INSOMNIA

This 2008 album was the debut by Polish prog metal outfit Its.True.Mentality. It's not just the punctuation in the name that is unusual, as while prog metal bands aren't exactly uncommon, it is certainly strange to come across one that is totally instrumental, and one that is happy to move as far away from riffs as these do at times. The line-up of Andrzej Lebek (guitar), Grzegorz Haasa (drums), Anna Weyna (keyboards) and Arkadiusz Doroszuk (bass) can certainly crunch the riffs when they need to, but there is a great deal of light within the album as well. The use of older keyboard sounds also provides warmth, and the result is a five-track twenty-nine-minute- long album that just makes me want to keep coming back for more. Bass and drums sit in the background quite a bit, but aren't afraid to be forward and demanding when the time is right, but for a lot of the time it is Anna and Andrzej who rightly take centre stage. They have a strong solid understanding of each other, so they can duet and provide strong interlinked runs, or they are also content to let each other take the lead.

This is music that is incredibly solid, as one would expect from the genre, but there is also a great deal of light and space within the music which then allows for contrast against the more metallic elements when they make their presence felt. The solos aren't pure solos in the traditional sense, but more that they are taking the musical lead at that point. It is more reflective than many in the scene, and has been influenced as much by melodic guitarists such as John McLaughlin as much as they have by Karl Groom. Highlight is the final song, "Mistificated Paranoia" which has a wonderful warm introduction with some beautiful fretless bass notes that gradually just builds into a swirling epic.

I feel that there are times when they lack the musical depth and power that they need, and some of the compositions are a little weak in places, as if this were a work in progress as opposed to the finished article. But, this was a self-released demo, so possibly they were looking for some recognition and record company support. Sadly, I believe this was their only release, their sites are no longer active, and their Facebook page hasn't been updated since 2009. That's a real shame as this showed promise, and is worth picking up if you come across it.