their heavy rock sound is very close to that of Deep Purple, in their early 70-s Ian Gillan reincarnation.

The band is found in 2008 by Yann Zhenchak, a talented composer and singer, who also plays keys and strings on the record. Yann had a tremendous music school with the famous in Eastern Europe pop-folk band Pesniary from Minsk. Playing with Pesniary is for a Byelorussian musician like having Frank Zappa on his Curriculum Vitae. Only crème de la crème could get into this outrageously successful PR-machine, having radio play at least one time every day on at least one Russian station during the last 30 years. Another example of a talented musician who went through this school is the gifted guitarist Victor Smolski, who now plays with the German metal band Rage.

So, Yann also did the pop folk theatre together with Pesniary, and also left them, in search for? his own music. To my part, the search is not over yet. The debut album "Faith" has some really good composing and is played with passion and fine technique. Yann's singing is impressive and some tunes will get into your mind and stay there forever. The POS-like rock ballads really blow my mind. Alas, there are some less successful components in this record. I find some of the texts a little naïve, however convincingly sung in a very good English, no disturbing accent to perceive here. Especially the epic "In Search for Faith" seems a little too long, and the parts with a dialogue between the last human and his saviour are a bit superfluous. If I could have my word, I will make from this, over the 70 minutes record with some weak points, a really strong 50 minutes record, that will have a potential to become an instant rock classic.

The band has obviously an enormous potential. If prog rock or heavy rock mean something to you, try this one, you won't be disappointed