User Page: Mike

This is the solo album of Mariusz Duda, known to most as the singer of progressive metal band Riverside. The music could be described as the atmospheric, thoughtful and non-metal part of Riverside, with a heavy dose of world music thrown in.

I really enjoyed it, but IMO they should have used more clean vocals - the black metal type growls/shrieking doesn't always match the music, which is really diverse and eclectic beyond the typical atmospheric black metal.

A very interesting blend of styles ranging from minimalistic singer/songwriter to heavy stoner rock/metal. Very strong songs, quite diverse, magnificent vocals ... wonderful!

A wonderful album ... a bit short, but also very concise and right to the point. The music is more melodic than their debut, it often reminded me of Aeon Spoke, which is a non-metal side project which is also quite recommended. This album is also a mix of rock and metal, there are some quite heavy outbursts of metal and the rest is rock. I think what amazes me the most is how they combine beautiful melodies and - occasional - highly technical playing with hints towards Fusion.

Underwhelming. I also can't hear anything Black or Death ... plain Thrash with slightly Anti-Christian lyrics.

I really enjoyed listening to this album. The music reminds me a bit of Anekdoten, but the songwriting is more eclectic ... I guess it's the somewhat gloomy mood and dense texturing. It's also quite heavy, but not in a metal sense at all, but the often distorted bass and "crunchy" rhythm guitar and keyboards. I also really like the often layered vocals, which - in concert with the other instruments - often create very dense arrangements, which can be difficult to digest for the listener ... but on this album it works quite well. If you're into interesting, thoughtful music with the desire to be different both in songwriting and instrumentation ... please check this out, it's really good stuff. The album is available at cdbaby.com and emusic.com, too ... check out the links next to the album name!

Still very jazzy, and only very few rock elements. Keyboards are very present, and it might very well be the birth of fusion, but I don't consider the music to be very progressive. Of course it's very good though, both for casual listening (especially for Jazz newbies) and for experts/musicians.

A solid album ... but I'm not yet "digging" the songwriting.

If you're a guitarist and you don't know Ron Thal (aka Bumblefoot): You have to check this out. He's *very* skilled, but always puts songs above solos ... add to that a heavy dose of humor and - at least on this album - a good deal of raw punk attitude.

Wow. Just wow. The essence of "Slow". Also very, very minimalistic and sparse ... so quite unlike your typical Post-Doom Metal which is often dynamic and contains loud passages, quiet passages, sparse passages, dense passages ... this is static music which always stays in the same trod. Boring? Not at all. There are always little subtleties which you can focus on ... slight shifts in mood, the odd, faint major note in an overall minor setting.

Wow ... what a change compared to their previous album! This is much heavier, almost sounds like Meshuggah at times, albeit without the growling. Very interesting songwriting / arrangement, *vaguely* reminding of Fates Warning, I guess particularly because of the vocal lines which remind a bit of Ray Alder.

The album doesn't really convince me. It is a solid release and I am sure that many Judas Priest fans will enjoy it, but I found it a bit tedious to listen to in one sitting. In my opinion it is not varied enough both harmonically and as far as pace/dynamics are concerned. A possible point of reference would be Kamelot - The Black Halo ... that one is on the fringes of progressiveness, and I think that Nostradamus is at least one "notch" less adventurous. It also lacks the bite and aggression of Painkiller, one of my favorite JP albums ... it even seems a bit "tired" to me.

An enjoyable listen, but the music seems a bit indecisive to me. There are lengthy non-prog Southern Rock style passages, but also quirky melodic prog parts, and sometimes the quirky bits seem a bit out of place and almost artificial.

Wow, what an eclectic mix of styles! Some songs lack a bit substance IMO, but there are some brilliant ones too, and people who dig spacey improvisation will probably love it.