TALES FROM IMAGINARY MOVIES

Millenium, a group born in 1999 that needs no introduction with Ryszard at the helm, released their 17th neo- prog album there; nothing new but flawless, with a new voice, David and his warm refrains quickly remaining in memory; marked solos ranging from Ryszard's keyboards to Piotr's strings; more symphonic, more emphatic with the sick world. A style originally on Pendragon, Collage, IQ or Pink Floyd, now a clean, clear and intense sound. A story about David seeking a film role.

'Tales Of Imaginary Movies (The Opening Credits)' and one of the most beautiful symphonic intro heard, quickly assimilated; juicy guitar, heavy, haunting synths and a finale that strongly reminds me of Ayreon! 'Invisible Superhero' continues on a consensual tempo eyeing the 70's heavy prog, the 80's fruity; 1'30'' intro before David adjusts his voice, reminiscent of Barclay James Harvest; soaring air, backing vocals and Piotr with his warm guitar; between the melancholy sweetness of the cinematic synth and the explosion of the chorus-hymn; the guitar solo that comes out sends very high, much more than at the last concert, perhaps badly placed in the room in short 'A World Full Of Spies' still continues on these footsteps and an agreed rock tune; Eloy, BJH again, tight beat that stays in the head quickly and solo that still tears; soft solo break of the keyboard, a second more choppy then the bewitching guitar; AOR melodic piece in the genre. 'Brightness Hidden In The Dark' the footsteps recede and the air goes on a remake ballad; catchy melody where the specter of Pink Floyd 'The Wall' emerges; David directs his voice to a more bewitching aspect, a bit of Queen, of Kansas on guitar, a bit of 'The Trial' behind; air that sweats with emotion and memory; break with shots in the distance and the last guitar solo that reminds me of Eagles'. oh how beautiful

'A Comedy Of Love' title AOR which denotes, mat with a dynamic flute, it smells good of the 80's and the solo flows like a Mark Knopfler; the soft voice that rises before Piotr lets go of the watts and sets it on fire, a bit of Toto, of Sniff 'n' the Tears. 'The Sounds Of War' online with the chopper; Irish tune with flute, more syncopated drums; pop rock with a progressive declination; association between a gripping beat, the suave voice of David and the soaring guitar vibrating, oozing, spleen proven. 'Memories In Tears' pastoral melody, cinematic tune of 'Rencontres du 3e Type', Piotr setting fire from the start; David launches the tone on a languorous atmosphere, the keyboards raise the air between Genesis and a BJH; simple then it rises, it howls, the military battery adds to the solemn side; the guitar comes to reinforce the rhythm tearing the air then 'Second Earth' arrives, sad end-of- war melody, melancholy piano accompanying David and symphonic violin synths for the last chance, the disturbing Game Over. 'Tales Of Imaginary Movies (The End Credits)' hovering in cover, riff ' la Ayreon, the Iron Maiden of 'Seventh son', like the English guitar of the 60's, like a few notes from the Telephone... my wife passes by there ; it rises, dantesque, grandiloquent, sublimely symphonic. Piotr makes his strings howl, Ryszard his keys!

Millenium has changed singers but the Kramarski framework continues to deliver melodic albums that are easily accessible, perhaps too precisely; a dense orchestral component, endless floydian flights, various reminiscences offering a good summary of what prog has done best.

During the years Poland has turned into a very prolific prog country, from Collage, Quidam and Satellite to Moonshine, Believe, Osada Vida, and of course the outstanding and very popular Riverside. Another interesting band is Millenium, a five piece formation that has released 18 studio-albums, 1 live album, 2 live DVD's and 7 compilations between 1999 and 2022, an incredible amount! This effort entitled Tales Of Imaginary Movies (total running time around 50 minute) is from 2022. Singer Lukasz Gall has been replaced by new member David Lewandowski, from the Kramarski Project.

On this album Millennium delivers 7 tastefully arranged, very melodic and harmonic compositions, often in the realm of Neo-Prog but also more AOR oriented, from mellow to bombastic, with the focus on strong English vocals with lots of emotion and compelling guitar work, often reminding me of David Gilmour (Pink Floyd).

The more dynamic and varied tracks are Invisible Superhero (huge tension, between mellow, slow rhythms and bombastic eruptions, embellished with inspired vocals and intense guitar), the wonderful ballad Brightness Hidden In The Dark ( from dreamy piano and vocals - in the vein of Roger Waters on The Wall - to halfway more lush and powerful sound with inspired vocals, and in the end moving guitar soli) and Memories In Tears (featuring emotional vocals, Mellotron-flute like keyboard sound, howling guitar leads, and finally heavy and biting guitar solo).

The song Second Earth contains a dreamy climate, tender vocals and piano, wonderful strings, the sound is intense with a melancholicy undertone, a bit dark but beautiful.

The most accessible compositions are A World Full Of Spies (rock guitar, tight beat and a harder-edged sensitive guitar solo), A Comedy Of Love (in the end a fiery wah-wah drenched guitar solo with sumptuous keyboards) and The Sounds Of War (catchy beat, rock guitar, vocal harmonies, halfway and in the end moving guitar soli).

And finally the two-part title track Tales Of Imaginary Movies, part 1 (The Opening Credits) with majestic keyboard layers and howling guitar runs, pretty compelling, and part 2 (The End Credits) atmospheric with again howling guitar.

If you are up to accessible and modern sounding prog with the focus on strong vocals and moving guitar work, I am sure this album will delight you!

My rating: 3,5 star.

I am very fortunate in that I have heard a great deal of Millenium over the years, and see I have 12 of their releases on my shelves. For the vast majority of their history their singer was Łukasz "Gall" Gałęziowsk, but he left after their 2017 album '44 Minutes' and was replaced by Marek Smelkowski for 'MMXVIII', which prior to this was the last album I have heard. I am not sure what happened then, as Łukasz returned to sing on a Millenium album in both 2019 and 2020, Marek sang on another Milennium album in 2020, before come to this 2022 release which features a new singer in David Lewandowski. At least the rest of the line-up was stable, with Piotr Płonka (electric & acoustic guitars), Krzysztof Wyrwa (bass), Grzegorz Bauer (drums & percussion) and Ryszard Kramarski (keyboards, acoustic guitars).

Poland has long been a hotbed of progressive music, with Millenium being at the forefront since Ryszard formed the band more than 20 years ago. Unlike many prog acts, who no longer release many albums ( I am not going to name any, but there are plenty out there), Millenium have been wonderfully consistent both in their output and their very high quality. David has very clear unaccented vocals, and if one was listening to this without knowing who it was then one would probably guess this was a British band, and definitely not one from Eastern Europe. Grzegorz and Krzysztof can always be relied upon to provide a strong foundation, Ryszard switches between banks of sounds and lead melodies, while Piotr is obviously a metalhead at heart and provides plenty of crunch and dynamic solos, showing there is life in the neo prog genre yet. There are times when they can be quite Floydian, but his guitar always takes them in a quite different direction and right from the introduction of the title track one feels we are being taken on a symphonic bombastic journey with very powerful production as the keyboards lift and the guitars shine.

Highly melodic and inventive, this is yet again an album where the listener is brought inside from the very first play and finds a great deal to enjoy. Another wonderful addition to the collection ? 17 albums to date and plenty more to come.