W GALERII CZASU

"W Galerii Czasu" ("In the Time Gallery") is the debut full-length studio album by Polish progressive rock act Lizard. The album was released through Ars Mundi in 1996. It´s a Polish language album, which may scare off some listeners, but those with an open mind who don´t understand Polish could find the Polish language lyrics a charming and exotic element.

The music features some characteristics which make it original even though you can hear Lizard´s influences more than once during the playing time. The keyboards are generally melodic and in addition to the typical chords keyboard player Andrzej Jancza, who is very skilled musician, adds some jazzy chords here and there which is one of the more unique elements on "W Galerii Czasu". There´s generally a big jazz-rock/fusion element present in the music and I hear the occasional nod towards an artist like Allan Holdsworth. This is first and foremost late 70s/early 80s influenced progressive rock though and if I have to mention one overshadowing influence on Lizard´s music it would be UK. The guitar plays some solid eclectic notes while the loud bass is a great asset to the band´s music. The drums are pretty technical in style and obviously fusion influenced. Damian Bydliñski is a skilled singer with a touch of John Wetton.

"Kazdy Dzien To Wiecej Ran W Twej Glowie" ("Every Day is More Frames in Your Head") opens the album and it´s an almost 10 minutes long track which features lots of different parts. "Galeria iluzji" ("Gallery of Illusions") continues the album and it´s one of the highlights of the album. It´s a song featuring some great guitar work/riffs. It´s not hard rock but more emotional and melodic playing. "Autoportret" ("Self-Portrait") is the next song and it´s the most hard rock/AOR oriented composition on the album. It´s only a tendency though and it never breaks into full hard rock.

"Strefa cienia" ("Shadow Zone") is up next and it´s a highly progressive song, which is probably the most challenging composition on the album. "Ogród przeznaczenia" ("Garden of Destiny") is a semi-ballad featuring a gloomy atmosphere created by some sombre keyboard playing. "W krainie szmaragdowego jaszczura" ("In the land of the emerald lizard") is the 15:42 minutes long closing epic of the album. It features a long instrumental intro but vocals are added a bit later in the song. It´s definitely one of the highlights of the album. The folky part is a nice touch showing the eclectic nature of Lizard´s music. That particular part of the song reminds me slighly of Swedish band Änglagård.

It´s not often as a non-Polish speaker that you get the chance (or give yourself the chance) to review a Polish language album, but in the case of "W Galerii Czasu" it was definitely worth it. "W Galerii Czasu" is through and through a high quality release. High level musicianship on all posts, clever and varied songwriting, and a clear, powerful, and well sounding production job. Lizard can rightly be proud of this debut album and a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.